November 15, Artist Point

Couldn't find a partner for Saturday despite a forecast of a high of 35 and partly cloudy at Artist Point.  Parked at the end of the road, and hiked up the trail.  About 200 vf below Artist Point, there was finally enough snow to skin, so I put the skis on and starting sliding.  This would also be about the time I ascended into the clouds, and visibility dropped to about 50 feet.

I continued on past Artist Point, scaring the heck out of a goat that I approached from behind.  When he finally did hear me, he took off down the mountain like a banshee -- I only got one picture before he vanished behind a ridge.  Around the same point the snow became so hard I had to dig out the ski crampons for the traverse around Table Mountain.

A little after noon, the clouds suddenly vanished, and the sun came out in force.  The forecast high was 35, but my thermometer read 65.  It normally reads about ten degrees high -- it hangs off my backpack chest strap, but even 55 was way too warm for how I was dressed.  I stripped off as much as I could, and continued on.  Before long I noticed a large number of pinwheels coming down the slope.  Taking off my skis, I found that I was sinking in past my boot cuff.  I decided the area I was at looked pretty anchored, with a lot of vegatation still poking out of the top of the snow, so I turned straight up hill and did a decent 700 vf run of wet heavy snow.  I climbed back up across the valley towards Artist Point, where I managed to ski down about half the road, then hiked the trail the rest of the way.

Not exactly an epic day.  Got a nice coreshot, but it's not the first on these skis.  I would say there's just not enough snow to ski north of Artist Point, and not enough to justify the trip past it.  But it was the first time I was able to ski since early October, and it's always good to be out there.  Pictures forthcoming.