April 28, 2009, Dana Plateau Gullies
4/28/09
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After skiing opening day at Tioga Pass, we drove to the Mobil Mart deli for dinner at the junction of hwy 395 and hwy 120. No trip to Tioga Pass is complete without stopping at the Mobil Mart for their famous Fish Tacos and Chicken Caesar salad wraps, plus the carrot cake with drizzles of raspberry, chocolate and mango syrups with pecans. Those who have passed this way know the redeeming value of a meal here.
We returned to Tioga Pass and stopped at Ellery Bowl again. The winds were even stronger than yesterday, but there were 4 skiers climbing the upper reaches of the headwall. There were no traces of their climbing track on the wind-scoured lower slopes. In the deposition area of the bowl below the enormous cornice, we could see their boot pack. With their skis on their packs and the wind pushing them around as they booted their way up, it reminded us that reaching the top is only one half of the journey; and their descent would be interesting. We continued just passed Tioga Pass Resort to a pullout. Yesterday we noticed a ridge, semi-protecting the treed gullies that rose to the Dana Plateau. It was another sunny but very breezy day. Ive learned that the term breezy in this area means winds of 15-25 mph in town, with gusts of 35mph and ridge top winds (along the Sierra Crest where we were skiing) of 65 plus mph. So when I hear 'breezy, I know that we have to either find lower elevation and wind protected terrain or go to town and do laundry and read.
The Dana Plateau Gullies seemed like ideal terrain in these conditions, with trees and various exposures to climb and descend. Touring above 10,000 is a bit tiring for a couple of senior citizens but seeing that the peaks arent moving, we slowly ascended.
The wind was blowing, but we were fairly protected. Once over the lower slopes the gullies meander up through sparse trees and finally to a bench that provides excellent views of Mt. Dana and a partial view of Dana Couloir. We have views of the Saddlebag Lakes area with Gaylor, False White, and White Mt., Mt. Conness and North Peak and westward towards Yosemite. WOW, what a wonderful place to be touring. The winds on the bench are breezy and we snap a bunch of photos. The spindrift around Mt. Dana reminds me of views near Zermatt - dangerously beautiful when you are safe at lower elevations. Our descent required skiing the sun exposed slopes only, meander too far onto that beautiful untracked area and wham breakable crust. After awhile it became easy to see the right snow texture to turn on -- not the mindless corn skiing we are used to in The Sierra. Once back at the campervan, we drove down to Ellery Bowl to see the tracks from the group we saw earlier. The wind had erased any trace of their presence. Thursday is supposed to be another breezy day in the mountains. Time to do the laundry, dust the camper, do my nails and open bottles from the Mammoth Brewery. 8)
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