June 6, 2004, Silver Peak Basin East

Lara P., Adam G. and myself headed to Snow Lake originally, but the soaking we got in the Alpental parking lot made us realize that something easier and shorter was optimal. We agreed to drive over to Silver Peak and check it out. On our way over, the ceiling began to lift, and when we arrived, we could actually see up to the point where the falls spill onto the slope leading down to the pond. Only one set of tracks were visible (Adam claimed they were his; no argument there. He now lives at Hyak!), so we shouldered our gear and hit snow right at the pond. However, bootpacking was the quickest way up, so 45 mins. later, we threw the ski's on the snow and skinned into the basin. We reached the upslope leading to the final snow apron below the summit cliffs and bootpacked the last 250' of vert to just below the ridge (the couloir in the east side of the bowl that ends just 40' below the summit). The corn was AWESOME, having been sheltered and cooled over the past few days from the brutaility of the sun. Smooth turns, and just 2 ski-off points on the descent (No vert lost). We were also  blessed with a broken-cloud view of Granite, Bandera, Tinkham, and the rest of the valley. I always love to see the lush early summer green of the mountains after a good shower. As we arrived back at the truck, we realized that we were quite fortunate to still have such good sliding so close to home. Next month will begin the longer field trips to the playgrounds!