July 24, 2004, Vesper, &kid tele gear wanted

Hiked up Vesper. The lake was 98% frozen...amazing, and some decent turns would even be possible off the summit (just standing glissade for us). The Monte Cristo area is really a snow trap. Someday...stride the road in spring from Barlow Pass to Monte Cristo townsite and climb into Glacier Basin and camp. No snow at all in Headlee gulley and the little creek at the beginning is now mellow, with a rearranged bridge log as documented earlier on these pages.<br><br>I'd love to buy your older, shorter (140-160), lighter tele skis with older lighter bindings (classic cable anyone) for my kid to try. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

David, thanks for the snow report. Would it have been possible to ski all the way from the top of Vesper to the lake, or was the snow discontinuous?<br><br>Also, that was about a week ago, and what do you think the coverage would be on that run now, after another week of sunny weather?

Hi there.<br><br>Certainly not continuous; you know the little band of trees halfway up; it was probably 80% continuous above the tree band. And with another week of hot, probably less so. Great pictures this week. David

Thanks for the snow info - probably not worth it as a destination for August turns at this point. But I agree that the area deserves more exploration earlier in the year. I recall that sometimes the Mountain Loop Hwy melts out/is plowed to Barlow Pass fairly early.<br><br>It was a fun trip with the kids, and that area will keep them satisfied until they learn to turn.