January 7, 2012, Jove Peak S Face

I made a vague New Years resolution to get a bit further out around the usual touring spots and check out the next ridge or bowl and find some new terrain. Saturday we decided to head up Smith Brook road and check out Jove Peak. A number of cars had showed up at the TH by the time we got there, and even a couple of snomos. The skies were grey but the weather was otherwise cool and dry.

We made quick progress up the road. Magnus the dog ran laps the whole time at a full sprint.



We cut a track up the south side of the "east ridge" of Union. The snow was a few inches of fairly consistent fresh snow on a fairly supportive crust. I found the ski crampons quite helpful as we topped out. The top of Jove was lost in the clouds, and light flurries were coming down.



We skiied down the north side, finding soft snow with a less supportive crust, making for some tricky skiing. Definitely some cool terrain on that side of the ridge.



We followed the avy path up to the south face where we met a couple other tourers making some soup in their snow pit. We passed them and worked up to the ridge and then headed west to the summit. The winds seem to have been from the S and W judging by the cornices; stability was good below the upper few inches. When we topped out, it was a classic northwest summit view, which is to say a fairly thick whiteout. The turns off of the summit were suprisingly nice, more powder than anything else!



Below it transitioned to dust on a smooth and fairly predictable crust (still fun!), and then heavier snow down in the trees. We popped out onto the road below Jove and toured up to Rainy Pass, and then dropped back to Smith Brook, arriving back at the cars at dusk. All in all, given the low expectations for the day it was a nice tour and a fun chance to explore some new terrain!