May 14, 2006, University Peak, Sierra

After yesterday€™s disappointing snow conditions, I decided to get an earlier start.  I was on the snow at 6:30am.  Jill needed a rest day so I headed south towards Robinson Lake. Robinson Lake sits in a large cirque between Independence Peak at 11,744 feet and University Peak at 13,589 feet. The overnight low was in the low 50€™s so I was not very optimistic about snow conditions.  I skinned the initial 300 feet up along climbers right of Robinson Creek until I reached the top of the bench.  The views of the cirque opened up and I had a great view of numerous ski routes.  I initially planned to ski the northwest facing slopes in the cirque because the previous day I had noticed that they were in the shade until 8:45 and would probably be firm.  Unfortunately, as I crested the bench, I saw this beautiful southeast facing gully that corkscrewed from the summit ridge about 2200 feet above me. The gully was clean of debris plus there were excellent steep trees on climbers left that would certainly have corn. This was where I allowed the little head to persuade the big head what to do.  The ascent route was steep and I used ski crampons to weave a path upward.  The snow had a crust but it broke easily.  The signs were clear that the snow pack was not frozen, but the route was a thing of beauty.  As I approached the ridge I veered left and looked down into the south facing chutes & Robinson Lake below me.  I began to pass a large boulder when my uphill ski collapsed and I found myself straddling a snow bridge on my downhill ski.  The hole was deep and I felt my heart accelerate.  I gingerly lifted my uphill ski and inched myself away from the boulder.  This was a foolish mistake and the consequences could have been severe.  I had been noticing the isothermal snow conditions near shrubs and rocks, and I just put myself a bit too close to the boulder and the same conditions existed there.  I finally reached my turn time and sat and admired the great views of the Onion Valley and Robinson Lake cirque. The first 2 turns seemed like corn on a firm base and then I sank about 5€. I traversed to steeper lines, into the trees, into the gully and it was consistently deep slush with a slight crust.  After 1000 vertical, it softened to just rotten soft and wet snow which allowed me to surf to the top of the bench.  Looking back up at 2200 vertical of mush, the lines looked good but their creation was forgettable.  Descending from the bench to the camper involved survival turns with a few kick turns, when the knees reminded me that one ACL surgery in the family was enough.  It€™s time to move further north in hopes of finding better snow (and returning home).  Sure hope this heat wave subsides in the Sierra€¦

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