Twin Lakes, July 4, 2007

Decided to take advantage of the perfect weather on the fourth for some July turns. Headed up twin lakes road with my fiancé. The last bit prior to the yellow aster butte/tomyhoi trailhead is a bit washed out. Something with clearance is advisable (such as a subaru or truck). The road past the trailhead on up to the lakes has always been rough but I think this is a whole new level. Upon leaving my fiancé gazing upon the essentially snow free hills and declined to take the skis for "there is no snow to be had". The three or four creeks that run across the road have really made a mess of this road but the outlet for twin lakes has managed to cut a three foot deep ditch through the road. The last mile prior to the lake has snow on the road with some downed trees but easily passable. Twin lakes and the surrounding peaks still have great coverage. We went up to the peak directly across from Winchester. I always opt to take the more direct route up which in this case happened to be the steepest but nothing that axes and crampons didn€™t take care of (green line). Skied off the summit to the climbers left (red line). The sun cups were not nearly as bad as the runnels but still perfectly enjoyable. The snow was good corn and very predictable. There is something so wonderful about skiing in shorts€¦ This being my first time with the heels locked down was a huge shock. I€™ve been teleing for the last five years or so but thought I might try this for summer forays. We€™ll see.