TR: Mother Nature Lifted Her Skirt...
11/15/07
3159
4
When: Tuesday and Wednesday
Where: Mostly Silver Basin & Avalanche Basin
Who: Kaia (for day 1), IAOFM (It's Almost Over For Me) both days and with guest appearances by Austin (both days), Dave (day 2), Hillary n' Ryan (both days) and 3 others (day 2)
Why: Because in the right places there was a foot to foot n' half of oh so sweet blow'er to be schralped, charged, consumed, whatever. Plus we had it to ourselves, which is rare, but not when your skinning at O'dark thirty.
Words are over rated. Pictures are worth a 1000 words. Here's a few more different teasers...
Words on conditions from day 1:
Telemetry confirmed teen temps in the am. I would have guessed as my breath froze solid onto my beard. The key was to keep the face moving. In the afternoon temps rose slightly, in the low to mid 20's. A pit was dug around 6400 on a north facing 30 degree roller. At this particular location snowpack was 2 feet to the ground. 6-8 inches was light density powder sitting atop of good forming crust layer to the ground. The 6-8 inches brushed away with easy.
As I continued skinning towards the east, I noticed how quickly the conditions changed about 30 feet away. Here I encountered 1-3 inches of surface slab that just crumbled away, revealing 6-8 inches of low density powder. Hello wind. At times it was hard to get purchase and keep myself from sliding backwards. Maybe my 5 year old skins need some refurbishing. As I cut west and started to traverse up the north facing saddle the conditions changed again. Snow was deeper, easily a foot plus. With each step, I penetrated down to the crust layer. Sometimes the crust layer was soft allowing for good purchase, other times firm and making it a bit slippery. All this time the snow atop stayed put. No sluffing as I kicked turned with my wide planks. I cut the trail in the shade and did my best to avoid the sun touched surface. After the last switchback, going east again, I encountered more of the 1-3 inches of wind slab as I neared the ridge top. On the ridge top Kaia and I dug a shelter. Easily 3-4 feet to the ground, though the depth had to do more with location, location, location.
Our first run produced minor sluffing that ran halfway down the slope. That's because we couldn't see and IAOFM felt a little off balance, being his first turns of the season and in powder mind you not. For the remainder there was no sluffing. Just carving fast fall line turns without a care in the world. Felt like mid-winter. For the most part any terrain that was convex in nature had a crust that could be felt. Terrain that was concave in nature felt bottomless.
Conditions on day 2:
Temps felt a bit warmer, maybe mid-high 20's but a stronger breeze made it feel colder. With cool temps and absense of clouds a fine layer of hoar started to form. Something worth noting later on. Terrain that saw any sun started to consolidate a few inches from the day before. There was concern over a soft sun crust, but in the early morning it was non existent. Even on slopes that saw sun the previous day. However as the day lingered and the sun baked it was more evident. Especially as we worked our way west around the bowl and at the chute entrances. Below it didn't matter. With enough speed and weight the soft sun crust didn't stand a chance at enprisoning the powder trapped below. I'm free they exclaimed, in great billows of cold smoke.
Eventually we worked our way to the top of Silver King. Dave, IAOFM and I decided to descend via one of the shoulder chutes, Appliances. The snow depth on the ridge leading down was deceiving so we tip-toed down to the entrance. The chute entrance looked boney in spots. Dave and I got lucky but IAOFM found some peppa. Rest of the chute was primo. Well preserved powder. Once we got to Damn Fine Forrest it got a bit sketch. IAOFM found a nice unobstructed line while I took a turn and found a log to board slide down. Down to Elizabeth lake it was a short boot to Queens run. Cats had chewed most of the run but left the sides. Roughly 6 inches of pow in an uneven base. Enjoyable but cautious.
IMO they still need at least a foot plus to open just the basic runs.
Where: Mostly Silver Basin & Avalanche Basin
Who: Kaia (for day 1), IAOFM (It's Almost Over For Me) both days and with guest appearances by Austin (both days), Dave (day 2), Hillary n' Ryan (both days) and 3 others (day 2)
Why: Because in the right places there was a foot to foot n' half of oh so sweet blow'er to be schralped, charged, consumed, whatever. Plus we had it to ourselves, which is rare, but not when your skinning at O'dark thirty.
Words are over rated. Pictures are worth a 1000 words. Here's a few more different teasers...
Words on conditions from day 1:
Telemetry confirmed teen temps in the am. I would have guessed as my breath froze solid onto my beard. The key was to keep the face moving. In the afternoon temps rose slightly, in the low to mid 20's. A pit was dug around 6400 on a north facing 30 degree roller. At this particular location snowpack was 2 feet to the ground. 6-8 inches was light density powder sitting atop of good forming crust layer to the ground. The 6-8 inches brushed away with easy.
As I continued skinning towards the east, I noticed how quickly the conditions changed about 30 feet away. Here I encountered 1-3 inches of surface slab that just crumbled away, revealing 6-8 inches of low density powder. Hello wind. At times it was hard to get purchase and keep myself from sliding backwards. Maybe my 5 year old skins need some refurbishing. As I cut west and started to traverse up the north facing saddle the conditions changed again. Snow was deeper, easily a foot plus. With each step, I penetrated down to the crust layer. Sometimes the crust layer was soft allowing for good purchase, other times firm and making it a bit slippery. All this time the snow atop stayed put. No sluffing as I kicked turned with my wide planks. I cut the trail in the shade and did my best to avoid the sun touched surface. After the last switchback, going east again, I encountered more of the 1-3 inches of wind slab as I neared the ridge top. On the ridge top Kaia and I dug a shelter. Easily 3-4 feet to the ground, though the depth had to do more with location, location, location.
Our first run produced minor sluffing that ran halfway down the slope. That's because we couldn't see and IAOFM felt a little off balance, being his first turns of the season and in powder mind you not. For the remainder there was no sluffing. Just carving fast fall line turns without a care in the world. Felt like mid-winter. For the most part any terrain that was convex in nature had a crust that could be felt. Terrain that was concave in nature felt bottomless.
Conditions on day 2:
Temps felt a bit warmer, maybe mid-high 20's but a stronger breeze made it feel colder. With cool temps and absense of clouds a fine layer of hoar started to form. Something worth noting later on. Terrain that saw any sun started to consolidate a few inches from the day before. There was concern over a soft sun crust, but in the early morning it was non existent. Even on slopes that saw sun the previous day. However as the day lingered and the sun baked it was more evident. Especially as we worked our way west around the bowl and at the chute entrances. Below it didn't matter. With enough speed and weight the soft sun crust didn't stand a chance at enprisoning the powder trapped below. I'm free they exclaimed, in great billows of cold smoke.
Eventually we worked our way to the top of Silver King. Dave, IAOFM and I decided to descend via one of the shoulder chutes, Appliances. The snow depth on the ridge leading down was deceiving so we tip-toed down to the entrance. The chute entrance looked boney in spots. Dave and I got lucky but IAOFM found some peppa. Rest of the chute was primo. Well preserved powder. Once we got to Damn Fine Forrest it got a bit sketch. IAOFM found a nice unobstructed line while I took a turn and found a log to board slide down. Down to Elizabeth lake it was a short boot to Queens run. Cats had chewed most of the run but left the sides. Roughly 6 inches of pow in an uneven base. Enjoyable but cautious.
IMO they still need at least a foot plus to open just the basic runs.
Niiccee... Eric.
Fantastic photo of the trees casting their backlight shadows.Similar to the recent photo in Powder magazine of the Aquille de Midi.
You got some good stuff there Eric.
Props for getting out there and getting the goods man. ;D
You got some good stuff there Eric.
Props for getting out there and getting the goods man. ;D
Nice pics, and that terrain looks amazing. Wish we had terrain like that here in Oregon.
Edit: I added words on conditions and changed the pics.
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