Feb 17, 2008, Lichtenburg Mtn. 5844' SW slope

I wanted to post a quick condition report as they were surprisingly good on the big SW slope and a neighboring N aspect.  In doing so I sincerely hope to not trivialize the events of our party later in the evening.
Bear with me if you will.  It was a day that began, and continued throughout, in the mountains with the certain joy, the mandatory focus and mindful presence, the alertness to challenge and hazard, the flow and movement of our fragile selves, the awe and beauty of the wildness so much larger than us, and the sowing and cultivation of new friendships that only the wild mountains and wild snow can bring.  The same day ended back in town with a personal tragedy in the life of one of our party.  In a weak attempt to make sense of it all, all I can seem to muster in the way of understanding is a simple lesson I try so desperately to learn.  I lose sight of it over and over, and try to practice it, and bring it back into the front of my mind.  There is simply going to be both joy and suffering in our lives as human beings.  Denying it only really leads to a different type of suffering later in life.  And the simple lesson is to try so hard, like treading water endlessly, to learn from both the joy and the suffering...  To learn the lesson that in each moment of our lives, not only the moments like the ones in the mountains where our focus is so required and the resultant mindfulness easy to achieve...  To learn the lesson that in each moment of our lives is the potential for that very moment to be miraculous and beautiful.  To be truly present in each very moment and try to remember to really fully live each one.  Yesterday was filled with such joy and yet the evening brought such a profound sadness.  We are truly fragile beings, and one must experience both to fully live.  I am not saying the cliched, "this moment may be your last....".  I am saying just that with each loss is that lesson that our lives, our relationships, our freedom with strong bodies to explore the immense beauty of these wild mountains, are such gifts that we need to continually remind ourselves of.  At least, I do.... and like I said, the events of last night remind me I have a long way to go.

It feels so trivial to continue with this but I only want to get out what I hope is some useful condition information.  We found that with an early start and descent onto the sw facing slopes of Lichtenburg, the underlying freeze crust remained supportive all the way to the valley bottom at 3800 ft.  We descended to the bottom of the run by shortly after noon.  Atop the crust was anywhere from 2 to 6 inches of wet new that was cohesive and bonded to the crust in a way that carved very nicely.  There was no real "dust on slick crust" feeling, and when timed right, this should hold until the next storm cycle.  If it is a reasonably safe amount of new with the next system, it could bond well, and the potential for a south facing powder run will be there.
From the bottom we climbed up an adjacent north facing open forest aspect to 5400 ft.  Surprisingly good turns were to be had in a few inches of new on a firmer recrystallized powder base, that we were indeed surprised to find still holding in.

I really debated posting this one.  I only hope it to be useful, and have done so only out of the utmost respect for all of those living and sharing this time on the planet with us.  And I am once again truly saddened for those who have to endure personal grief and loss.  And with these lessons I try again to commit myself to more purposeful living.

John