Feb 16-17, 2008, Wallowas, Wing Ridge

We headed down to the Salt Creek sno-park on Friday night. Set up camp in the snow near the cars and promptly went to sleep.

Woke up early and cooked up some delicious breakfast as cars started pulling in. As we were getting everything togeter we has an encounter with a gruff fellow who seemed to think that there wasn't enough room in the mountains for all of us. Unconvinced, we started our skin up following an old skin track. It was immediately apparently that all the southfacing aspects had an inch of crust with only a little fresh on top, while the northfacing aspects had no crush and were slightly windblown powder. Large portions of the area burned in a fire about ten years ago, leaving trunks to anchor the slopes and something to turn around but the visibility is still good. Got to the top of the first burn and decide to take freshies down it. Nice snow all the way down as long as we stayed well below the ridgeline. Decided to head higher for the next run. Went about twice as high and then traversed over to an untreed slope that fell directly with the fall line. Another great run, unfortunately the snow wasn't good up higher. Took another short run on the slope overlooking the snowpark, but that slope was covered with short young trees growing too tightly for nice turns.

Another night spent in the tents, this one colder than the first. Skinned up and linked the lower burn with burn above it, separated by some live trees. Decided to do it again, got some more good turns.

Kept hoping the crust on the southfacing aspects was going to soften up enough to ski, because the most appealing slopes were all on those aspects. Skiied back to the car down a steep stream valley.

Really neat area, it would be epic on a powder day, you could get some nice variety, ski some bowls up top and then run out through the trees down lower.

(the four of us with two burns slightly to the left and the untreed face we skied dead center)