My vision has gotten progressively worse over the past ten or so years. I've learned to deal with it while fishing, but the situation is nearly impossible while skiing. I can wear my glasses under goggles, but the whole shebang fogs up the second I start sweating or stop moving. Things are doable at the resort--at least until my first fall or about the fifth lap, which ever comes first--but are almost totally unworkable in the backcountry where everything fogs up instantly.
After not being able to see beyond my ski tips for the past couple seasons, I finally overcame my fear of stuff stuck in my eyes and got contacts. This past Sunday was my first time since in the mountains--and it was amazing.
Of course, I should mention that it also was wicked cold:
The thermometer hit -22*F on the drive up and read -16*F at the trailhead when we strapped on our skis. You had to be dedicated.
Neither The Wife nor I had skied this particular spot before, but it was pretty easy to reach and you could easily get 2500ft of vertical on a wide open face:
Summit Lake is in the background, with Evan, a regular ski partner of ours, and Ryan, another of our friends, making the skin up:
The Wife and I made the turn about 200 vertical feet from the top, just short of a steep wind loaded pocket we wanted to avoid. We saw no indication of snow instability on the skin up, but several older small-to-medium sized avalanches on nearby wind loaded areas made us think twice about going any farther.
In case I forgot to mention, or you somehow glossed over the first picture in this post, it was hella cold. There wasn't much if any wind, which kept things bearable, but keeping our hands and feet warm was a challenge. I stayed reasonably comfortable during the skin up--even shedding a layer at one point--but I had no intention of stopping for any length of time on the way down.
Considering it hadn't snowed in about a week, the snow was amazing. Except for the first few wind packed turns at the top, nearly the entire descent was on 6-10 inches of fluff. Of course, my unwillingness to remove my mittens means I didn't capture anything on camera. At least I could see!
4 comments:
22 below?!!!! WOW! You all, without a doubt, definitely are crazy!!!! Of course I was only recently congratulating myself for finally outgrowing my early desert southwest acclimation and not needing a heavy jacket until temps dropped into the lower 30s...that's 30 above zero. Despite the great looking snow and gorgeous views, I probably still won't be too keen on visiting you guys in the winter time. I'll leave it to you folks to enjoy...just be sure to keep you tootsies cozy!
Love,
OR Mom
Beautiful - looks like it was a great day, even if a bit cold. Keep after it, and it's great to see the photos of you two having fun.
Oh come on... 22 below. This is a perfect time to bring out the ancient proverb (I think from Mongolia, circa 1200 if i am not mistaken) “Pick up your skirt, grab your balls, and go!” Just kiddin, -22 is wicked cold! Good thing the sun was out and the snow was ripe for some turns.
Hope things warm up a bit, the snow settles down, and you guys can do it again with an air temp of around +20!
Josh
Had a great day out with The Husband. Its amazing how balmy 5 degrees feels when you are out all day in this:) Unfortunately another Chinook wind is on its way...I hope it doesn't get above freezing. If you are going to live this far north SNOW (and lots of it) is a necessary part of winter survival!
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