Impromptu Ski Tour

While lately it has been raining in town it has been snowing in the backcountry, and we now have A LOT of snow.  Today I went for a ski after work and took both cross country and downhill skiis because I did not know what sort of ski conditions I'd find out the road.  I arrived at the golf course and the snow was still too wet and mushy for cross country skiing - so I headed up for the pass and some downhill skiing.  By the time I got to the switchbacks the snow was already getting too deep for my truck and I decided to park and skin up from there.  No sense in trying to get to the pass just to get stuck, or get stuck up there because someone else's car got stuck and blocked the way.

So I pulled off and parked, and then one of those Kodiak moments happened. A truck pulls up and out pops my friend John Barklow and his buddy Jared (A.K.A number 40).  perfect timing - someone to ski with.  Then another car pulls up and out pops Andy Schroeder and his dog Gage.  Now we got an impromptu ski get together - no calls, no plans, no nothing.  Impromptu.  The best kind of ski tour.

So we headed up and the skiing was fabulous.  What I call 'Hero Powder' - light on top but solid deep down to keep you from sinking too deep.  We skiied from the top of the South Bowl down to the three crosses that marks the spot where a float plane crashed close to the road.  From there we skiied down the road to our cars.

The top photo was taken on the way up and shows Sheratin Mountain in the distance with fog and snow covered spruce trees in the foreground.  The next photo is of Jared near the top of the South Bowl with the south face of Pyramid in the background.  Finally, the bottom photo is of John, Andy and Jared climbing back to the road at the bottom of our run with Pyramid behind.  That's the 'three cross run' behind us.  Patrick