I love spring and crust cruising on skate skiis back into the backcountry. The snow pack is getting close to its peak so there is a LOT of snow and most of the bushes are covered up. And the warm weather has created a crust on top of the snow that allows you to skate ski everywhere as if the whole backcountry is one big groomed skate ski trail.
But it does beat you up! There are a lot of ups and downs. Today I crust cruised back up behind Pyramid Mountain. To get to the valley where I wanted to ski I had to first climb almost 500 feet, and then do a rapid descent for 400 feet. I think I ended up climbing around 1200 vertical feet total. I was one sweaty mess when I got back to the car.
Nonetheless, riding the crust whenever it was flat or slightly downhill was sublime. Watching the scenery go by and hitching and dodging this way and that with no effort. Pretty darn good! Patrick
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