Lassen Peak

 gaining elevation

 at the summit

 the descent....look for the little skier

the view of Mt Lassen on our drive home

A ski ascent of Lassen has become a favorite of ours. It was so much fun for the last two years that we've decided to make it a yearly late spring tradition...so here's to the second annual ski Lassen pilgrimage!

Castle Peak, approach from Donner Summit Rest Area

 

We skied Castle Peak on Super Bowl Sunday. I'm not proud of this, like "I'm so cool 'cause I didn't watch the game", it's just that I don't follow football the rest of the year, so why start when its over? Anyway, I was expecting the mountain to be empty, but I guess that a lot of backcountry skiers felt the same way, since we came across a party of people up there, including a couple of guided groups. Ourselves and about thirty others at the summit...so much for solitude. I wonder if the guide services tout those as Super Bowl alternatives or if they just had the bad luck not to check the calender.

Happy New Year!

Something tells me that 2013 is going to be a good one! We look back at 2012 feeling so blessed and so thankful that our Savior, Jesus Christ, does indeed save, making good out of bad and giving us hope for a perfect future.

Relay Peak

Sierra snow

 The Sierra crest is expected to get upwards of four feet of snow by Monday morning, which is a lot considering it didn't start snowing until last night. We went out for a little ski and enjoyed making comments about the numerous ill-fated drivers flailing in the ditches. It was snowing so hard that visibility was difficult, and by the time we skied out for an hour and came back to the truck, our skin track was completely covered. Storms like this always serve to put me in mind of the Donner Party, and I kept sizing up Denver's tasty loins in case we became stranded. Still trying to decide if this was a good idea.

Jake's Peak

 

Red Lake Peak

 

Castle Peak

Castle Peak is becoming our favorite choice for an icy but sunny backcountry ski day. The south facing slopes and gullies warm up just perfectly in the mid afternoon sun. Softening the ice and making for a fantastic ski descent.

 

In other news, these three and some of my favorite cousins came to visit over the weekend. It was good. As in, we woke up to our houseguests making us breakfast kind of good.

Dawn Patrol

Turned out to be far more enjoyable then we ever suspected. Best tracks on the mountain!

Garfield Peak

Old Man Winter

Hoping he's here to stay! We've had some of our best ski days the last two weeks, spinning laps on better snow then we experienced in the Sierras all last year. So thankful for skis and snow and face-shots. Did I just say face-shots?

Surf & Turf

Three days off

Two perfect days at the beach, sunny sky and decent swell
One perfect day in the backcountry, sunny sky and fresh fluffy snow

Zero complaints

Spring Skiing

Benson Hut

Another Benson Hut photo. We couldn't let the blog go without a single photo. More pictures and story here

Diamond Peak

The sun never really made an appearance on Saturday. Leaving all of Friday's slushy goodness a crispy mess. Our season passes are blacked out on Saturdays, so with a free afternoon and nothing better to do, we decided to brave the backcountry mess. When we pulled up to the trailhead I jumped out of the truck to test the snow. Denver watching me poke at the crusty snow commented "I always hate when it turns out to be as terrible as I imagined." We sat in the truck for a while remembering the times we've driven all the way to some empty trailhead only to decide that the conditions were even worse then we imagined and drive home. Never really sure where our decision making failed. Eventually though, we left our warm comfy seats and geared up. Convincing ourselves that Diamond Peak was one of the shortest skins possible and that the descent, however terrible, could only last so long and that our hearts could really use a little exercise.

The view, plus the fact that it started snowing at the top, made up for a world of terrible snow conditions.

Castle Peak Rerun

More sunny skies and slushy snow in the backcountry



Breanne working her way up the steeps

Finally!

It finally snowed. Seriously snowed. Like face shots in the backcountry. Like grinning from ear to ear because we'd forgotten how awesome deep powder makes us feel.












Thanks to Jocelyn for sharing some of her photos!

Waiting for snow

We're checking the forecast and doing the snow dance but still nothing more then a few inches here and there. Just enough to limit activity up at higher elevations. We've been trying to keep things interesting by riding the local trails that we haven't been on before or riding the same trail in the opposite direction or convincing Denver to do something cool like eat-a-banana-while-scratching-his-chin-and-keep-pedaling. Super cool, right? We've by no means explored all the options but it's time for something new. Something new = Snow.

How about this:



Instead of this:

Another weekend

We had low expectations for the backcountry this weekend. The avalanche danger was high, the storm clouds look ominous and most of the Tahoe resorts were closed the previous day due to high winds. The only other option for the day was to stay home and work on the house so we decided to head to the hills despite the dismal weather predictions. Apparently the rest of the world had the same low expectations but didn't have the threat of a house project. We ended up being the only ones enjoying the best snow of the year, beautiful sunny skies and wilderness solitude. We came home completely refreshed and so thankful for healthy bodies and free time.
We did manage to make a little progress on the house this weekend. Denver finished the kitchen island and I painted the dining room. Fortunately the house project doesn't rest on progress made during the weekends. Denver has been putting in long hours during the weekdays and the kitchen and dining room should be completed in the next few weeks. (Our trip to Jackson Hole is going push the completion date back just a bit. Rough life. I know.)


Our third lap



Checking out our first tracks



The view never gets boring

Apres-Ski

Who needs drinks and dancing when you have Muddy Buddies? If only Chelsea planned on sharing.