Just a little winter

A small helping of winter finally hit the Sierras. Leaving us with clear blue sky and about six inches of pure sugary snow above 8000ft of elevation.  We started out early, the tree branches laden and heavy, ice crystals sparkling in the early sunlight and the cold air catching with every breath.  We were all thirsty for winter, a real winter, and we spun laps with great effort to savor every last moment.  It went fast though. Late that afternoon as we skinned back to the truck, the snow had already begun to deteriorate, sticking to our skins and falling in big wet clumps on the trail. 

 

skiing the north peak couloir

"no need to bring food" we say, "it's basically a walk in the park"

those are the famous last you're-going-to-be-hungry words

perhaps the members of the donner party had a similar exchange

worth the effort and hunger pains though, just to see the landscape

the sierras always leave us wanting more

 north peak

 we skied the couloir on the right

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.