This winter begins in March.

Usually by this time of year, I have things dialed.  My gear.  My plans.  My expectations.  My packing.  Not this season.  It is only just starting.  The two to four feet of snow that fell in Tahoe this past week has not finally put us on the upper end of low tide.  What that means is that everything is either still real fun, or not yet going.  I just needed to get there.  When I left my home at 3:55 on Sunday, I felt that I had finally packed everything and had forgotten nothing.  Nothing important at least.  Then, ten minutes down the road I remember that I like to take pictures.  With my camera.  Which was at home.  Then, back at home, I could not find my fresh battery.  Knowing that I would really only be able to get a few pictures off, I headed back out the door.  I was making good time until I hit the caravan headed up to Kirkwood, near which, I would be meeting with some friends to go for a hike.  The resort had got skied out the day before, so there was no point waiting in line to ski bumps.  I mean, who does that?  Apparently 2700 cars worth of people do that.   Power to them.  But we were in search of something else.  Namely, fresh tracks and small hits.  We found just that.

Wanna go ski Kirkwood?   These people do.  

Tried to look back toward the resort to see how crowded it was, but we could not see past Notch Rock.

So Bob decided to give the skiing a try.

I met up with Alex, Colin and Bob around 8:45.  After a bit of gear talk, adjustments, and car shuttling, we were on the trailhead. performing a beacon check.  The snow did not feel blower.  In fact, it felt rather dense.  As we headed up, things began to get a bit lighter.  It felt pretty good in the trees, but out on the open face, things were a bit wind blown, with small soft slabs forming.  But were had plans to head to were we could find a few steeper pitches tucked into more moderate terrain.  At the top, during our switch over we discuss the day's conditions and made plans for our descent.  Felt good being with folks who take the snow seriously.  SAC had called the danger for the day moderate, but there still existed chances for an avalanche stepping deeper down.  No one wanted that.

Turns out, the snow was pretty good.

Colin enjoying himself, even though that pretty good snow, was also heavy, and could stop you in your tracks at times.

Alex getting himself up and over this little jib.

The upper slope is a bit more exposed, so a line through the trees held the best snow and offered the safest option.  The face, though, still skied well, even if it had a bit of a wind crust.  Once down toward tree line, it was basically jib city, with some moderate features, and plenty of small ones to jump around on.  This area is a series of three benches.  The first one is fairly small, and in a few more storms, will be just a roll over.  The second is a bit bigger, and grows to huge the further left you go.  The third ranges a from fun bowl, to a cliff band ranging between twenty to forty or more feet.  In between, it is low angle tree skiing loaded with small hits.  In short, good fun.  We enjoyed our selves, so took a second lap.

Once down in the trees, the skiing was quite fun.

Alex follows and tries playing "Touch the Nipple"

The climb takes just under an hour.  It is not a whole lot of vert.  On a good day, you can easily pull off four, or even five laps.  A group of four could ski five laps and slowly work there way around the hill, never crossing a track.  But we did just two.  Some had to get going and take care of life.  I just seemed to break my climbing bar.  It took a three people, a rope and a file to jam it back in place with out actually busting the binding.  We got it into ski mode, but putting it back in climbing mode just was not an option.  So I headed inbounds with Alex for a few laps.

And then finds a nice stump to launch off of.

Colin thought it looked like fun, so follows suit.

Here is a lower mountain wall slash.  Can you tell it was getting pretty think down low?

All in all it was a good day.  What struck me as odd were the number of cars piling into Kirkwood Valley.  At about 10AM, we could see a line of vehicles backed up to the Kirkwood Inn on 88.  I think they eventually parked cars over there.  Now, it was not a powder day.  That was Saturday.  It was not sunny.  In fact, it was blustery.  And chilly.  And precipitating.  It was snow, but juts barely.  I have never seen that many people at Kirkwood before on such a day, and I have been going to that place for well over a decade.  Good for them, but I am sure glad I was not waiting in line to sit on a slow cold life to skied hard packed bumps.  I was enjoying a hike with some friends, having conversations and jumping off rocks and landing in deep, soft snow.  Sure, I went inbounds at the end of the day, but by then, there were no lines.  Just four ski onto the lift laps.  Three of them through the fingers.  Which are a go for the season.  Get up there and have some fun.  Next Saturday looks sunny to boot.

So, the camera battery never lasted past the first lap, so there are limited pics.  When I walked in the door at home at 10PM that night, I found the battery within five seconds.  Right were it should have been.  Right were I did not look in my early morning haze.  Went to bed feeling pretty bummed about that.  Turns out, that battery was already dead.  So, no harm no foul.  Sort of.

We Take What We Can Get.

A fantastic start to the season.  If only it were November.  But those of us dependent on the whims of nature to get our good times in, can't really complain to much.  So, when it snows, we go.  Well, sometimes.  With such a dismal season, it has been over a month since I put skins on the skis and went out for an adventure.  Sure, I've made a few turns in between.  Hit a few bumps.  Spent hours with my little guy out on the bunny slopes.  Even did a little off piste adventure skiing within the ropes.  But there was not much that made me scramble to make the time to go out for a hike.  Then we got eighteen inches.  Woot woot.

Boot packing a thin cover coolie.  Loads of fun I tell ya.

Still a beautiful day for a skin in the woods.

Once back below tree line, we found what we were looking for.

Being that the Super Bowl was happening, we made some grand plans to work our way back to the Super Bowl.  Usually a good long day tour, we headed out with our version of an alpine start.  I think it was before 9AM when we left the car at the pass.  The forecast of partly cloudy with a chance of afternoon flurries seemed a bit off.  The wind was blowing, snow was falling and the visibility we similar to looking through pea soup.  A few yawns later, we found ourselves on the shoulder of a pachyderm, along with two other groups.    The good news is that it looked like the prior days tracks had filled in nicely.  Suffice to say, the knee deep turns through the open bowl felt pretty nice, even if it was skiing by brail.  We were amped to get back to hiking and work our way back to our goal.  We knew we had some good work ahead of us.  What we did not know was how much work that would be.  After a few minutes on the skin, we rounded a ridge and got our first look into the valley we were headed.  We soon realized we could not continue to skin around the slope, as we were blocked by a series of couloirs.  The option of skiing down to the valley and skinning up the opposite slope did not seem viable with the lack of snow covering the boulders on the bottom 800 feet of slope.  So we hiked our way up one of the couloirs to see what options we might have at the top.

We found a few fun, if slightly sharky slopes.  Court finding a deeper stash.

The snow ghosts were all over.

Ashley and Marvin enjoy a tandem run.

Guess what we saw.  Pea soup.  And more super difficult to navigate terrain between us and our goal.  We decided to head back and get on top of the other shoulder of the elephant.  Hell, we found good turns there earlier.  With the weather much stormier than forecast, we figured it was best to give up on our goal for the day and stick to where the snow was good.  Thing is, once we started down the slope, we noticed this aspect was starting to develop a thick skin.  And the rocks were still just under the surface.  We poked our way down through the fog, had lunch at the bottom, and changed our plans again.  We were headed for the trees.  Where we could see.  If nothing else.  Turned out, that was the best decision we made all day.  Hell, we were even able to get some pictures, finally.

Fresh snow, good turns and visibility.  Bliss.

So blissful, Court decided it was time to get inverted.  These are his bases.

Here are his top sheets.

Once back in the trees, we found some cut up pow, and a few stashes of fresh pow.  We explored around a bit, finding more than a few fun slopes and features to hit.  Some still looked a touch thin, but it was not hard to avoid the sharks.  A few small hits were enjoyed, and at the bottom of our first run, a kicker was found.  While most of the landing was completely bomb holed, there were a few spots left to hit.  Then we were on our way back up again, with hopes of finding a slope back down to the car we left at the bottom of the pass.  Good times were had.  While the snowpack is still super thin, it is much better than it was all of the winter so far.  And more has fallen, and more is on the way this weekend.  It is pretty much not game on for low tide fun.  Get on out and enjoy it for your self.

A good heavy spackle, with a finish of light, cold pow made for perfect conditions.

And at times, it even felt deep.  

Deep enough to jump off an overhead hit.  Good times.

more pics of this adventure at powdork.com

Coolie Season Skiing.

It may have felt like winter at sea level, but it sure looked like winter at 2000 feet.  Oh yeah!

A lot of people consider mid spring to be the height of the coolie season.  You know, once Tioga, or whatever your local pass is, finally opens and the stuff off the plateau if nicely filled in and going through to the valley floor.    But when I think of coolie season, I think about just after the first snow, when everything seems to be a coolie of some sort, as the snow is only filled in within a nice convex pocket in the mountain.  What might be typically a basic open bowl once we get a base, is right now a rocky, peppered slope with literally one, or maybe two lines through the middle in which you can successfully schuss with out bottoming out.  This is what I headed up to this past Sunday.  The Sierra had just received about two to three feet of super low density Colorado fluff, on top of rocks and about a foot plus of snow that had been hammered by a fierce east wind.  Not exactly prime base building conditions.  But with some work, I was sure I would have fun.  At least more fun than staying home and putting in a few hours of yard work.  So, I hit the road at 4AM.

Full on winter time at the Dew Drop incline.  

The morning light and drive was beautiful up in the high country.

The Sierra Crest coming into view.

A chilly -3F at Silver Lake.  The Kirkwood valley as -9F just ten minutes later. 

It was cold.  -9F when I arrived in the valley just at about 8AM.  Turns out cold enough to freeze the pipes at my buddies cabin.  After spending a little time setting up a space heater, plugging some vents, opening others and cranking the heat, I was ready to step back out into the cold.  I had plans to hike, but I decided to hit the lifts a bit at Kirkwood, to test out the snow supportability, before headed out into the backcountry.  And besides, I wanted to stretch the legs.  And there is no shame in lifts.  None.  Chair 11 was spinning, but only the manmade on Buckboard was open.  Patrol was about to head out and mark obstacles on the face of 11, in plan of opening more terrain.  So I headed over to 5 and skied some of the off piste trees they had open.  I found some low angle fresh snow, made a few turns, and was pleasantly surprised how well everything had settled.  Now I just needed to wait for Court to call, and we would take a short hike into the backcountry behind Red Cliffs.

Cold morning light pours in across the ridge and meadow.  

Palisades looks better than it did over Thanksgiving.  

One thing that is nice about riding the lifts is you can catch a glimpse of terrain that is still closed.  The Fingers looking spicy.

As does the Funnel.  Soon, we will be having some fun around these parts.

As we started to head up the face across the valley from the resort, we could see that Patrol had dropped the ropes under 11 and riders where for sure getting some fun powder runs in.  Sometimes you wonder if you are making the right decision.  The skin was easy, with no real thin spots to deal with, but still, the slope were were ascending was peppered and would likely not be that much fun to ski.  Another route home would be desirable, but this would do in a pinch.  Still we climbed.  Our original objective began to seem distant, considering the fact that night comes so early in the day this time of year.  When we hit the ridge of Baby B, it started to look like a fun thing to ski.  Basically, that means it had snow in it.  So, after a short conversation, we decided to switch over and ski something.  After all, that is why we came.  And it was a good ski, it was.  Fun.  Or, rather, fun enough.  The low angle did leave a little to desire.  As we put on skins, and looked up the slope, we saw that Big B looked like it went.  So, time to generate heat and head a little further up and around the ridge.  Back to the top.

Court gets his ski on atop Baby B.

And enjoys some fun, deep meadow skipping pow, all the way to the bottom.

This wilderness zone is just getting started.  Sally Alley does not look too sally.

Meanwhile, Kirkwood pays homage to Vail, and scripts its name across Montes.

After a quick rest and fuel up, we headed over, and looked down into Big B.  Big B is neither super steep, or super gnar, but with the thin, light snow coverage, it sure felt worthy.  Made a little route planning, and we started the short descent.  After the first turn into the gut of the bowl, it was nothing short of super fluff.  Nice thigh deep plus snow.  Ah, the joys of a winter hike.  We even found some small hits to play with.  And the trees in the apron were nothing short of perfect.  With a short traverse, we hit up the bottom of our skin track, and headed back to the top.  The day was getting short, so we needed to make a ridge that would allow us to return to our car.  We had the choice of another shaded run, or a warm one in the sun.  Of course we headed for the shade.  I mean, you figure it is winter time, so you mind as well go for the goods.  Turns out, we did just that, as we were soon at the top of the Corner Pocket.  And it was filled with goodness.

Did I mention that it was cold?  Try sitting in the shadows while you buddy is in the sunshine.  

The hits where knee to waist high.

The powder was shin to thigh high.

The turns were all good.

And the runs lined with rocks.

These cold winter days are interesting if you are touring.  On the down, it was down right cold in the shade.  And just plain cold in the sun.  On the up, the shade was chilly, but in the sunshine it could get very warm.  It is funny to think about how much I can sweat in 15F degree temperatures.  A lot it seems.  Even late in the day, climbing mostly in the shade, you can feel right toasty.  Well, we had a great final run back down to the lot.  And it was not yet 3:30.  So, I made the quick drive over to the base and hoped on a lift for a few end of the day runs.  Let me tell you, it was freezing out.  Sitting on a chair for 7 or more minutes, in the shade, late in the day that peaked at 15F, is very cold.  Two runs was all I had in me.  I'm not quite sure how some of you folks can sit on chair lifts all day long.  Seems chilly to me.

Once down into the woods, the fluff is deep.

Then it was time to head home.

It turned out to be a decent run.

And a good start to the touring season.

While the resort at Kirkwood is still operating on limited terrain, they are working hard to get more terrain open.  They were blowing snow at the top of 6 all day, as well as in the hole that is the bottom of Upper Zachary's.  Depending on how snow making goes, they could have the top open shortly.  Once that happens, they will certainly have the steepest terrain in Tahoe open.  But really, we just need another good storm.  Then we could be looking at the frontside.  Hell, even the backside could be ready to go.  Cross you fingers, do a snow dance, burn an effigy.  Do what it takes to bring us another dump.  We need it.  But in the meantime, get out there and dust the cob webs off your gear.  Winter is here.

Back on the lifts for a few evening fast laps, and the Kirkwood crew was hard at work getting more terrain ready to open.

Spring Pow

Especially in a season that has seen a drought since the new year began, spring pow is a very welcome sight.  Once the sun death star starts getting high up in that sky powder does not stick around for long.  With a little luck, the air stays cold and the clouds stay thick and it takes more than a few hours to turn the blower into slushies.  But it never last around for long once the snow stops falling, but that is better than no snow falling at all.  Sure, I know, a lot of folks get all excited about corn season to start up, and the fresh snow does little more than screw up the cycle.  But I say corn can wait, and sooner or later the storms will stop rolling in, so let's enjoy that spring pow while it is around.

Chris gets an early morning jib while the snow was still soft and wintery.

The east wind was blowing snow while I headed toward my chosen line.  So many options out there.  Including Bear Valley.

Beta shot for a zone I'd like to have more intimate knowledge of.

Plenty of gnar out there to sink your teeth into.

And all you need to do is shift your view a little bit to find some mellower terrain if that is your preference.

Some of my favorite zones to ski drop down below 8000 feet.  That seems to be the line around this time of year.  Below that things really take a turn for the worse once the sun comes out.  Especially anything that is not completely north facing and shadowed.  But that becomes less and less each passing day.  So, you need to get on it early.  No longer do you have a week or so get on it before the crust starts to thicken.  Hours are more like it.  Lucky for me, the three days this month I actually was able to get out on the snow turned out to be more wintery than spring like.  But things sure did turn quickly down low, and I had to find some lines that kept me up a bit higher.

Seriously, this stuff looks like fun forever.

Life on the Edge looking well filled in.

Court gets his spring time hike on.

Sometime the hike is just worth the beauty of it all.

Back inbounds things are pretty tracked up by 11AM.

Luckily, that was just a short hike, followed by a few lift rides, followed by a short hike away.  And luckily the northeast breeze started to blow a bit.  Usually, these are thought of as demon winds, but they do keep the upper elevations cold.  So come spring, I tend to find them to be more of a friendly wind, allowing some of those upper slopes to stay soft and chalky.  Even better if you are out touring a bit.  See, once you put tracks in this spring stuff, it tends to get rutted and firm.  Inbounds things get gnarly pretty quickly.  A short hike away from the lifts will net you smooth turns.

Court and Nacho dropping start a good morning spring run.  Still pretty fresh over here.

The March sun bakes the snow, so you got to move quickly.

You can usually tell if the powder is still powdery if it is clinging to the trees and rocks.

Court hits a small drop down below as Nacho locks in his sights.

So my plan was simple.  Meet up for a morning run in the fun zone down low with a friend for an early lap through the trees and over a few cliffs.  See, this spring pow is actually fantastic for landing hits, and it tends to be spongy and grippy.  Then, as they fled to work or Oregon, I worked my way through the resort finding partners to head out and hit a few lines in the basin along its eastern edge.  It worked out well, as my morning runs got baked in the mid March sun, my afternoon runs were smooth wind buffed wintery goodness.

Teeing off the edge of a spine as the sun really gets some work done on the snow.

While turning becomes more work, the landings tend to feel a bit plush.

Showing off the pristine bases of the PM Gear Kusala Pow.

So, once spring shows up, the game plan is simple.  Watch for a storm.  If it drops more than a few inches, get on it early.  The underlying crust will soften up just a bit after sunrise, providing soft cushions.  As the day wears on, head up high into the east and north facing slopes.  And if you have more than just a day to ski, start poking finding stuff that is more due north facing and in a steep chute if you can.  Sure, the goods can stick around for more than just a day in March, but you will need to do some work to find them.  It is good practice, because it becomes an even greater challenge come April. And May.  And June.

Court allowed me to take the bush huck, one of my favorites.

And the landing was like the perfect sponge cake.  Alone worth the drive up.

The bottom of the morning run finished, well, warm.  Time to move to higher ground.

Headwall was looking pretty well filled in, and with Tony on his way out there, I thought it would fit the bill.

The steep section provide to be perfect chalk goodness.  Notice the two tracks coming out of the chute lookers left.  Props for hitting that sketch line.

The apron proved to be perfect for arcing some larger radius turns.  All in all, good stuff.

So get out there and make some turns.  More spring pow is falling up high as I type these words.  A decent rain is pitter pattering on my roof.  The next few days should be fun, and with some luck we have another round on its way for next week as well.  Powder season is not over yet.  Corn season will always show up sooner or later.  Have fun.