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Tells Peak – May 7, 2011
Finally
spring, the kind of spring we dream of – harvesting Sierra Nevada spring corn!
Saturday was a glorious backcountry ski tour, a 12 mile circle, up one side and
down the other.
Lake Tahoe
and Mount Rose off in the distance.
The Lady
folds her climbing skins on the summit. Only downside to this day was the
howling wind. Ascending the summit ridge required concentration and care as we did not want to
be blown off down the east face.
Here’s where
we’re headed.
Heading down
into the big northeast bowl. She was off, but it is always fun to follow the Lady.
Our turns
mark our line of descent from the top. It was fun to lay in some figure eights.
Our descent
dropped us down through wonderful terrain.
Finally we
were down far enough to get some shelter from the wind. One of the best things
about spring skiing is relaxing in the sun and having lunch on a lake shore.
Spring time
and earning our turns!
Ralston Peak
– May 21, 2011
Rapture Saturday and spring time so we figured we better get as close to heaven as
possible. No spring corn snow though as it had snowed a couple of feet early in
the week.
It was a cool
day with the wind – not too bad – and threat of some afternoon showers. The
Lady knows how to pick a snack break spot with a view.
View from
the summit with Lake Tahoe and Fallen Leaf Lake.
We watched
to see if this unattended dog was going to get a once in a lifetime valuable
lesson on corniced ridges.
Signs of
recent avalanches down the northeast face.
It was a
rapturous day and to shamelessly borrow from Mark Twain, we were breathing the
same air the angels breathe.
You got to
love spring time!
Mount Tallac
– June 11, 2011
Spring is
officially done. Saturday was the last ski trip. A friend, we’ll call him Mr.
Randonee (we travel on light tele gear), suggested climbing and skiing Mount
Tallac on the west shore of Lake Tahoe. We were game, we should end the season
with some adventure. This trip was typical for spring ascents. First you do
battle with manzanita and brush to access the higher snowfields.
Finally we
can climb with the skis on
Hitting a
view point on the ridge we ascended, we got a view of the day’s prize.
One thing
about east facing slopes around here, they are steep. The ridge soon steepened
to the point it was too much to climb with skis and skins. The skis went on the
packs and this became a pleasant mountaineering exercise with climbing and
kicking steps to the ridge crest.
The crest
along the west side of Tahoe is a spectacular place. It was time to drop the
packs and enjoy the rewards for our efforts thus far. That is a prescribed burn
over on the Nevada side.
The north
bowl of Tallac and our route up was just to the south
Taking a
look down our route up.
And a look
north along the crest
Back on
skis, the Lady and Mr. Randonee took off for the summit so I could get some
photos.
The views
into Desolation Wilderness showed that it will be a while before the high
country opens up for the summer
Soon they
were nearing the summit
And the Lady
took her place on the top
You can
imagine what the views are like. Stateline and the casino area
And boats
coming and going out of Emerald Bay
And then it
was time to do the turns we had earned. Mr. Randonee leads the Lady down from
the summit
After coming
off the top, celebrations were in order
We still had
a couple of thousand feet of ski descent below us and the Lady said this was
just the right way to start her summer break from school. We lived to tell
about it with big smiles after the thigh burning turns and the march through
the manzanita down into the timber and finally to the vehicle near Tahoe’s
shore.
We’re ready
for summer.
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