Snow! We
have snow!
Although
California's exceptional drought officially continues, our trusty snowblower
has enjoyed several outings up and down our road thus far this winter. We
removed the handwritten cardboard sign that hung sadly from its handle bars for
the last couple years. It read, "Will work for snow." We even had a white
christmas. Best of all, we've gotten
into the backcountry on skis putting our 3 pin ski bindings to work!
It was like
getting our sea legs back - not the skiing, but the driving on ice glazed slick
roads.
Friends were
climbing and skiing a local favorite peak. This is a long tour and required an
eight am departure from the trailhead. We had a previous breakfast invitation with
other friends so we'd be unable to join them and help break trail. We left the trailhead around noon and skied
the ridge out to Brown Mountain, an interesting volcanic plug of columnar basalt surrounded by Sierra granite.
It had
stormed the day before with the storm clearing overnight. I took a telephoto
shot to the south at Tells Peak, the northernmost peak in Desolation Wilderness' Crystal Range.
There are
two items of interest in the above photo. First is the two tiny dots right near the summit - our two
friends, Mr. Randonee and Andrew. The second is the evident line of rime ice
deposition. I love to learn about the natural processes unfolding around us. The storm clouds that blew over the summit contained super cooled water
droplets; liquid water below the normal freezing point of 32°. This super
cooled water froze onto the windward surfaces of trees along the high ridges.
Thanks
Andrew for the use of your two photos below of the summit of Tells Peak, a close up
of the tiny dots in my photo above along with the fascinating frosting of rime.
Here is a
link with information on Hoar Frost and Rime Ice.
Italian -
Swiss families familiar with mountain agriculture settled in California's
Mother Lode area during the gold rush era. As many immigrant families did
during this period, one family "Americanized" their surname to Tell.
The story of the Swiss hero, William Tell, was well known and the name was a good
fit, easy to say and a link to their heritage. The meadows below the peak named
in their honor were summer range for their dairy cows. They prospered selling cheese
to the hungry gold seekers.
From our
perch up on the shoulder of Brown Mountain, we looked out on the winter
wonderland around us.
We were
happy to be up in the sunshine as we looked down on the fog enshrouded
Sacramento Valley.
With our
late start, the cold, soft powder of the morning was now afternoon sierra
cement, high in water content and a lot of weight to carve turns in. We did our
best and celebrated our first telemark turns of the season that looked more like
gullies than sensuous arcs down the slope. Our thighs burned with rekindled passion.
With
continuing storms rolling through, we stayed home the Martin Luther King Jr.
holiday weekend. The following Sunday was, again, the tail end of a small storm
that added several more inches to the snowpack. We skied a nice loop around a
marked backcountry ski & snowshoe trail that is very dear to our hearts.
With the
help and permission of our local National Forest we laid out the route of this
intermediate trail, organized several volunteer work days, and put together the
plan for signage. We thank all the volunteers we were able to wrangle into countless hours of hard work
marking the trail and the Forest for getting the signs made.
It is now
one of the most used trails in the area. It is heartwarming to see so many
people enjoying the quiet winter landscape and using this trail.
We found
friends enjoying a favorite snack spot and we joined them.
The
temperature was dropping rapidly with the approach of another storm system. The
Lady relies on muscle energy and metabolism of food for heat, not insulation -
she cools down quickly and her body language is easy to read. Our breaks in the
cold are short.
The powder
was better as we carved turns on the downhill slopes. It was another wonderful
day in the Sierra close to home.
The next weekend,
although during a storm cycle, we skied both Saturday and Sunday. We also used
the truck and camper so we could overnight. We invited our friends the Teds to
join us with their camper. They have just purchased snowshoes and are getting
out more and more into their nearby mountains. Other friends, such as the
Barking Spiders, were also around for Saturday night. Ted knows just what to bring to make an evening very special.
The Lady
& I do not consume alcohol so are unaccustomed to the language of hand
gestures. We believe the above meant
either, "Look how steady my hand is!" or "You have to be at
least this tall to drink a Pliney!"
It snowed
around five inches overnight. The morning temperature was 25°. We knew the
powder would be very special, a treat for us Sierra Nevada backcountry skiers. Breakfast
was hurried, only to shove in fuel. We climbed a favorite knob as the
storm continued. We met members of the backcountry ski patrol at the top with the same idea. They
were pulling climbing skis, readying for the descent.
"Put
that camera away!" the Lady said. "We have to ski!"
And ski we
did, up and down multiple times, earning our turns in absolute bliss.
Snow! We
have snow!