Every backcountry adventure begins days, weeks, or sometimes months before you click into your skis. This episode began three days prior staring at maps on computer screens all night. We make decisions in advance so that the decisions we make during our trek are greatly simplified for us. Of course, we still keep an eye out for changing conditions and any other red flags, but we have our uphill route picked out and three potential routes to ski out, all of which never exceeded 28 degrees gradient to protect ourselves from the ever looming presence of the white wall of snow.
We also made it clear to each other that if we didn’t start skinning by at least 5:00AM, we would have to abandon any hope of reaching the Little Round Top ridge line as 100mph winds were supposed to ramp up at 10:00AM.
As we set off from my apartment sipping coffee in heated seats, my
stomach reminded me of the pancakes I had made the night before….but
where were they?
I left them on top of the car as we were packing and by some miracle,
THEY WERE STILL THERE after driving for five minutes! We happily gnawed
on ice brick pancakes on our way to the trailhead.
As we set off under headlamp, tunes of Aerosmith and AC/DC kept us company in the silent loneliness of the starry morning light. Don’t worry, we also made sure to click it off every once in a while so we could take in the sounds of the beauty surrounding us.
Skinning higher and higher as the snow gets brighter and brighter is an awe-inspiring experience I encourage you to seek out for yourself. We joke, tell stories, and lend an ear to the landscape around us as we make our way closer to our goal.
What is the goal though? Is it just to reach the top and ski down on fresh tracks? For some it is, but for Cooper and I, the goal is to see. As I turn my head and observe this mythical environment around me, I know my goal has been achieved that day. Everything beyond that moment is a bonus.
Continuing on climbing and meditating simultaneously until we find ourselves standing on top of the ridge line, we are greeted with the most pleasant surprise of being able to see Lake Tahoe from where we stand almost 15 miles away. We only admire the scene for a brief moment before we realize the winds don’t have to be 100mph to rip you right off the ridge.
We transition and head down on some of the best snow I’ve had the joy of experiencing this season. As we conclude our mission at nearly 9:30AM, Cooper and I both cannot contain our excitement, euphoria, and stoke for the adventure we just experienced, all packed into 5 hours.
We scream into the sky, hug each other, and reminisce over the incredible snow conditions we had just glided over.