About two weeks ago, I had a great tour around Agassiz Peak with a teleski gang. During the tour I snapped this pic of the Cheshire Hourglass - a line that drops off Humphrey’s Peak into Dunnam Canyon.
On New Years Day 2009, I skinned up to Humphrey’s summit ridge with another teleski gang.
We skinned up thru a line called Alison Clay’s Little Sister. From there we had views to the edge of the Grand Canyon.
I later found out that very near where we skinned up, a backcountry snowboarder had fell. There is some fairly steep and often icy hardback snow on these western slopes of the Kachina’s and just a small fall can lead to a death slide. The day before our tour, New Years Eve, the snowboarder fell and slid 100 feet and broke his femur on some rocks. He was rescued.
We assessed the snow stability then dropped the hourglass into Dunnam Canyon.
Mr. HandlebarSandwich
JMoney
On the skin out we could not resist a quick run in Humprey’s Cirque.
From the bottom of the cirque we followed a bootpack up to the saddle then slid 2,500 feet down to Agassiz Lodge for some Oak Creek Brew.
Eight days ago I went out to discover some new terrain in the cinder cones near Sunset Crater. I found some near the volcanic dome named Darton. Actually I found a lot but decided to session this hill for about 5 short runs.
I sure do have fun dorking out with my camera. I can look at my ride style and figure out if I need something or need to leave something behind. I see an HD video camera in my future - especially if we keep getting winters like this in Flagstaff!
Dang! I sure have been shoveling a lot lately, but shoveling all moring and skiing all afternoon makes for a great winter day.
After shoveling and playing on the storming slopes of the Kacina peaks for 3 days, I decided it was time to check out the cinder cones to the North of Flagstaff. It was still storming higher up on the Kachina’s.
With a foot of snow, google earth and a 4×4, there is a world of fun waiting in the cinder cones around sunset crater.
After digging a small southfacing snow-stability-test pit we were on our way - the snow was only a foot deep.
Siebert”O” leading the way with J E in tow.
On the north side the snow was 1-2 feet deep and even less under some sheltered trees, and there was good powder to surf.
Once Siebert”O” was satisfied with the snow stability he proceeded to run laps around me and J E. He rides AT gear, so with no splitboard to fuss with, and good hiking fitness as a Grand Canyon guide he charged. He put in a nice skin track.
Siebert”O” also didn’t stop for lunch so he got 4 runs in on the North slope while J E and I got 2. But J E and I got to share warm beef stew and hot tea in the snow.
Often the south side exit is not rideable. Today it was!
I dig J E’s silversurfer style and big fat turns.
Erik LOVES skiing.
On this skin up he said something like “…nothing makes me glow like skiing…”
I gots to agree with him on that. Mtn biking comes really really close, but it sure seems like skiing/snowboarding gives me the biggest buzz these days. I like to skin up and surf down. I’m old school (no lifts needed) with new school tools.
Dara likes to skin and ski too - so while she did that with Erik and Annie, I took McKenna for a 1.5 hour snowshoe hike.
Here she is warm and cozy next to papa’s chest at 10,500 feet during a snowstorm.
Josh, Jeremy, and I went up in to the Innerbasin of the Kachina’s today. We found 1 to 1.5 feet of faceted powder snow in the Glades and trees of Fremont and Agassiz peaks. We could not really nail the fall line without hitting rocks, but the skin up the lower I.B. trail (along the pipeline 2-track) was great!
Josh on the I.B. trail.
The ride down the lower I.B. trail was on the fun side as well. It felt like winter up there.
8 miles, 8 hours of trail time (hiking, skinning, skiing) and over 3000feet of climbing - not bad for the first day back on the snow.
