Since I couldn't be at the Snowshoe Summit, I did the next best thing, which was to go out and have an epic day and think of my friends elsewhere. Snow conditions not being that great and avy conditions pretty sketch after a recent storm, I picked out a low angle objective that is near Guardsman's Pass, a road (closed in winter) that links Big Cottonwood to Park City. The target, Pt. 9390' from across Bonanza Flats, a popular snowmobile area. My planned route is to hike & skin up the right side saddle to the summit, then ski down the left ridgeline as viewed in the pic:
Looking up at Guardsman's Pass (center). The long ridge on the right of the photo is Jupiter Peak, PCMR's highest point. Brighton Resort is near the left side, but further back from the viewer's perspective:
Found a lot of low-angle stuff to romp on when avy danger is high:
On the summit, a test slope appears:
This slope is far steeper and a different aspect than my intended route, but still useful (and fun) to gage local stability:
Lift shot. Still breaking in the new AT boots, so a brief respite from the pain, but it's getting better:
Looking down at my intended route. It appears steeper than it is because I am on top of another breakover, which I ski cut to test. Some cracking, but no failures:
The fog had really laid in now:
But it has it's own mysterious beauty, with hidden passages and lines to explore:
So worth it:
Headed back towards DV on Guardsman's Pass Road. Just outside of resort boundaries lies the rocky point in the center of the pic. I've always wanted to ski this, and today is the day:
As I got closer, the sun finally began to show. There is a new private road going to a real estate development making this a hike and chute run. But when I made it to the paved road, alarm bells began to go off. This slab was from the recent storm:
Approaching the top:
Looking back towards Mt. Clayton and the sun. Pt. 9390' is on the left side of the photo:
On the way towards the summit of this point, I felt and heard the slope collapse. There was a test slope available, and I was able to produce some cracking:
But I could only get a small slab to release:
Not wanting any this part of the slope, I moved north along the top. My activity had produced craking elsewhere:
Spied this line headed to a different aspect and a lower angle:
Instead of straightlining the chute, I took a conservative route, ski cutting right back under the cliffs. This was the only calculated risk I took the entire day:
My nerves calmed, I had a few nice turns to enjoy. You can make out a DV groomer in the distant trees:
Enjoy!!!
The End of an Era...We are Shutting Down the Messageboard
The messageboard is now in read-only mode and no new posts or topics can be created. We will leave the messageboard up for historical purposes, but you will not be able to make new posts or comment on existing ones.
We have started a Discord server and hope that you all will join us on there. Technology has changed over the years and maintaining the messageboard has become somewhat of a pain in the butt and Discord offers many features for users, the main one being a very polished mobile app.
We really hope you all will join us on Discord and think you will like the platform. Use the invite link below to join.
https://discord.gg/skisoutheast
The messageboard is now in read-only mode and no new posts or topics can be created. We will leave the messageboard up for historical purposes, but you will not be able to make new posts or comment on existing ones.
We have started a Discord server and hope that you all will join us on there. Technology has changed over the years and maintaining the messageboard has become somewhat of a pain in the butt and Discord offers many features for users, the main one being a very polished mobile app.
We really hope you all will join us on Discord and think you will like the platform. Use the invite link below to join.
https://discord.gg/skisoutheast
TR-Mt Clayton BC & DV Sidecountry, 3/7/10
-
teledave
- Expert
- Posts: 7957
- Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2003 4:56 pm
- Contact:
Nice!
Scary looking snowpack though. Is the top layer the only weak area, or are there other weaknesses deeper in the snowpack just waiting for the right trigger?
Scary looking snowpack though. Is the top layer the only weak area, or are there other weaknesses deeper in the snowpack just waiting for the right trigger?
Plans for 2015: To ski more than you
-
rvrscum
- Beginner
- Posts: 242
- Joined: Fri Feb 09, 2007 9:46 pm
@teledave 212554 wrote:Nice!
Scary looking snowpack though. Is the top layer the only weak area, or are there other weaknesses deeper in the snowpack just waiting for the right trigger?
For the stuff right outside of DV, only the top wanted to react. I didn't dig any pits since I ended up on a sub 30 degree slope after the short chute entrance. Plus the cracks were only going down a few inches, looking like some cross-loaded wind slabs. The big slide at the bottom happened when we got the storm, and could have been triggered by a snow plow. The whole slope faces east, so it's getting a bit of sun.
The big player was a buried surface hoar layer from mid-Feb. The North face of pt 9390' matched lined up with the avy forecast of considerable danger in pockets, so I skied a sub-30 degree E-NE route. That trigger is out there still though in pockets.
Scary looking snowpack though. Is the top layer the only weak area, or are there other weaknesses deeper in the snowpack just waiting for the right trigger?
For the stuff right outside of DV, only the top wanted to react. I didn't dig any pits since I ended up on a sub 30 degree slope after the short chute entrance. Plus the cracks were only going down a few inches, looking like some cross-loaded wind slabs. The big slide at the bottom happened when we got the storm, and could have been triggered by a snow plow. The whole slope faces east, so it's getting a bit of sun.
The big player was a buried surface hoar layer from mid-Feb. The North face of pt 9390' matched lined up with the avy forecast of considerable danger in pockets, so I skied a sub-30 degree E-NE route. That trigger is out there still though in pockets.
-
EastCoaster
- Expert
- Posts: 3155
- Joined: Sun Dec 31, 2006 1:42 pm
Good stuff rvr- way to play it safe. Weird snowpack for UT this year, seems like there are lots of isolated pockets of scary stuff.
I'll be out in a couple weeks- maybe some low angle meadowskipping is in order? If things stabilize, maybe we can get into some Soli slackcountry. Would love to ski Silver Fork.
I'll be out in a couple weeks- maybe some low angle meadowskipping is in order? If things stabilize, maybe we can get into some Soli slackcountry. Would love to ski Silver Fork.
-
dreamnofpow
- Expert
- Posts: 3447
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 4:35 pm
- Has thanked: 1 time
I thought this was going to be a TR about BC in Clayton, GA. Nice real BC TR!