Old Man’s 11/7/11
Hey all,
Headed out into the bluebird Wendsday afternoon, eager to escape the groomed confines of early season Vail. I decided to head to the emptiness of EV. I skinned up Sourdough and headed past Two Elk, where the workers were just starting to pull out the picnic tables from the stacks. The back was empty and parts of the West Wall sat pasted an early season brown and white. Up the Silk Road I went and headed out the back door route to Old Mans’. It was nice to get out and stand on top of the ridge and take in the expanse of EV once again, though it looked vastly different than the last time I stood on the ridge. The prominent cliff band off the right side Old Mans’ entrance, which disappeared some time in January last year, was in full view now. At present it lies just below the ridge crest, but after a half season of regular snow load, the cliff band is at least thirty to forty feet below the entrance. The growth of the scarp above the cliff band is a true testement to the amount of snow transport that occurs at this spot due to the prevailing Westerly winds. Rocky tiers, cliffs and shrubs belie what was a smooth, fast entrance crowned by a massive cornice eight months ago.
I picked my way through the entrance and dove between rocky ledges and shrubbery, taking time to cut various pillowed pockets between rockbands. These small wind drifted areas provide good test spots for stability. There was little reactivity, and the old settled storm snow sitting on the usual layer of larger loose “October” facets skied like two feet of baking soda feeling unconsolidated and, of course, thin.
I skied cautiously to the flats and headed out to the highway instead of braving the thin cross cut over to the bus stop. I linked super slow pow turns in the trees on my way down, working my way past the half buried stumps and downed trees toward the highway. More snow than I thought, but two feet away from glory… Paitence friends and think snow.
11/30/2011 Uniquely Uneva
Still in the midst of the waiting game, Wednesday November, 30th was the perfect opportunity to dust the cob webs off the ‘ol Avi gear and put the “Avalanche Thinking Hat” back on to go poke around in the Vail Pass Backcountry.
The week was full of sunshine and moderate temps that kept the somewhat minimal “snow pack” at a danger scale of Low or Level-1 on NW-S aspects below treeline up to the peaks. Aspects near and above treeline facing N-SE were rated as Moderate, or Level 2. Wednesday afternoon was a true bluebird day, mid thirties on the mercury, 34% humidity and 5-10 mph winds out of the west at 10,600 ft. All signs pointed to Uneva as a first good “tour” of the season, with relatively safe conditions and a chance to hunt down some ski-able powder.
Starting out at the Vail Pass Winter Rec Area, sets of perfect powder turns were already visible up on the SW facing aspect of the drainage just South of the Uneva bowl. A well established skin track already set on Corral Creek Trail made it very nice not to have to break trail, but here and there to keep in tune with “Avi-Thinking”, it’s really important to me to get out of the grooves and break some trail of my own, to gather info and tune into the signals and Red-Flag warnings the ascending trek and snow pack can scream or whisper at me… i.e; whoomphing, collapsing, cracking and sinking up to the top boot buckles. Not to mention poking into the snow pack to gather data on depth and what kinds of hazards are lurking under the deceiving white surface of snow. There are still some buried roots/downed logs, “Shark Fins” (buried rocks) just waiting for an unsuspecting rider to viciously end their season early… Right now the data is a mixed bag of sun drenched areas with zero snow up to two and a half foot deep drifts and everything in between, so be very careful on the way down!
Each step of the trek through the old fire-scarred area just South of Uneva up into the 30 degree sloped gully produced incredible views that improved with each lunge upward. Soon, treeline was well below and Panoramic views of the Ten-Mile and Sawatch Ranges started to peak out in all directions. The ridge-top was so scoured by 20-30 mph wind gusts that boot packing was the only remaining option of ascent. As I traversed north to the ridge-line that lay south of Uneva Peak, it was obvious that the prevailing west winds have been working hard to load the easterly aspects with as much faceted snow as possible. This wind loading is burying the “White Dragons” of the past record-breaking 2010-2011 winter season and hiding potentially very deadly scenarios for our upcoming season. Just stick that under your Avy-Savy-Hats and save it for later on this winter…
There was the first “Red-Flag” of the Tour! The Next was a 40-60 meter long crack that had shot up-slope from where a bunch of dog tracks danced in circles out on the wind loaded cornice. The crack measured a fist and a half to two fists wide creating a semi-truck wide cornice that would have no doubt given that pooch a First-Class ride to a summit county demise on the east side of the ridge. The third and final “Red-Flag’ of the day was my misstep from the scoured solid earth of the ridge into a thigh deep hole just short of the previously mentioned cornice. What a way to emphasize the oldest Avi-Traveling rule in the book… never walk out onto a cornice! That sixty pound dog was lucky, just another 100 lbs. and a few more of those deep steps out onto no-no-land and you’ve got the human factor that so famously causes deadly avalanches.
With all the data and info fresh in my head, “Red-Flags” resonating their priceless messages and the final ascent to the 12,522ft peak that is Uneva, I took the time to sit down and reflect on my journey to the summit. All of the little details and warnings add up to one of the most important decisions of the tour; how and where to descend. I opted for the SW facing shoulder of Uneva north of the Cirque, stuck to the 30 degree and fewer pitches and stayed clear of the rock features that create the chutes. Half traversing, half dropping into steeper zones, navigating the terrain was a mix of sun baked crust, facet filled depressions and full-on powder near and below treeline. Sticking to the shaded sides of the trees and the uphill side of the drainage that flows out of the Uneva Basin, I quickly descended to the natural downhill ramp that leads back to corral creak trail, the car, safety, a hot meal, and not to mention cold beers with good friends.
Not a bad first tour of the season! Being able to take advantage of the chance to dust off the Avi-thinking dust and cobwebs, the opportunity to snap shots of the surrounding mountains and scenery are what makes living and riding in the Vail Valley backcountry so rewarding and enjoyable!
Snowbird Video Contest
Its December and there’s finally snow on the ground in Vail. A classic Vail 9″…aka, more like 6, but hey, we’re not complaining. Haven’t ventured out to the chutes just yet, but we did have time to enter our 2012 Preview video in the “Local Hero” contest going on over at the Snowbird Facebook page. The first round winners are chosen by fan votes, so we’re calling on our readers to help us out. Just click the link below, vote for us, and hope we win. If we make it all the way, there might be some North Face swag give-aways for our Facebook / blog readers!
Click Here to Vote
Sunset Over EV
Taken from Uneva Peak, this shot was submitted from one of our FB friends Lucas. Thanks! A beautiful view and with December coming, we’re staying positive for snow!
2012 Season Preview
New video is live! Some of our favorite hits from last year and a few bits footage left on the cutting room floor. Big air, cliff drops, deep pow, and tight trees…all the usual fare from us. We put this up to get psyched for the 2012 season…here’s to hoping it’s a lot like last year! The Black Keys provide the sounds.
11/19/11 The waiting game
Well the one two punch that the weather service called for last week was a swing and a miss. A few inches of the funkiness up above 9000′ lots of graupel and dense wet snow, otherwise the system that was supposed to dump eight to sixteen limped on through. Ever notice when they call for 12+ inches we usually get a lower amount? Converesely, my favorite forecast is the one to three variety, some of the biggest dumps I’ve seen have come from the storms that are only supposed to be glancing blows. Probably just the psychology of ski bum perception and logic, but hey if the shoe fits…
Opening day at vail was pretty average, with warm temps and a few screamers to satisfy the jones. The afternoon became a zoo. After getting stuck in the aftermath of a fatal accident on Gitalong Road of all places, I decided it was time to get out of the way of those looking to cram an entire season of near season ending experiences in one day,all hopped up on red bull and ski porn. It was great to ride some lifts, face in the sun, and ski a couple runs with ski friends just emerging from off-season hibernation. Feeling the edges on the first groomer of the year there is a sense of awakening, of the purpose of the next seven months. Each season develops uniquely and writes its own story. What will this year bring?
The snow is back briefly this weekend and should hopefully provide the extra snow needed to open the next series of lifts and terrain, getting our access farther east and filling in the terrain hazards in and out of vail boundaries. It’s the waiting after the waiting, and it’s good to see the snow falling outside the window again. EVI will be out digging in the snow as soon as its warranted and let you know what we find. Stay calm and move along.
11/2/2011 Surface Hoar
Next storm rolled through, dumped a few coveted inches on top of our much maligned basal layer. Came in warm, started as rain and cooled off as the night progressed. Nice to wake up to the first day of work at Troy’s Ski Shop to snow. Doesn’t seem right when you’re mounting skis in warm sixty degree weather. In keeping with the last post, I wanted to address another lurking hazard prevalent in(on) early season snow pack, surface hoar. As I was riding to East Vail before this last snow, I noticed the fern like crystals stacked up on the snow next to the bike path. Clear, cold skies and high humidity are ideal conditions to produce these feathery crystals that lie vertically on top the snow.
Strong in load, but not in shear, these crystals can support subsequent snowfalls until critical stress on the fragile slab is triggered by you, intrepid backcountry traveler. Surface hoar is hard to keep track of. It can be destroyed by wind in some areas while persisting in others. Even by digging a pit in the locale that you want to ski, it is hard to determine if buried surface hoar is still present in the entirety of the area you are going to put a load onto by riding. Next time a cold clear night happens with little wind, check around the next day to see if those crystals are around and file it into your never-ending assessment of the growing snowpack around you.
Preseason snow report 10/27/11
Everything is right with the world. Late October and the first of the storms that will constitute the beginnings of our snowpack has rolled through and given way to clear and sunny skies before we get our next storm. This is fairly typical for the late October snows, although last year was an anomaly as the snow kept coming and coming. This year it seems high pressure will build back and temperatures look like they will rise a bit before we return to a storm cycle. With the clear warmer weather moving back in, it is important to keep an eye on the snow in the coming weeks. Without getting covered by subsequent storms, this first layer can degrade into loose facets, a potential weak layer for future snow to slide on . Nothing is certain and this is only a bit of early season snow alchemy, but it is backed by my experiences in the past of our Continental snowpack and the effect of this first layer has in East Vail early season. It is one of the hallmarks of or Colorado snowpack, relatively shallow and complex with many different layers and usually a problematic layer at the bottom, at least to start the season, until it either consolidates in the snow pack or flushes out with the first significant avalanche cycle.
Of course we can’t predict the bonding that will happen with extra load until the next storms arrive, and the amount of degradation depends on many factors. Aspect, temperatures, snowfall, sun hit and elevation are some of major factors that have an impact on the metamorphosis of the snow. Bottom line, it is a storm and a layer to be mindful of as the season starts to move forward, especially as we get into the beginning of the backcountry ski season in November. As always, rely your own assessment of the snow. Just some things to think about from your friends at EVI.
Training Day…Day 0
Squats, yeah, 100’s of em. Hip thrusts. Jazzercise. Billy Blanks Cardio kickboxing. Zumba!
Mmmmmmm…right.
This is EVI and we aren’t gonna give it to you like that. If you like flying down a mountain on skis, we’ve been training for it by going up. Walking, hiking, trail running, biking…doesn’t matter, but get started. Gaining 2000+ ft of vertical over 2-3 hours will get you in shape no matter who you are or how you do it. So how’s it gonna help?
- Lungs: check, gotta get that cardio pumpin’ ready for long skins and long descents.
- Legs: yeah, your quads always hurt for the first few weeks of ski season. Often forgotten is training the other half of your thigh, the hamstring.
- Sore knees and ankles: add strength with joints that flex better and work at off angles.
- Feel: Nothing like getting a feel for the mountain. Know the rolls, the dips, and the holes before you go. Especially important this year is finding out where the pine beetle kill has impacted your favorite tree lines. The Vail Daily has a great article on the epidemic, looks like 80% of lodgepoles will be down in the next couple years.
So what are you waiting for? September and October are training months at EVI and we’ll keep you posted on what we’re doing so you can do it too.
You gotta get up to get down.
God Save the Pow
Word to the George…could be a new shirt on the way.
Friends…
East Vail Institute 