Peter and I get ready beside the highway. Its Saturday and its a small miracle to have arrived at the mountain equip with all the fixings to go back country Skiing. The snow is too deep for Lyla the dog. My heart sinks a little as we leave the dog in the car. I wish she could come but know its for the best.
We joke about the American Flag Darn tough Socks. Only in America I think to myself. According to Paul, Our professional Photographer friend, there might be some good money in the A-flag foot pics.
“Gotta keep that power lock handy for ice removal,” Peter says as he scrapes the ice from his skis with a tape measure
Peter is very intelligent and logical about how he approaches things, Backcountry skiing is no exception. As a man of integrity, he has never once put away his skins without using the skin-saver screen. Every time he pulls his skins out or puts them away I can sense his satisfaction in his decision to keep on using the PITA skinsavers. I am more willing to slap my skins together at the top of the mountain, especially if it is extremely windy and cold. Perhaps there will be a day when my skins will no longer stick to the bottom of my skis but until then I'll keep the convenience of my technique.
The Conditions: It was clear in town, then a blizzard on the highway. I was initially concerned about avalanche danger. Usually, I will forgo fresh snow in trade for safer conditions but this time we found a sweet spot. It had been snowing for 5 days and the pack feels stable. The snow is soft but not the dangerous baby powder fluffy stuff that is a product of low temps. It's been 25 deg consecutively every morning for several days and the snow feels homogenous and stable.
We make our way through the snow to the top of Brown Mountain.
The sun breaks through the clouds half way up and we find ourselves in Eden.
Lifetime Turns. Pure joy, Words all fall short when I bring myself back to the fresh tracks we made that day.
Burritos at altitude are always better.