The Southwest Couloir on Mount Moran, taken from Paintbrush Divide.
Mount Thor and Mount Moran
Teewinot
Peter finishing the race he started.
Davey climbing the last pitch of our sub-summit of Rockchuck. With heavy clouds rolling in, we decided to cut our trip short and settle for a sub-summit. It still had a summit-like feel, and was a beautiful place to hang out for a few minutes before we started down.
The run was long and very smooth so we were surprised at how fun the skiing was. When we got back to the car and looked up to see our tracks, a dark cloud had moved over them, confirming our decision to turn around was a good one.
Peter decided to end the day with a dip in the lake, which had a hole in the ice. He managed to convince Davey it was a good idea, but not this blogger, who argued the weather didn't look conducive to such a maneuver. So while I took off my soaking socks and hung out at the car, Peter took off all his clothes in the parking lot, and with flip flops, walked towards the water. He made about two steps before he realized the flip flops didn't work in knee deep snow. So he ditched them, and post-holed his way towards the water. Davey followed on skis. Peter jumped in, and forgot to take his glasses off. He couldn't find them and soon gave up, in a state of near hypothermia.
Meanwhile, I'm hanging out at the car for 20 minutes, wondering if they found a hot spring or something because that's a hell of a long time to be naked in the snow and ice water. Then I see Peter running through the snow to the car, shivering, leaving Davey to find his glasses. While he warms up, we're wondering what's taking Davey so long. He eventually found them, and was nearly hypothermic himself. He said, "Well they're probably worth a few hundred dollars so I didn't want Peter to lose his glasses."
Peter replied that it really wouldn't have cost him anything. His insurance covers it. But he just didn't feel like going to the eye doctor today so he wanted to find them.
I waited a month before I returned. I skied to Paintbrush Divide and it was 70 and sunny when I got back to the parking lot. I jumped in the ice free but ice cold water, and it was perfect. A handy towel and some sunshine, made it all go smoothly.
