Barechester Mountain

We went up the ridge in the center, breaking trail through knee deep heavy, sticky powder that made your skis weigh 30 pounds.  But the views were incredible, the temperature perfect, and the powder very light and deep on the way down.

No, it wasn't snowing out and Alex didn't face-plant into the snow.  The snow-beard is purely condensation from the cold.  It was an inversion morning, -6 degrees on Jackson Lake, but it didn't feel cold, it felt long; especially for Cody who went to the bars, including the Cadillac three times, last night from 5pm to midnight, resulting in a mid-lake crossing purging.  Afterwards, he was Speedy Gonzales, not using his legs but just poling across the lake.  Somehow, Norton with his four arms (as seen in this picture) could not keep up with Cody.

Alex Norton, Justin Strauss, and Cody Lockhart

Eagle's Rest east summit

Anniversary Peak NE Couloir

Norton pulling a Zissou, Strauss doing a Klauss, and Lockhart flexing subtly

Black Hole Couloir, a 3,000 foot, steep, north facer

Summit of Barechester Mountain, putting the jackets on

Mount Moran north face, Sandinista Couloir on right side, 

the Grand Teton on the left

Strauss

Strauss

Cody

Norton

Strauss in his white room

Barechesters tracks on the skyline ridge

Shadow Peak Couloirs

Shadow Peak

We skied the couloir that isn't cliffed out (left center).  

It was unexpectedly one of the best powder runs of the season.

Christian Beckwith dropping in

"Conor are you sure it goes?"  

"Pretty sure."

CB peering into the crux; a steep and tight section that makes this perfect powder run a wee bit technical too, keeping others off it.  

North facing chutes into Garnett Canyon from Shadow

We took the center one down.  

CB dropping into the lower couloir, 

another steep powder stash with lots of slough

Death Canyon

Cody down-climbing the crux

Cody on approach to Death Canyon

The ice choke on the Apocalypse Couloir

Strauss working his way up our couloir of choice, Son of the Apocalypse Coulior

Justin Strauss and Cody Lockhart

Strauss coming out of the Couloir

Cody getting air

And convincing Strauss the landing was good

Prospectors, Death Canyon, and Albright

Don't take the lake on the way out!

Waterfalls Canyon

Mount Moran

Eagle's Rest eastern massif

The Cathedral Group from the north

NE face of Moran with the Sickle Couloir being the prominent ling in the middle

Following the tradition of my Great-Great Grandfather Roald Amundsen, I towed a sled on skis for the first time.  Davey and I crossed Jackson Lake to camp at the base of Waterfalls Canyon. The sled was a great way to haul in lots of gear with little additional effort.  Notice the bungee cord? 

Waterfalls Canyon

The proposed route up to eastern flank of the Eagle's Rest

Davey where the going was a bit steep

After following a skin track to a dead end, we got some sweet turns 

back down to the canyon so we could try getting up a different way.

The legs were willing, but it was a race against time to make it up

I told myself, "as soon as the shadows cross the lake we should head down before it gets too late."  Well, the shadows crossed the lake but I figured, "hell, we've got headlamps," and we kept going.  We were pretty high when we came to a spot too firm and steep to skin up, so we started bootpacking.  We then encountered a layer of wind slab on an exposed part. It didn't feel stable so it turned us around instead of the encroaching darkness.

The next day, Davey heading up the burn

    The camp was set in the clouds below.  After a night of inversion and temps down to around  -15, it was great to bask in the warmth of the sun again.  

    Dinner was cold last night.  We sat under the stars, looking at the moonlit mountains and remarking about how it was really cold out.  It took forever to boil the water.  You had to eat your food as fast as you could before it froze.  Water bottles froze quickly and you couldn't unscrew the tops. Everything was freezing: contact solution, sunscreen, food, ski boots, batteries, camera, phone, headlamp, beacon, gloves, feet. Everything had to to be put inside the sleeping bag so it would work the next day.  

    I pulled out some heat packets I get every Christmas but have never used.  I just keep them for emergency purposes.  I opened them and waited for their crackling warmth to thaw my frozen feet, but they were useless.  There was an expiration date but it was rubbed out.  Next time, it would be wise to put a cooler on the sled, a big one that you could fit all this stuff in that you don't want to freeze, then have some brand new heat packets to toss in before bed time so you can have the sleeping bag all to yourself.

    One thing I did do well, was to bring The Economist to read at night.  It put me to sleep quickly at 8pm and I wouldn't care if it got ruined.  The night went well.  Our -20 sleeping bags kept us from pulling a Brokeback maneuver.

    The morning was freezing.  Davey was up first.  I ate some granola bars in my sleeping bag and told him when he's ready to go, I'm going to put on my frozen ski pants, spring out of the tent, stomp on my frozen ski boots, and start going uphill to get above the clouds.  I wanted to either be in the sleeping bag or going uphill.  It was far too cold in the cloud to do anything else.

The north couloir on the Eagle's Rest, something to return for in spring

Davey below the Eagle's Rest