Last Week's Adventures

 Early last week we had a spell of spring like weather here in the Ely area. Warm! Windy! I wasn't real optimistic about the quality of skiing, so I opted for more of a "hike on skis" to explore new terrain.

 Travel proved to be largely pleasant and easy. This was the typical scene on the way up canyon.

When I at last reached treeline I spied a couple of impressive ski lines. The narrow couloir up left and the broad chute right of center.

A slightly different view. Wind wracked!

There were several fine looking short runs too.

Swell, but dry views on the way out.

Knowing the winds and warmth had messed up skiing in my usual zones I tried my hand in a very sheltered north facing spot. I skinned into this forest hoping to find good snow and some open glades.

I found neither! Apparently during the end of the warm spell there had been a light rainfall event here that froze, creating a rain crust. A descent in the forest would have been harrowing, so I attempted to attain the ridge above me. That option proved difficult as this limestone wall blocked me.

I finally found this little ramp up. Out of purgatory!

Once on the ridge I found the coverage thin but manageable and the skiing fair to poor, but doable.

Yes, there is lousy skiing here now and then. Hoping for a reset soon!
 

Since the skiing hasn't exactly delivered, I've been enjoying some nice hikes. 

Smith Valley and Heusser Mountain.

Steptoe Valley with the Schell Creek Range on far side. Wheeler Peak just poking out on the right under the clouds.

Tuff with Juniper and Pinyon.

 A stunted Juniper hanging on for life.

Steptoe Valley with the Duck Creek Range (dry) and Schell Creek Range (snowy)

Hiking up the south ridge of Heusser Mountain. Ely far left and North Ward left center with snow.

Another view across Steptoe Valley.

Nice to be able to keep a little fitness and enjoy the scenery, but I'm ready for snow!
 

More Skiing In The Schell Creek Range

 Exploring new lines! I've been admiring this terrain since last year when I first visited this area. Thinking (hoping!) the snow could be good in here I decided to give it a go last week.

 The far left line avalanches regularly and has a steep, exposed entrance. The next run to the right seemed pretty tight with trees, but the third run looked like a good choice, so I cooked up a plan.

I had two options for reaching the ridge above the chute. One I knew worked, but involved a long traverse before intersecting the ridge. The other was to try to just follow the ridge from the bottom, but it was unclear how difficult that would be. I chose the traverse.

Not easy! The forest was dense and the snow was faceted with plenty of hollows around trees and bushes.

Once I finally reached the ridge the going got a little easier.

It took me nearly two and a half hours to gain 1500', but I at last found myself at the top of the chute. 

The upper third held decent snow, but fairly tight trees. The middle third was steep with the middle of the chute holding breakable crust which was avoidable skiers left - until the choke which proved interesting! The bottom third was open and held fun, soft, faceted snow (photo).

For my next tour I wanted to see how the "direct" route up the ridge went, plus I had somehow dropped my hat and was eager to retrieve it, so I skinned in on the traverse - a bit easier, but still laborious, eventually finding my hat, and reaching the top of the chute again.

This time I descended the ridge which proved to be a good route. No steeps and the trees were not too dense. No photos!

For tour #3 of the week I decided to head up the direct route on the ridge and explore my descent options westward.

Light to moderate snow greeted me at the TH, putting down an inch or two of fresh.

More strenuous skinning, but the scenery was nice.

A little higher the trees were slightly rimed. Really pretty.

Views of the South Fork opened up high on the ridge.

From distance I had previously noticed a narrow gully cutting through the forest close to where I was on the ridge, so I traversed in to check it out. Holy Moly! Glad I did!

What an amazing feature!

At first I was skiing on a few inches of new snow over supportable wind board. Fun, if not fantastic skiing, but that quickly changed to all powder about here.

 Big smiles! The gully just kept going on and on. The exit was fun and easy too. Best day of the season so far!

A Week in Ely

This last week I went to a couple of recently visited zones and checked out an old favorite.

First off, I toured up into this area to see if I could have a look at that cool slot left center. Unfortunately I needed to travel under steep, slabby slopes to get there, so I didn't quite make it.

 

Was a fun outing nonetheless.

The open areas were wind affected, but the edges skied well.

Next up was a scouting mission in the Egan Range. This is a popular destination. Both times I've skied here there have been other tracks. No one skiing here now!

Since there was obviously no chance of skiing, I put on the hiking boots and went for a stroll. Views of Wheeler Peak out over Steptoe Valley.

Looking north to Ely.

These slopes hold potential if there was a lot more snow.

The main goal was to check out this canyon, especially the long arcing line from upper left down into the shadowy canyon. Looks cool! Needs more snow for sure.

Yesterday I elected to go for more of a sure bet in the Schell Creek Range.

Another Aspen zone just south of the one I skied last week.

Not sure what's going on here. The snow was much deeper around  this spot, but quite shallow below this huge dead snag.

Sure enjoyed the sweet Aspen bliss.

A little wind affected up high, but delightful lower.

We're suffering here with a serious lack of snow, but I'm making the most of it!
 

Back to Ely

 Upon return to Ely, I went out for a short tour to assess conditions. Pleased by the quantity not so stoked on the quality. The wind had apparently blown pretty fiercely here resulting in a mix of wind board, breakable crust, and soft faceted snow. To make matters worse a couple of inches of new snow had fallen quite recently, so there were no visual clues as to what I was skiing on.

 Pretty day though!

A couple of days later I got motivated to go back looking for more sheltered areas to ski. I had never been back here. Low and behold, the wind affect wasn't too bad - even nonexistent the bottom half.

Sweet views back towards North Schell Peak.

Limestone cliffs line the slopes here. Most of the snow on these open slopes was wind and/or sun affected.

Happy with the coverage and not deterred by the crusts, I decided to check out an Aspen zone close to the trailhead.

An alley!

Nice snow. Incredible setting.

Had such a good time I went back again the next day. It went from bluebird to graybird. Colder too, but got higher and enjoyed a nice long run in Aspen bliss.

Good views up canyon.

Down canyon too!

 It's on! So glad to be skiing in my home mountains again.