Hairpin Again

I once again awoke early and headed up the Portal Road to visit the Hairpin Gully. Gearing up in the cold with the headlamp always feels adventurous.

I enjoyed another sunrise over the Owens Valley.
I certainly did not come back for the fine skiing. I figured I'd reap the benefit of yesterday's hard work, and retravel the skin track I put in. There was also a faint hope that the crust I encountered yesterday would be thinner or nonexistent higher up.

Fortunately the crust did disappear higher up and lower down it seemed thinner and/or weaker.

Here's the view of the upper gully with the main stem heading up to the right of the large granite block. I headed up and left of the block in a shallow treed chute.
Across the canyon is an interesting burn area from a lightening strike a few years ago.
The skiing in the upper reaches was surprisingly pleasing.
Persistence (or dumb luck) pays!