Emerson II. 0 for 2, but Not Winless

On Saturday Steve and I headed back up to the north face of Mt Emerson to give the couloir a go. We were real optimistic since we had a great storm cycle which had put down up to two feet of nice cold snow with little wind. The weather forecast was for clearing skies, no wind, and crisp temps.

The gorgeous morning only added to our positivity!

But the weather turned fickle on us. The snowfall increased, the clouds descended.

The view up the Zebra Couloir was for foreboding.

The snow on the huge face was frequently sluffing into both chutes where it would chug down shallow troughs. They were just large enough to perhaps knock a skier down.

After much consternation we decided to bale out and explore up canyon. The chutes are steep and narrow, so there's no where to hide if something bigger were to come down.

Of course the weather cleared, the snowfall diminished, and the sluffs began to subside once we made the decision. This was our original objective.

So we were 0 for 2 on the Emerson Couloir. After all our optimism we were somewhat deflated, but to our delight, this gem came into view.

Which easily went straight to the Sierra Crest where we were truly stunned by the enormous views of Humphreys Basin.  Steve on the Col.

Me on the Col.

Steve taking it all in.

I was all smiles.

The skiing was fantastic. Steve disappears in a cloud of powder.

The view back to our line.

The scenery was great all day with soft light, snowflakes in the air, and occasional vivid sunlight.

I shot this little video at a particularly pretty juncture.

What a day!