The road to Tioga Pass from the east opened up Thursday. It's been a good while since I've skied up there so, I decided to check it out. Being the weekend, the popular spots were well populated. I elected to avoid the crowds and cooked up a plan to go long and attempt Koip Peak.
Skating and gliding down Dana Meadows to start was good, fast fun.
It was a beautiful clear and cool morning. Mammoth Peak.
After leaving the meadows I wandered around in the forest, reaching Parker Pass Creek. Raging!
After a bit more less than pleasant travel, I reached the upper meadows and pleasant views of the Kuna Crest.
Ran into a guy with skinnier skis and tighter pants. Nice guy.
Higher up on huge snowfields the views really opened up. Looking back along the north end of the Kuna Crest with Mammoth Peak right.
Mt Lewis from Parker Pass.
Loved the big country around the pass.
Took a right turn after the pass up into a gentle drainage leading to the northwest face of Koip Peak. I was a little disappointed by the view. Nothing very enticing for skiing.
On the other hand, I was amazed to find a sizable glacier at the head of the canyon. This pic is kinda over exposed, but the streaks in the center are bluish, exposed glacier ice. I skinned up to the top of the glacier along the left side, descended on the right side.
Quickly back to Parker Pass. Signs!
Zoom shot back to Dana Meadows.
I enjoyed very fast travel back until I hit the forested/patchy stretch. Probably should just continue down until reaching the lower Dana Meadows instead of "cutting the corner" and traversing through the trees. Next time!
A sweet long day on the race skis. Glorious country I had not visited before.
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