I still had a little left in the tank this morning - and a never ending desire to ski, so I decided to get out early before the storm rolled in. Went down to Independence to check on the scene above the Onion Valley Road.
The road is plowed to the usual spot at Grays Meadow. This is looking back down the road from the closure.
Not as much snow as I had hoped, but this little drainage and the slopes above it caught my eye, so I forged through the funky gully to the fine slopes above.
I ended up skinning up the ridge on the left and skiing the shady slopes. Not huge terrain, but bigger than it looks. Well over 1500' to the top - which I did not make it to.
Early in the day the edge of the cloud shield pouring over the Sierra had not blotted out the sun.
Pleasing views down to the Alabama Hills and Owens Lake as the sun played peek-a-boo.
I got to the top of my run and enjoyed the last of the decent light.
Good, fun run on creamy powder. Went back up for another, but the light got incredibly flat. Even with my previous tracks it was hard to see the surface. Still good skiing though.
Great area. I'd never skied in this drainage before. Certainly warrants a trip back someday.
2 comments:
It's a mystery where things go sometimes, or maybe it's just my stroke-addled brain . . . I've realized a few times that this ought to be prime time for, but I ain't seen no posts . . . am i just deleting them or . . . anyway, very glad to see you're healthy and out there and . . . have you ever found a solution to really flat light--I keep thinking it's just me lenses, that I need something different, but maybe it's just the way it is and flat light sucks. Is there any chance you might be headed up to Shasta for the race and snowball this weekend??
Hello Bob! For the life of me I can't figure out why blogger stopped pushing notifications when I update the blog. Thank you for the kind words.
For flat light I go with the bright yellow lens. Helps a little but not much. Trees or a rock lined couloir are better. Previous tracks help too.
Not heading to Shasta. Sounds like grand fun.
Hope your recovery is going well and you get to enjoy this big snow year!
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