A Day in Elko

I spent one rest day in Elko where I replenished my larder, checked out the Northeastern Nevada Museum, and took a nice leisurely stroll in the downtown area.

I stayed here for four nights. Less than $36/night, clean, quiet & comfortable.  About thirty minutes to skiing.

The Northeastern Nevada Museum is indeed worth a visit. They had a huge gun collection, a small mineral and gem collection....

A giant collection of taxidermy donated by a local casino mogul who hunted all over the world. Interesting, but sad too. This guy was especially cute.

They also have a small but solid collection of Ansel Adams photos.

Downtown Elko has numerous stately old buildings.

 The courthouse.

There's a touch of dilapidation but not a lot.

The citizenry have made a nice effort putting up numerous murals.

Trains are a big part of Elko's history.

There's a nice open space right downtown with parking, interesting sights and local busineses.

I frankly didn't hold a real high opinion of Elko prior to my stay, but I was pleased to find some real character and sense of community while I was there.

Right Fork

The next day Rick and I decided to sample the goods in the Right Fork having more or less exhausted our options in Thomas Canyon.

We camped just above the picnic area near the mouth of the Lamoille Canyon.

The bottom of the Right Fork is about 500' lower than the Thomas Canyon trailhead and it showed in less coverage.

Heading up the Right Fork involves a solid bushwhack near the beginning. 

Rick's in there somewhere!

Towering cliffs

With stunning ice flows

We made the long trudge to the head of the valley to a large col where I had watched the heli-ski oufit do there thing a few days before. 

Splendid views from the top back down the Right Fork.

Me!

For sure there were a lot of tracks from the heli-skiers but there was plenty of excellent untracked powder left for Rick and I.

The run proved much more fun and much less tracked out than we thought, so we headed back up. Right about here we took a left turn and traversed up and under the cliffs.

Rick took this one of me following up.

The second run was terrific too. Nice powder in a big alpine bowl!

Me.

 Rick

We took a speedy high traverse out before some "entertaining" bushwhacking. A wonderful long day in the Rubies!

Thomas Canyon V

My buddy Rick joined me for two more days in the Rubies. It was great to have a partner - especially one with some creative ideas for routes. With the best access and decent coverage we elected to tour up Thomas Canyon again.

With the temperature rising fast we decided to try a little corn skiing first thing.

Our timing was solid so the skiing was good.
Rick

Me

We skinned back up the side canyon where I ventured day 2. Scenic zone!
 Rick took this nice shot of me.

 We soon reached the col at the head of the canyon.

Where we enjoyed views back to the notches and our next destination, the snowy ridge in the foreground.

First, more good corn skiing!

Our route from the col.

Rick skins up the ridge towards the top of our last run of the day.

 Lousy picture, but the only one I got of Rick ripping up the nice powder in these glades.

A little billy goating got us out of the drainage and onto the apron where we were surprised to find more good snow.

Super fun day. It was great to explore some of the untouched nooks and crannies in this area.

Ruby Mountains: Thomas Canyon IV

Four days in a row in Thomas Canyon? Why not. Yesterday I spotted a zone that looked like it would ski pretty well, so I headed back up.

Another clear, cold morning. Had the canyon to myself today for the first time.

Snowmobiles and helicopter skiers, oh my! Didn't feel badly about putting a skin track in here.

I got good views of the area I skied yesterday.

I arrived at the top of the ridge separating Thomas Canyon from the Right Fork. Nice rock.

Mt Gilbert

The head of the Right Fork. The helicopter ski operation was hammering this zone. Kinda fun to watch, but sad to see them track it out pretty well.

From my high point on the ridge I kept traversing south looking for good snow. I found it on these slopes.

Did two runs. Both quite good. Crossed a snowmobile track or two, but can't complain.

 View from afar.

A short skin led me to this fine run. Nice cherry on the top of the day!

Another terrific tour!

Ruby Mountains: Thomas Canyon III

Winter is back in the Ruby Range! Sadly that doesn't mean fresh snow, but it does mean the temps were cold and the breeze was up.

Got a leisurely 9:15 start and it was still quite brisk, crisp and clear.

 Looking up into the zone I skied yesterday.

The two lines center got skied during the last few days.

I was sitting up on that ridge just above the little trees yesterday.

Today's destination. The notches on the skyline.

Skinned almost all of the way to the top of the left notch. Booted the last 30' where it got a bit steep and firm.

Nice looking terrain on the backside. I found a sunny, protected spot to have a snack and change over to downhill mode. Just a few feet away the wind was howling pretty good.

The view from the right notch.

My tracks and a bunch of snowmobile tracks. The skiing was fair to good up here. It paid to read the texture of the snow and hunt around for the softest zones.

Plenty of snowmobile tracks and heliskier tracks in this zone but still plenty left.

Freaky filter. Skiing in the glades here was quite good.

Best day in the Rubies thus far!