Back In Ely

I am back in Ely! Got in a short tour locally before the next storm cycle cranks up. Warm and windy, but the north facing slopes were staying wintery.

 Headed up past the old ski area on the access road then veered off to ski open slopes above.

Took a run here later.

And another here just below the left skyline.

Looking down on Ely

Got my first real taste of wind affected snow out here. Not surprising since this a particularly windy area.

Found pleasant skiing on the textured snow.

Big animal tracks

Nice to be home. Hope the snow piles up!
 

Back on the Eastside

 I took a quick trip back to the Eastside to see friends, collect more of my stuff, and do a little skiing.

 Hooked up with my buddy Patrick for a short tour in the Sherwins.

His roommates had done an early run and set a nice skin track to the top.

Gotta admit I was a little nervous dropping in. The snow seemed to be a little wind affected. The slope was steeper than anything I've skied in Ely and I was on my lightweight gear.

It took about half a turn to realize there was nothing to be nervous about! So good. Was able to rip just fine on the lightweight gear too.

About half way down I remembered to get the camera out and snag a couple of shots of Patrick doin' what he does.

Looking up at The Rock after our run.

 Thanks Patrick. That was amazing!

Shoulder Season

 Shoulder season? Yes! I'm not talking Spring and Fall. I'm talking shoulder skiing.

 For some reason the shoulder's of many ridges falling from the crest of the Schell Creek Range hold big open slopes. I'm not sure if they were cleared once upon a time or if there's something about the environment that doesn't allow forest growth. I do know they provide great skiing!

Here's a photo from the other day showing three of those shoulders. I skied the middle one yesterday.

The drive in was a little sketchy in deep snow. Managed to avoid getting the truck stuck thankfully. The approach, however, was easy.

Truly enjoyable skinning.

Looking over to the next shoulder south. Had a great day there last year on my visit.

The snow in here was excellent. I managed to pull down three 900' runs. I couldn't help myself really!

Woohoo!

 Best tour of the year thus far. Hands down!

 

Ely Ski Hill

 The last in the series of storms rolled through last night leaving several more inches of light fluffy snow. I decided to have a go at the old Ely Ski Hill. I don't have any info on the old rope tows that operated here. Wish I did.

I set out at the Ward Mountain Campground and cruised over to the ski area on groomed trails. Great wintery scene near the start.

The weather forecast was mostly sunny. The sun didn't get the memo. When it did appear, the sparkling snow and the random snowflakes beamed brightly.

The trees on the ridge above the ski slopes were all nicely rimed.

Views near the top. Dang cold with temps in the mid to low teens and a steady north breeze.

More rime

The snow was very slightly wind affected up high, but fantastic down here. So much fun I took three runs.

The sun finally peeped out steadily on my way back to the trailhead.

 The approach was a bit long, but went by fast on those groomed trails. The Voile skis with a waxless pattern were just the ticket. Real nice day.

Ski Ely!

 We had quite a storm cycle. Nearly 48 hours without sun! An inch or two accumulated in town, 4"-6" at the trailheads, and over a foot in the high terrain.

 Went for an "active recovery day" Tuesday with a xc ski on the Ward Mountain trails.

The snow was coming down pretty hard. Pretty windy too. Nice to duck into the shelter, have a snack, and prep for the descent. Cool to be out in some weather!

Yesterday more storminess was in the forecast, so I elected to check out Powder House Canyon. I quickly realized it wasn't named for the powder snow, but for blasting powder. Housed here.

Made it up to pt 8035. Nice Pinyon and Juniper on top.

The weather came and went. Had a fun little run down tight glades. It was dumping by the time I reached the car.

Still more snow in the forecast for today, so I went back to Powder House. Went further up the canyon and ascended this old mining road. Steep enough for a fun squiggles on the descent!

Climbed through nice glades and got some fine views of the old ski area.

Topped out and hoped to traverse into some wide open slopes in the next drainage. The Mahogany had other ideas.

Bailed here. Had enough of the jungle skinning.

The glades below skied really well though. Took two here.

Had planned on skiing the big open slopes left and right of the this knob, but it just wasn't meant to be.

A beautiful day in the hills. Maybe could have aimed a little higher with my tour selection today, but I'm not complaining!
 

More Skiing in Ely

 I spent the last three days skiing in the environs of Ely. Good times!

 Friday I took a short drive to check on conditions at the old ski area/rope tow zone. Nice XC ski, but we still need at least a foot more for any turns on the old runs.

I skied up the access road and down the mountain bike trail - which they groom with a snowmobile. Quite fun.

Saturday I headed into the Schell Creek Range as the storm cleared. New zone for me. It did not disappoint!

The weather was changeable. One minute sunny and warm, the next a squall would come in with wind and snow showers. Must've put the jacket on/off a dozen times!

Still thin, but the skiing was great.

Yesterday I went back for more. I had a skin track in and had figured out the lay of the land so why not?

Big limestone outcrops across canyon.

Mahogany couple.

Another storm rolled in providing a moody late morning scene.

I was able to get nearly 1000' higher than yesterday and enjoyed another outstanding run.

Feeling blessed!