Yosemite Border Tour, Day 6

As I mentioned in the previous blog, the plan for the day was to leave camp set and take a day tour up the Red Creek drainage between Red Peak and Grey Peak.

It was a great pleasure to ski without the heavy packs on our back!

We quickly rose above Grayling Lake on one of several fine, open ski slopes.
After the initial steepish slope we entered the big, gentle valley.
This is the view northwest to the back side of Half Dome.
Steve begins crossing the largest lake in the drainage.
There was lots of snow and some pretty nice ski lines up valley.
Most of the north facing slopes held wind and/or sun affected snow and the south facing slopes weren't much more attractive, so we stuck to moderate slopes and headed for the shallow notch left of center.
The views from the notch were unbelievable!

A zoom shot to the Minarets.
Ritter and Banner.The twin peaks of MacClure and Lyell.
The unzoomed view to the northeast. The twin peaks of MacClure and Lyell are left of center and Ritter & Banner are far right. Much of our route is visible from the shoulder of Lyell traveling to the right below the peaks, and down into the trees to the far right (click to enlarge).
The view to the northeast with Mt. Starr King (mid field, left), the top of Yosemite Falls (mid field center) and Half Dome (mid field right).
Steve and I relaxed at the pass for quite a while soaking in the sun and the views. The big north wall of Red Peak looms behind Steve.
The turns off the notch were pretty good with about two or three inches of slightly cooked snow over a solid crust.

The snow got a bit thick lower down, but still provided for easy turning all the way.
After dinner we headed out for an evening stroll as the low clouds drifted in and the light grew soft.

More great ski terrain!
This is the view up the valley we skied, with Grey Peak on the left.
We came across relatively fresh bear tracks. These tracks from the cubs were only about the size of a half dollar.
Here are Mom's tracks along with the cubs' tracks. It is a little hard to tell, but their path was a bit steep here and you can see where the cubs slipped and scrambled to get up (as always - click to enlarge!).
Steve was totally chill.
Another view of camp.
That was surely a most satisfying day!

Yosemite Border Tour, Day 5

The morning brought electric blue skies, crisp, cold temperatures, and revealed eight inches of new snow at camp.

The Mid held up well.
The clearing after the storm brought us amazing, winter scenery.


With the new snow and high winds, avalanches were a concern and we experienced several collapses of the snow pack. We minimized risks by staying on moderate, unloaded slopes, but were nevertheless glad to attain the south shoulder of Merced Peak and out of harm's way.
We enjoyed a few nice turns here and there coming down from the shoulder.
Thirst was becoming an issue as we had melted only enough snow for about a half liter each. We found this beautiful, granite cascade far sooner than we expected which prompted much drinking and a pleasant break.
Next up was a long traverse through terrain that looked fairly simple on the map, but turned out to be a series of small, convoluted drainages that took along time to negotiate.

Note that at this point we are heading toward Yosemite Valley rather than the Badger Pass ski area, which is the standard route. It turns out the Glacier Point Road closes when the ski area closes (early April), so unless you know a Park Service employee, you would have to travel five more miles to the junction for a pick-up. We also figured it would be pretty cool to exit into Yosemite Valley - and it was!

The woods and wood sculptures along the way were pleasant.

Alas we finally reached our goal of Grayling Lake west of Red Peak.


By evening low clouds and even some light snow flurries rolled in.
Although we couldn't see very far, there appeared to be some enticing ski slopes directly above camp.
The plan for the next day was to take leave camp set and take a day tour into the mountains above.

Yosemite Border Tour, Day 4

Day four started pleasantly enough with thin high clouds, plentiful sun, and light wind.

We headed downstream about a quarter mile to top off with water for the day at this water hole.
The weather was somewhat encouraging, but with a dark shield slowly moving in from the north and the forecast of a sturdy low pressure system moving through today, we decided to take the direct route up to the east shoulder of Triple Divide Peak and bypass the Post Peak section of the regular route.

We headed up to the shallow notch just left of center and then on up the broad ridge to the left.
Glide cracks and avalanches were common sites on steep granite slabs. We gave them a wide berth for sure.
The scene on top of the broad ridge was sublime.
The east shoulder of Triple Divide Peak was easy to cross. We were able to skin to the top and ski directly off the other side. Just east of the crossing the terrain was much more rugged.
The trip from the east shoulder of Triple Divide Peak and the south shoulder went pretty quickly with a shallow traverse and a gentle climb. Here's Steve about midway between the two shoulders.
The ridge south from Triple Divide Peak was also easy to cross here, but was dramatically steep and tall for many miles south.

The weather came in pretty hard as we descended from the south shoulder with poor visibility and strong winds, so we decided once again to head down to timberline to find shelter.

Once we found a nice spot we proceeded to set up the Mid. Surprisingly the weather improved and we started to second guess our decision to bail out. We used the quiet spell to fortify the mid with tall walls and plenty of snow weight on the edges.
No sooner had we completed the fortification than the weather deteriorated sharply. Moderately heavy snow with strong, gusty winds forced us into the Mid, where we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening. We were no longer second guessing our decision!

I poked my head out at one point to survey the situation and snapped this pic.
The wind and snow battered the Mid well into the night, but as morning approached the weather seemed to come in shorter bursts. The Mid held up well and we slept cozily.

Yosemite Border Tour, Day 3

Day three dawned with the weather much changed from the previous evening. The forecast had predicted stormy weather this day and the next, but it was a bit of a shock nonetheless.

The system was not well organized, so we experienced periods of heavy clouds, moderate snow, and gusty winds along with periods of patchy sunshine and calm and everything in between, constantly changing.

Here we are at camp packed up and ready to head out.
The dark weather and alpine terrain made for an enjoyable, surreal landscape.

The route for the day took us over the north shoulder of Mt. Foerster which involved a short, steep climb (about 35 to 40 degrees) of about 300'. Firm, refrozen snow required the use of crampons for the first and only time of the entire trip.
Steve is about to top out on the shoulder.
The shoulder led to a huge, gentle bowl where the visibility was very poor. The standard route continued along the crest, but we decided to go down into the nearby treed valley for protection from the weather.

We found ourselves in the beautiful, gentle valley of the Triple Fork of the Merced River.
By the afternoon the showers became scattered and large patches of blue appeared, so we headed up the valley to recon tomorrow's route and enjoy the scene.
The one or two inches of new snow over the old, firm snow made for great cruising.
The "Mid" held up well during the snow showers.
Our camp positioned us so that we could get back to the "standard" route at Post Peak Pass (longer) or the east shoulder of Triple Divide Peak (shorter). We could also skip the standard route all together and short cut west over to the vicinity of Red Peak.