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Location: Hwy 26 east to Dixie Summit sno park; FR 2610 to top
Road & Trail Conditions: 26 clear, snopark plowed packed sno & ice
Snow Conditions: 3' condensed, very firm base, 1/2 - 4" powder on top with elevation & as day progressed
Skis on & temperature: 9am 33° (JD 38° )
Skis off & temperature: 5:30pm 33° moderate sno (PC 36° rain; JD 39° rain)
Distance: 11.5 miles; 2 miles elevation
Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10 - bliss
Comments: just when i think ski season is washed out...a day like today happens.
beginning of the 2610 at snopark looked a little thin & moist. that improved quickly with elevation to some of the best powder on a solid base i've found this year.
this time of year i opt for elevation & dixie is the easiest access plus fastest climb.
dixie & i have a thing, if one can have a thing with a mtn. i can see sno on strawberry &, yeah, i want to ski that. when the sno is right on dixie, i have to go. i now understand more about the siren's song. started hearing the song on thurs.
went out to do this run 4 weeks ago, skis broke thru 8+" at sno park, would have been 16" at elevation. no tracks, no base. headed back to starr ridge.
this run is a short 5 miles distance; 2 miles in elevation makes for some leg work up. then there is coming down.
dixie falls in between the grooming area of grant co. snoballers & the burnt river club, so no grooming. occasionally a county (?) snocat will make the journey up for com tower maintenance/repairs. the occasional snomo will venture up, usually not to the top. without these you need to wait for the base to consolidate & fresh powder on top. like now.
the first 3+ miles to the treeline is pretty easy altho continual uphill. there are some great views south to the strawberry range and then a little higher, to the east & elkhorn range. today was pretty cloudy
after leaving the treeline it's a steep west facing slope, exposed to constant winds creating deep sno drifts & today, an ice crust on top (see blue line on map above). the road can be a concept rather than something obvious before you. i've got a gps with topo maps & roads. i referred to it a lot to see if i was even close to being on the road even tho i've been up here several times. along this west slope, you don't want to stray too far off course.
in general, west slope of dixie is steeper & typically has an icy, wind blown crust. east slope has gentler slope & often awesome deep powder.
this trip is not for the faint of heart; need good leg conditioning, stamina (7600'); no skinny touring skis; take cold weather & wind gear (ski googles & balaclava) even when it is warm & sunny. dixie has her own weather pattern. storms that leave the valley can linger on dixie for quite a while. wind can be relentless. today, sustained ssw 20-30mph with gusts & blowing sideways sno. i love it.
trip started nicely with partly sunny skies. first squall came in from ssw:
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| first sno squall coming out of the south right at dixie |
& i hunkered down behind a skinny tree for an hour about 1/2 mile from top. couldn't see road or landmarks.
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| lone tree above treeline became new best friend |
sky cleared & made a run at the top where another squall settled in.
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| cameras don't capture sno squalls too well |
waited over 45 mins. & decided to start down as it was getting late. first 1/2 mile was skiing by feel & gps. & then clouds lifted enough to see. sno squall dumped enough new to put a good powder covering over icy slope on return trip.
originally planned to come down from top & circle around knoll to SE (see orange dotted line on map above), getting into deeper powder on east side & practice backcountry downhill. couldn't see any landmarks & opted to retrace route. without gps, would have got seriously off course, on a steep slope.
lovely downhill through 2+" fresh powder from squalls since ascent. short downhill runs at powerlines & ski hill at snopark.
while hunkered down at the top, wondering how i was going to get back, a skier materialized from out of the clouds. JP from baker drove over here to ski dixie. confessing he cheated, he snomo'd up to treeline & skied the rest of the way. he had some awesome backcountry gear, locking boot heels, for just this kind of terrain. i've been lusting after that gear. i had been considering driving over to baker to ski anthony today. hmmm......
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