Dixie on Sunday Morning - 2/19/17

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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:

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.

lone tree above treeline became new best friend

sky cleared & made a run at the top where another squall settled in.

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......

Grooming Report - Logan Valley 2/17/17

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 Feb 17, 2017:  Bill Prophet in Cat #1 from Huddleston, south on FR 135 to FR 16, west to FR 1651, southwest to FR 1647, north back to FR 16, west to FR 924, north past Lake Creek Lodge to FR 1648, southeast back to FR 16, east to FR 1649, east to FR 101 and north back to start.  Bill reports that it was warm but groomed well.  Thanks Bill!

Orange Route on map.

Grooming Report - Logan Valley West 2/11/17

Glen

Gerald went out grooming again today.  Started at the 15/16 jct – E on 16 to 1630 – 373 – 1643 back to 16 then to 15/16 jct.

 

Jean

Thanks Jean and Gerald.  G

Krust Kruze - Starr Ridge 2/11/17

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Had a really nice Krust Kruze this morning on skate skis.  (Orange Route) Off 395 just before leaving the timber past Starr Ridge.  Took about 2 hours.  Was starting to soften up a bit by noon so early is better, also the 3925 is groomed, so it is firm but a little rough.  9.38 miles.  Should be good mornings as long as this weather holds.  Call if you have any questions. 620-2268.
Glen

Thanks for the update!  I took a slightly different approach today than cruising on crust and waited until about noon until the packed roads around Starr Ridge softened up enough for my scaly skis to grip.  Parked at Starr Snopark, skied west on the 4920-333 spur to 4900 proper, turned north on 4900 and skied up to Starr Summit.  Crossed 395 and picked up the road that parallels 395 south and down back to the Snopark.  Took a bit under three hours.  Not sure how far, but I'm sure at least two of you know.

Cheers,

Nathan
 

Grooming Report - Canyon Creek 2/10/17

Feb 10, 2017:  Cat #2

Gerald went out this morning.  This is where he went before it got to warm.  Started on FS15 to 1540 – 1560 – 1630 out to 16 and back to 15/16 jct.  29 miles

 

Jean

Grooming Report - Parrish Cabin - Canyon Creek 2/8/17

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 Feb 8, 2017:  Koby Essex took Cat #2 from the junction of FRs 15 & 16 at Parrish Cabin, north and west on FR 1530 (Crazy Cr) and FR 1520 (Canyon Cr) to the junction with FR 15. Too warm and wet for good grooming conditions.

FR 101 - Skyline Trailhead 2/8/17

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Location: Co 62rd to summit: 101 to skyline trailhead, off trail loop up to 151 to 101 to 159 to snopark & back up to 101

Road & Trail Conditions: Co 62 clear to forest, then plowed, packed sno-ice with rain on top - pretty slick

Snow Conditions: soggy & becoming increasingly so

Skis on & temperature: 12:30pm  34° snow (JD 42° rain )

Skis off & temperature: 3:30pm  36° mist (JD 42° rain)

Distance: 6 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 8 for first half - warm & sticky sno; 10 for second half = fun

more gratitude to the grant county road crew.  in addition to plows, sanders, graders there is also this:

front end pulls sno in & throws it up & off to side.  62 is much wider than a few weeks ago.

Comments: took a chance for one more ski before warm, rain front hits elevation tonite.  someone, with dog, laid great tracks from huddleston to skyline trailhead (thank you!). past that sno was too deep & sticky to continue on 101.

set off trail north from trailhead to scout out loops from higher up on skyline trail back to the 101.

great fun getting lost & found several times. the 150 rds north of trailhead haven't been used in awhile; there are 3-5yr. saplings in the the middle of the rd.  wouldn't have known they were rds without gps & usfs topo quadrangles loaded.  found a few slopes to practice downhill.

the short downhill from 101 - 159 to snopark is gd downhill practice & not too tuff to climb back up.

you can skip that section by parking at summit & starting on 101 west:

62rd at summit, cross over this to 101 west

break trail on 101 west to 159 jct.

the first 200 yards  are rarely groomed or tracked.  after that there is usually some base to go on.

the 934 on the east side is also a great way to get to elevation. haven't seen any tracks on that this year.

starting at the summit is useful as the season wanes & starting & going higher gets better sno conditions.

moderate snofall quit about 2.  by time returned to rig, mist began & rain followed.