FR 2645 east of Austion Jct Hwy 26 - 3/13/17

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Hi Kyle, Travis and I did a Krust Kruze this morning on the 2645 (Squaw Creek) on skate skis. On the snow 10 a.m. temp then 34 off the snow 11:50 temp 46.  We did well, a few soft spots.  If we could have been there an hour earlier it would have been pretty firm and fast everywhere.  Really hard to guess with this weather system, needs to get pretty cool at night for best conditions.  Was going to send it to your blog but wasn't sure how to attach the map.  We bushwhacked a couple hundred yards in the sw corner, but other than that good forest roads and older slightly grown over roads, quite skiable though.  Nearly 10 miles.  Lots of elk tracks, also coyote, bobcat and cougar.  Used Swix LF 7 for a glide wax, it was fast in all but the warmest snow.  Glen

Sheep Mtn. - off trail - 3/2/17

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Location: Co. 62 to huddelston snopark

Road & Trail Conditions: 62 mostly clear, patchy ice in shade. 1665 groomed 1/4 mile, then 6" powder over 4' firm base. some crust on top = breaking trail

Snow Conditions: several thaw & refreezes makes a little crusty depending on elevation, sun exposure & time of day.

Skis on & temperature: 9am  31°

Skis off & temperature: 6 pm  36°

Distance: 14 miles +/-

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 8 (-2 for crusty sno)

Comments: another offtrail adventure.  sno was marginal.  got up to explore new area for future trips.
from ridgeline saw 4 snomos take off south on fr 14. didn't see or hear them rest of day.

met sean at the snopark, an rn at burns hospital, his wife is the d.o. family doc there. skied together & learned a lot about telemarking.  the gear he had is what i've been lusting after. great connection, even if the sno wasn't premium. you may see him around here.

Winter Returns - Huddleston 101 - 2/26/17

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Location: Co 62 to huddleston snopark

Road & Trail Conditions: FR 169-101-125-1649

Snow Conditions: fabulous; fresh groomed, 2" powder going out; 6" powder coming back.  oh, my!

Skis on & temperature: 9am  22°

Skis off & temperature: 5pm 28°

Distance: 13 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10+

Comments: it doesn't get much better than this. started out 30mins. behind groomer, with consistent mild to moderate sno thruout day. great runs thru lots of powder.  125 & 1649 were perfect for practicing downhill turns.  have had some rough previous runs on these on icy.

getting off trail was too deep for my skis.  keeping on roads was terrific.

met emily, biologist for the tribes from prairie. avid skier. you'll probably see her out there.

skis moving downhill thru 6" powder

Grooming Report - Summit Prairie - 3/1/17

Made pre-trip repairs to cat and groomed a small loop around Summit Prairie, snow is in good condition with 5 to 8 inches of fresh. Cat tripped an engine light so it was a short day but the snowpark and close in trails are all dresseed up.

Red line on map is todays route

Cheers

Dave

Grooming Report - Huddleston to Logan Valley 2/26/17

Feb 27, 2017 Bill Prophet took Cat #1 today from Huddleston SP and groomed west and south catching FRs 16, 135, 187, 207,101, 1649, 058, 1648, 924, 815, and 307.  Pink line on attached map.  Bill reports 6" new snow;)

Skyline Trail - Huddleston - off trail 2/23/17

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Location: Co. 62 to summit; FR 101 west

Road & Trail Conditions:  Co. 62 bare to forest, plowed with variable clear, thin ice, powder over both

Snow Conditions: solid base, 4-8" new powder

Skis on & temperature: 8am 20°  (JD 28° )

Skis off & temperature: 5:30pm 19° (JD 32° )

Distance: 12 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome):  10

Comments: there's a lot of great powder out there.  starr ridge looks a little thin & wet.  summit prairie is great.  hasn't been any grooming & saw no snomo tracks.  means breaking trail thru powder - i love it.

another of my off trail adventures. tough climb thru trees & then switchbacking up slope.  there is an easier way up to this ridgeline (101 to 125).  decided to go straight up for fun.  one tired puppy getting up there.  great downhill thru powder & trees on the way back. even with gps & maps, lost some of the marked roads on return. don't necessarily recommend this exact route.

winds were intense all day: 20mpg sustained, 35 mph gusts. windchill varied from 0-10. snow squalls every hour. happy for ski goggles & balaclava. shortened segment along ridge due to headwind.  at top sno is deep & beautiful:

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......