Saturday, November 20, 2010

Yosemite Valley - before the storm...

A brief trip to Yosemite National Park.  The weather was gorgeous.  A truly amazing time of year to visit the park.  We camped from Nov 17th through the 19th and got out just before the storm closed Tioga Pass Road.

We saw Tommy Caldwell and company working on a new difficult route on El Capitan.  It had taken the team 6 days to get about a third of the way up the wall.  Hard climbing...more than a few pitches of 5.14.  The team was waiting to see what the storm was going to do before deciding to bail on the attempt.  We watched them climb a pitch, then had to get on the road.  The previous night we watched them illuminating the wall with headlamps, climbing and setting up their porta-ledges.  It was amazing to be able to watch these guys picking apart a route like that.  Good luck to ya fellas~

Tenaya Lake.

The Half Dome.

A large lenticular builds behind Half Dome.

A view from the top of the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail.





 Looking down the Valley from the top of Yosemite Falls.


The last leaves cling to an Oak tree on the Yosemite Falls trail.

Squaw Opens and Gets Some Real Snow!

Today marks the opening of the 2010/2011 Season for Squaw Valley.   The mountain is starting things off right with a proper winter storm that lasted through the night, dropping around 8-10" of new snow at Squaw's Base of 6,250'.  This morning's (hopefully) brief lull in the storm provided some amazing light to snap a few photos of the fresh snow.  Today and tonight are supposed to deliver an additinal 25-35"!!!  Yee Haa!!!  Just in time for the holidays... 

Here are some pics of what the mountain looked like after last night:

KT-22 under a sucker hole after 10" of fresh last night.

The view from my porch.

Tram Face - shaping up nicely!

The Headwall covered in light cloud.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

19th Annual Snow Gods Ball | Squaw Valley USA - Lake Tahoe Ski Resort

If you are going to be in Tahoe on December 18th (12-18-2010), you gotta check out the Snow God's Ball. There are going to be ton's of great raffle prizes and it's a huge party. Details:

19th Annual Snow Gods Ball | Squaw Valley USA - Lake Tahoe Ski Resort

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Casaval Ridge 11-11-2010

Pictures from Mount Shasta's Casaval Ridge on 11/9/2010 through 11/11/2010.  Tough snow conditions and inclement weather made for hard climbing.  The trip began with stormy winter weather, but ended with clear skies and amazing views.

 Storm conditions prevailed on Wednesday, November 9.  Bitter wind, driving snow and a soft snow pack made climbing a bit of a struggle.

 Storming at 9,800' on Wednesday.

By Wednesday night a ridge set in, clearing the sky and leaving only moderate gusts of wind behind.

Setting up camp at 9,800'.

 Wind affected snow blanketing the moraines of Avalanche Gulch and Sargent's Ridge as the storm begins to clear.  11/10/2010

Our tent site the morning of 11/11.

 Me on the ridge at 10,400'.
 
A view up Casaval Ridge from 10,400'.  This shot was taken at around 7:30am.  We had beautiful weather with some light wind.

Looking down the lower ridge at our tent site at 9,800'.  Big block walls made site pretty comfortable, despite the topography funneling wind through the col.

A closeup of Casaval Ridge from 10,400'.  The route is beginning to fill in, but variable snow conditions made for tough climbing in a lot of spots.

Shasta from the bottom of Avalanche Gulch on Thursday, November 11th.  The weather was gorgeous down low, with a bit of cold wind around 9,500'.

Second snowfall...get the skis ready

KT-22 looking better after some more snow on November 8th.

Headwall and Tram Face showing off some new snow.