Denali...Mount McKinley...The Great One

Well a busy, stormy season on Mount Rainier was cause for delay in posting some pictures from my Denali trip this summer.  Here are a few to catch up a bit:

RMI guides Jeff Schellens and Lindsay Mann take off on their vintage Murray Talkeetna cruiser.

 Landing on the Kahiltna Glacier at 7600'.  Mount Crossen in the background.

Mount Hunter oversees the happenings of Kahiltna Base Camp.

 Below an avalanche sweeps down Mount Hunter:

 Lenticulars build on the peak of Mt McKinley as our team crosses the Kahiltna Glacier.

Our team spreads out as we round Windy Corner on the way to 14 Camp.

Lindsay prepares to lead her team over a monster crevasse at about 14,000'.

Mount Foraker looms high above the Kahiltna Glacier.

Ascending the fixed lines above 14 camp.

 The Great One from the North East Fork of the Kahiltna.

Spencer Guinn, Dave Hahn and Zeb Blais prepare to head back to terra firma with K2 Aviation.

Ellery Bowl - north aspects still skiing well...

The latest Eastern Sierra mission, Tuesday 4/12/2011, yielded a super fun day of skiing variable snow, with northern aspects still clinging to their winter conditions.  We skinned up Lee Vining Creek and got up to Ellery Bowl to find some interesting winter snow.  It was a bit wind affected and slabby near the top of the bowl (11,400'), but softer, less punchy snow was available in patches in the trough of the bowl.  Due to our somewhat late timing, Western aspects that had gone through a few melt-freeze cycles were melted and skiing well.  Descending into the canyon  revealed that the heat of the day had turned what had been almost blue ice in the morning to a fast, fun gliding surface. 

Some bushwacking...

A bit of scrambling...

 Some bootpacking...

 And Mount Dana greets us at the top!

Roscoe rips some pow turns.

Molly and Roscoe stop on one of the softer patches.

Skin tracks and turns down the low angle trough of the bowl.

East Peak - The End of the Dana Plateau.

 With another storm looming, Doug and I were hoping to sneak in an ascent of the Dana Plateau and get a view before making the series of icy survival turns back to Lee Vining Canyon.  We made it in time to get a taste of some serious wind, and got out before things got ugly.  The pics and the video were taken April 6th.

Here's Doug climbing the last pitch of East Peak before getting onto the Dana Plateau.

 A west wind rips snow off the Dana Plateau onto the eastern flanks of East Peak.

This video to gives a good idea of what the conditions were like on top of the plateau:

Zeb Blais at the top of East Peak.  The North Face of Mount Gibbs is illuminated in the background.

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.

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

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'.