Even though the weather shut us down yesterday we were bound and determined to summit again and ride down the hanging snowfield that nearly enticed us to ride down it in whiteout conditions the day before. This time we had the local boy Greg Long with us donning the snowshoes!! He hauled an ungodly heavy pack the whole day with his board and snowboard boots swinging about rhythmically as he climbed. No heel riser meant that his calves had to have been on FIRE from the get go. It took us nearly four hours to climb to the top w/ breaks (and LOTS of picture taking). Instead of the visibility diminishing as we rounded the corner into the final push, it started to break up and we could see an end to the clouds in the distance!! We waited at the top for a complete break in the cloud cover, but it wasn't happening fast enough so we dropped in...... Daron decided it would be safest to break into two groups and ride to a few designated "safe" spots. He paired up w/ Lily and I paired up w/ Greg. We all rode down to a bent over tree and watched Daron drop into the first section. It involved making some moderately steep turns fall-line, then traversing R for a bit which rolled over into a deep, wide gully. Oh, and the traverse was over 300' cliffs. And it was a "little" exposed!! Once into the gully it was fun riding with huge walls to surf and great snow!! Lily recorded some videos of us riding down the upper section and we moved on to the steepest zone. A dead tree signified where the terrain rolled steep and we grouped up there. One at a time we rode the 40+ degree "rib" of snow. Nobody took any good diggers luckily, although Greg found the G-out section off to the L that offered a little snow sample. From there it was more surfing the walls of the huge gully for at least another 800+ feet of vertical. Then we dumped onto the lower angle face that we initially climbed. By that point we were all intoxicated by the splendor of the peak that we just descended. I was laughing out loud uproariously by that point!! We stayed high and L to avoid riding out the last lake we skinned across, then rode out onto the second lake where we changed over and began the skin out. Glancing back every 5 steps was inevitable!! What a day!! The last "road" that wraps along the mountainside had a stream running down it and made for some very interesting skinning (w/ lots of rocks to clamber over). After soaking up the visually stunning sights a little more we made off on the snowmobiles. Towards the end of the ride Greg offered Daron his sled so we could go for a longer cruise. We dropped our gear in the bushes and took off up the road. I haven't ridden a sled in a while and it was quite the thrill!! Those things have some torque!! I glanced down to see highway speeds a few times!! We were literally riding on a road that was basically plowed by a machine called a groomer (used at ski areas to make "groomers"). For a few minutes I dropped off Lily and got my ya-ya's out. I followed Daron off road into some powder and of course had to get it stuck trying to hill climb out. Daron ran down and helped me before I really buried it (thankfully b/c we didn't have our shovels w/ us!!). Second go I got it up the hill (barely). You really have to be aggressive on them!! After wheelie dropping onto the road we zoomed back to get Lily (who had started walking up the road after we didn't come right back). We rallied back to Truckee, had yummy left-over yam enchiladas (we're getting them dialed!!) and fell asleep with a big smile on our faces!! What to do tomorrow?!! Pic descriptions: 1. Lily Dropping In (from the top). 2. Me nearing the summit (above the "double drop couloir" which is coo-coo!!). 3. Greg Long snowshoeing across the final lake before the real slog commenced. 4. Daron, Greg, and Lily at the start of the climb (just off the sleds). 5. Greg getting his snowshoe on!! What a stairmaster workout!!
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