Spark Notes:
Saturday - Sugar Loaf, West Buttress (Guide: South Lake Tahoe Climbing by SuperTopo)
Sunday - skied at Kirkwood
Waking up at a civilized 7am, I headed north to pick Bennett up in the city. After loading more skis and cams than necessary, I pointed the Subaru north and east to Tahoe. Bennett worked the iPod like a pro and the miles flew by. On the drive we mixed bad singing with discussion about our goals for the day: with the consensus being moderate leading, and definitely some practice placing gear. We debated the merits of the Leap and Cosumnes River Gorge, but eventually settled on Sugar Loaf.
We followed the SuperTopo directions to park along the side of 50. We were met by gorgeous, sunny, t-shirt climbing weather (yay for March in California). At the West Buttress area, we found both sticky granite and a class from the Lake Tahoe Community College. Fortunately, the guides/students were friendly, and by situating ourselves to the far left, we climbed without interference all day.
 |
| Sacroiliac Joint (5.7) |
Bennett started climbing first and led the way all day (he brought the psyche for sure) and I followed-up with my best impression. We climbed the four routes at the far left of the crag, two friction sport climbs (5.8 and 5.9) to get a sense of things, followed by a couple top ropes to practice placing gear (10b with small gear + 2 bolts and an awkward, left leaning trad 5.7). We supplemented the training by climbing up and then down-climbing, placing and removing gear on the 5.7. Sufficiently psyched, we ended the climbing by leading the .7 and then the .10b in succession. I was particularly happy with the last lead as I had greased off the 10b crux on TR before finding an easier path with some crucial nubs on the otherwise blank face. We took the last half hour before sunset to walk around the base of the Sugar Loaf to get our bearings (and fill our heads with inspiration for another trip). We retreated to the car in darkness: a good day indeed.
 |
| Sunset from Sugar Loaf |
We arrived at the cabin expecting a relatively quite night, but found 7 new friends enjoying a feast, with food to spare. You never know what you'll find when at Adam's place! Glad for the company, we ditched our pizza in the fridge and joined the meal, adding some roasted veggies o the table.
 |
| Empty slopes going up The Wall at Kirkwood. |
An extended hot tub session left our hands stinging but our legs refreshed for a day at Kirkwood. We got a leisurely start after Bennett gave me a lesson in how to hot wax my skis. Very therapeutic. Because of the late start, we ate leftover pizza on the lift between runs: more time for skiing! Wind, swirling snow, temperature, and low-hanging cloud cover kept the mountain relatively deserted meaning that Bennett and I were able to find plenty of drifts of soft snow among the icy patches. A few premature binding releases on the Wall reminded me that I needed to adjust my bindings after having lent the skis to Doug last weekend. Once snugged down, everything felt better, and we bounced back and forth from the Wall to Solitude threading between steep moguls and powder filled trees with a few little kickers in the gullies and small terrain parks. All told, we could have barely asked for a better day, and were treated to gorgeous scenery on the drive home thanks to the additional hour of daylight.
Snow's in the forecast for this weekend so I guess I may be headed back...
Tick List:
Long Toe (5.8) - sport - lead
Middle Toe (5.9) - sport - lead
Sacroiliac Joint (5.7) - trad - mock lead, then lead
Short Toe (5.10b) - mixed - mock lead (hung), then lead
No comments:
Post a Comment