Slackcountry Daytrip (14 April 2012)

Spark Notes:

Saturday: Kirkwood and slackcountry to Emigrant Lake

Song of the Trip: Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) (Spotify)

Usually I pick a "Song of the Trip" because it was something that I particularly liked while on the road, or have been really enjoying that week.  This week, however, I'm dispensing some advice: spring skiing means harsher sun and longer hours, and I have a goggle tan burn to prove it.  I really ought to remember that lesson year to year.  So, yeah, wear sunscreen.

Despite the burn, I'd say the day was still worth it.  I got to Adam's at 1:00 on Friday night/Saturday morning and crashed on the couch.  We were up at 7 and out the door early to try to catch first tracks.  Why bother in April?  Believe it or not, fresh snow in April!  Kirkwood had been blessed with over 2 feet of snow in the previous 3 days and no terrible thawing temperatures.

Rusty shredding inbounds.

We rode lifts and hiked inbounds all morning to get as many fresh turns as we could.  By the time the afternoon rolled around, most of the resort was tracked out, so we skinned along the ridge to the south of the top of Sunrise (Chair 10, I think).  Completely untracked slopes led down to Emigrant Lake just below Melissa Coray Peak.  I ended up skiing with two new folks (friends of a friend) and had an awesome time.  Definitely a highly recommended slackcountry destination on days with good snow stability, especially since the tour back to the lifts is pretty mellow, too.

We'll see if there's more skiing this year, hopefully the freeze/thaw cycles will line up for some good corn snow.  I may just get too excited for climbing though...

Mostly work, a little climbing (1 and 7 April 2012)

Spark Notes:
Sunday (a week ago) - Handley Rock Park, lower tier
Saturday (two days ago) - Castle Rock State Park, Waterfall Cliff
Guidebook: Rock Climbing Guide to the Castle Rock Area  (but Bay Area Top Ropes has some information on the areas, too)

Song of the Weekend(s): Little More Time - Zox (Spotify)

The past couple weekends have mostly been spent working (with a trip over to Merced for a day to pick oranges at my grandma's and do income taxes...hardcore, I know.)  Even on working days, though, I've been happy to get out for at least a couple hours on real rocks.

On the plus side, I did manage to climb at least a little bit at a couple local areas and Handley Rock Park and Castle Rock State Park.

Handley is relatively close, has zero approach, and top rope setup is super easy.  From the top (an easy scramble), the views of the valley and bay are pretty nice, too.  Having previously climbed on the left side of the top tier (5.8-5.9s and a 5.11), we headed down to the lower tier (5.7-5.9 depending on the line you choose).  The sandstone definitely makes you trust your feet and balance.  Good practice.

Handley Rock (Credit: Access Fund)

As for this weekend, I had been hoping to climb all day Sunday, but work wasn't going to let that happen.  My prospective partner was coming down from SF, and that commute just wasn't worth the couple hours that I could commit.  Fortunately, Kat and I climbed at the Waterfall Cliff (sorry no photos) for a couple hours yesterday.  The area is about a mile hike in, and has a nice view over the top of the (namesake) waterfall.  The waterfall dries up in the summer, but it was flowing pretty well this weekend.  We were also watched over by some circling turkey vultures...slightly ominous.

Despite being a wuss, and worrying about my forgotten chalk bag, I did keep working on my major goal for this year: becoming a better leader (trad leader, even better).  We climbed on the far right side of the cliff: Degeneration (5.10a) and Leading to Death (5.9).  Both were "mixed" climbs (gear and bolts, not rock and ice).  The gear sections were 5.6-5.8 and good practice for placing both nuts and cams. Again, the nature of the climbing meant mostly footwork with only a little bit of pulling. I was happy to climb without falling, but getting comfortable falling (when it's safe) is definitely something I need to work on as well.

Tick List:
Handley: Lower Left Routes (5.7-5.9)
Castle Rock: Degeneration (5.10a on bolts, 5.6 on gear) and Leading to Death (5.9, 5.8 on gear)

168 Hours Later: Trimmer Peak (24 March 2012)

Spark Notes:

Saturday: Trimmer Peak, somewhere between 7 and 8 miles and about 4k feet

Sunday: Heavenly, trees, rocks, and parks

Song of the Weekend: You Never Know Who You're Gonna Meet - Jacob Bain & Publish the Quest (Spotify)

A week after the only real dumping of the '11-12 season in Tahoe, and you could barely tell that it had snowed.  Eric was feeling a bit under the weather, so we got a bit of a late start on Saturday morning.  Nonetheless, we were at the trailhead by 9:30 or so and walking our way in.  Yup, skis on our backs.  In March.  (After about a half a mile, we were able to start skiing.)

Route Map

Eric and I weren't really on the same page all day.  That'll happen when energy, stoke, and health levels aren't lining up.  I had my eyes on Freel Peak, and for sure that's on the tick list for next season (take a look off the back of Heavenly and you'll see the inviting upper snowfield and couloirs).  After Eric called a lunchtime nap, we changed tack and climbed Trimmer Peak instead.  We took a few turns down junk snow on the east side of trimmer, then skinned back up and headed down the north face.  According to the book, the parallel avalanche slides down the face are known as "The Elevens."  We figured it would make more sense to call them "the ones" or "the eleven" but maybe we read the book wrong.  Not important anyway.

Elevens (Trimmer Peak, North Face)

The skiing was mediocre, and it was a bit of a slog, but the day was more about getting out than shredding turns, and that was just fine.  I'm looking forward to getting back to Freel next year.  Other highlights of the weekend including running into a high school friend on a lift at Heavenly, getting into the terrain park for a bit, and seeing possibly the coolest rainbow I've ever seen.

Tahoe from Trimmer

Booting up

No leprechauns in sight.