April 12th and 13th, 2008
Finding Desolation in the Crystal Range
Joe
Day #1 - Saturday, 4/12/08 - Fallen Leaf Lake to Lake Aloha to Mt Agassiz
I came here to ski corn.
I also came to Desolation to try out all the new overnight gear I had purchased over the last 6 months. Some of which I had already tried out at home:
Additionally, I wanted to get back to the Crystal Range since it looked soooo good from a distance this year. It was refreshing to go solo and not see another person (except from a very far distance) for the entire weekend. It was a necessary and successful decompression experience for me. Here's the view from Tallac a few weeks prior that jumped start my heart. I began to dream of a warm sunny trek to Lake Aloha to ski as much of this vast alpine world as I could muster my legs to do. Agassiz on the left, Price on the right:
So it started with a beautiful calm morning on the silent shores of Fallen Leaf Lake. I've never seen the water so still:
I started skinning up towards Lily Lake with the big load on my shoulders at 8:30 AM from the Fallen Leaf Fire Station:
Spring was in the air. Bodies of water were opening up. The deep snow pack glowed extra white under the warm sun. Keith's Dome:
Spring thaw always reveals a few "buried treasures"
The pack mule takes a break at Glen Alpine Springs. But he did not drink the water. Notice the pack system? The big pack carries the tent, sleeping bag, pad, stove, food, etc. While the little Zippo pack is lashed on the outside with my ski gear inside. The Zippo is easily deployed from the Mother Ship for quick ski assaults without unpacking the entire house.
Snow bridges were harder to find on this trip:
Grass Lake and Cracked Crag. Taking the shore line around Grass Lake was 10x harder than skiing over a frozen surface.
The low spot in the center of the picture is where I am headed; Heather Lake. Jack's Peak is on the right:
Travel became much easier above Grass Lake:
A little mountain Feng Shui for you:
Cracked Crag looking Bad.
The Crystal Range reveals itself for the first time from Heather Lake:
My lone skin track across Heather:
I homestead some land and head towards the glowing fields of corn beyond....
Mt Agassiz was calling me.....and this slope needed a set of tracks from top to bottom. I felt obligated.
PERFECT CORN SNOW:
PERFECT!
Nearing the North facing headwall. Unbelievably the snow went from corn to powder for this last stretch. I began to wonder if there was a break in the rock bands that would allow me to ski this steep face from the top. From WAY below it seemed doable. But from here it was questionable....
At the choke and I still wondered if the snow jogged left between these rock bands.....That's the summit sticking up on the right:
Looking back from where I came. And it's powderish up here too!
The snow did jog around the bands and allow me to continue to the top. No more pictures were taken until I crested the ridge. I was busy concentrating on not falling backwards off the mountain, a la Jack Kerouac. The last few steps before the top were on wind blasted firm snow. Notice how the boot steps are not as noticeable just below the top. It took some kicking just to get toes in. Not a place to fall with the rock bands below and no one around.
A gateway to the summit beckoned, inviting me to rest on the summit block in the warm sun once again.
View towards Price and the couloir between Agassiz and Price that Mike Schwartz skied a week ago.
Peering over the edge of the summit block I could see my little boot steps up the steep slope below. I would ski down the same line.
Views from the top. North towards Price:
East towards South Lake Tahoe. My entire day's journey is visible in this picture. My camp is on the far left edge of this picture along the Northeast shore of Lake Aloha.
View Southwest. Freel is the tallest peak in the Tahoe basin dead center in this picture:
View South to Pyramid Peak with Sierra at Tahoe, Carson Pass area and Kirkwood beyond:
View West towards the foothills, Placerville, Sacramento, Bay Area, El Pacifico and beyond!
And your tour guide:
Where the girls and I ski every Sunday:
As much as I wanted to stay and hang out on the incredible summit of Agassiz, I had to get back to my little homestead:
Looking down the North face of Aggy:
I skied down to my boot pack. The top few turns were on firm snow, but then the powder was found! The dogleg choke was no big deal with skis beneath my feet.
Tracks from below:
Back in the sun with nothing below me but fun, fun, fun:
When you are solo, you don't get any action shots. But you get lots of tracks!
Including skin tracks:
I was hootin' and hollerin' and there was no one around to laugh at me.
Time for dinner and a sunset.
Room with a view please.
Here's a YouTube video of my summit panorama from the top of Agassiz. Notice how nice of an afternoon it is. Sitting on a sunny summit at nearly 5:00 PM with barely a breath of wind.
YouTube - Agassiz summit before ski descent
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