An almost annual ritual, Snowslide Peak at the end of May is wonderful.
- May 29, 2020
- Team: Tom, Dave, and Nicole
- 5.7 mi, 3117' gain, ~6:00 car-to-car, Class 2
- Peak: Snowslide Peak, 8520'
Note: click images to see a larger version in a new window
Last night Scotty sent me pics from his phone- He was on top of Snowslide Peak! We had planned to take Dave's daughter Nicole today, but after seeing those pics we had renewed motivation. Nicole just arrived from the East Coast, so she was not acclimatized; not to the thin air, nor to hiking with a bunch of old guys. After eyeing the last few snow patches blocking the road, we parked about 1/4 mile shy of the normal trailhead and were off at about 8am, already a bit warm. That's Slick Rock on the far left. |
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It was warm, but the sun wasn't even fully up. And yes, it's only sort-of a trail. And steep. |
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| As is usual for this time of year, we made it almost to the meadow before the hillside went fully to snow. In case you are wondering, we estimated that some of the tree moats up high were showing close to 4 1/2 or 5 feet. |  |
Golden Lake was pretty much fully frozen over. |
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Ruby knew where to go. |
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No snowshoes or crampons needed. Just perseverance.
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| I love that moment when you get to see what is on the other side of the ridge. In this case, a frozen Maki Lake. And above that, Mt. Horrendous peeking up it's dark pyramidal head. |  |
Just a bit higher and I got to declare to Nicole, "You've been up that!" If you're not used to playing NTP, that's South Loon. |
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| And that's Peak 8361. |  |
And that! Well, that's where we are headed. |
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Making progress. Getting views. The white pyramid on the horizon just left of center is Idler Peak. I can name more, but I have promised not to NTP too much. |
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| The ladybugs were putting on a show for Nicole. |  |
| Ruby on the summit ridge. I think she's been here five times already in her young life. |  |
| We were so excited, exhilarated, and just plain busy, we didn't do a traditional summit shot. So here we are just below the top, repairing that oversight. |  |
| Really nice snow conditions on the way down, with perfect plunge stepping. And below that, another look at the steep alleged trail. |  |
When we got back to the road for our short walk back to good road, Dave and I felt deeply complete when we found the Millennial Trap had sprung (note the stuck truck on the left in the distance). Note: My electronics are being fussy after taking a swim last week, so if you want to see a map, visit one of the links to previous trips offered at the top of this page. |
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| Dave's pics |  |
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