Saturday, Feb 21
Today we skied OB. Mimi and Frank, Lisa and John, and yours truly skied Cody Peak, No Name Peak and No Name Canyon. On Cody I skied No Shadows, so that is the Triple No.
Mimi skied Pucker Face, a steeper route with a band of rocks/cliffs you have to negotiate. Pucker is Mimi's personal white whale. About 15 years ago she was in Steep Camp, and the graduation exercise was to ski Pucker Face. She did it, but had sewing machine legs, and has been afraid of Pucker Face since then. Today she dropped right in and skied a beautiful line. No fear, no problem, no bad turns--another Triple No.
The hike up Powder 8 Bowl was tiring, but the traverse out to No Name Peak really did me in. There is a long section you have to side step; a couple of guys took their skis off and walked so I did too. Big mistake. Soon I was foundering in powder up to my waist. The others put their skis back on, but I couldn't even get out of my hole, let alone get my skis off my pack and on my feet on this steep and deep traverse. Then a snowboarder passed me, crawling so he didn't sink in so far. I emulated him and made it up to the scree section where you have to walk, but crawling totally wiped me out. Take it from me, keep your skis on in deep snow.
The other four in our group are excellent skiers and looked awesome on each run. I skied pretty well. I had no nervousness this time out, and made many good turns, spooning the previous skiers tracks most of the way. But in both No Shadows and No Name Face, I tumbled at least once during my run. Frank says the snow was wind loaded, making skiing tricky. I felt like the weak link, but had an excellent day in the mountains. The photos just don't do justice to how gorgeous this area is.
In summary, the skiing was excellent, the hiking was exhausting, the scenery was unsurpassed, and the company was fantastic. A good day all around.
Mimi and Frank about to start the climb up Cody Bowl.
Mimi climbing the steepest, most difficult part of Cody Bowl. The route was different a few days ago, but the snow melted and the teeny little toe holds of the other route aren't possible now, so you have to climb through the rocks, which is difficult in Alpine ski boots.
Cody Bowl. Four Shadows, our route last time, is in the shadows. No Shadows is closer and in the sun. Pucker Face is the closest and steepest with that band of rocks running across it.
After skiing No Name Face, we had to hike a bit to access the north-facing slopes of No Name Canyon. By this time (about 12:30 pm), the south facing slopes are heated by the sun and prone to slide. Even though I am thoroughly exhausted by this point, I am smiling because we get to ski the rest of the way back to the ski resort.
John and Lisa with Phillip in the middle.
Mimi and Frank with Phillip in the middle. Everyone else was anxious to get going again, but I delayed them with the camera ploy to get a bit more rest.
In No Name Canyon we skied three gentle pitches before the long traverse back to the resort. This first slope was almost untracked when we got there. Only the two rightmost tracks marred the perfection of the snow (the straightline running across the slope and the long turns on the right). The next three tracks are John, Frank, and Phillip doing an okay job of spooning the big boys' tracks. On the left you can see Mimi (in the lead) and Lisa making figure 8's all the way down.
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