It doesn’t get any better than this
Brooke and Sabrina at the Elk Pass-Bluberry junction. Jan 10, 2010
It remains to be seen what the warm weather will do the trails, but so far, it’s still excellent conditions in PLPP in K-Country. Skiing in -2 is much nicer than the freezing cold of -25 which we’ve recently experienced.
Arlene, Ray and I skied the Tyrwhitt loop and we had good snow and tracks for the entire distance. Today I used Toko red, rated for -1/-2 with just a touch of Toko yellow mixed in and it was perfect. It gave me good grip for the uphlls but I didn’t have any problems with it icing or grabbing.
The climb up Whiskey Jack made us work, but this is the kind of work I really enjoy. Arlene wasn’t getting any grip, so we stopped and I applied some of the aforementioned special recipe and she was in business.
Tyrwhitt was magical. When we emerged from the forest into the meadows, the sun was a distinctive blue circle in the haze. The atmosphere was dreamlike and we had an enchanting journey through this pristine wilderness.
Elk Pass. Jan 10, 2010
Elk Pass was busy with skiers coming and going. Picked up a stray pole for a skier who didn’t have the pole strap on. If you’ve ever skied without your pole strap, you’ll know how easy it is to lose it. And if you’re going downhill, it could be a long way back to pick it up. A couple years ago I was skiing along Tyrwhitt when my pole strap broke. I rigged up a makeshift strap from duct tape and it worked amazingly well.
Fox Creek was as much fun as ever, twisting and turning among the pines along its narrow tracks.
Ray and Arlene at the Whiskey Jack - Pocaterra junction with famous Gap Mountain in the background. Jan 10, 2010
Arlene paid me the ultimate(backhanded) compliment today. We stopped to take a photo along Moraine in a sunny spot, and as I was about to step over a cliff, she caught me and said she’d like to keep me along since I am so proficient at waxing. In the next photo, you can see that if I backed up a couple feet, I’d be over the edge and gone.
Don't back up! Bob, Ray and Arlene on Moraine trail. Jan 10, 2010
Still excellent ski conditions on Cascade Fire Rd. on Sun. Tracks weren’t deep but snow was fast.