Happy New Year: Skiing King Mountain!

I felt a little lame for going to sleep at 9pm on New Years eve, but it still didn't stop me, I was more excited to go skiing the next day than stay up late. The thermometer at Hokanson's cabin was steady at zero, but I didn't believe it....it felt way colder. The sky was perfectly clear, and the moon was bright enough to cast shadows.

We began our trip up King Mountain with the obligatory 1000+ foot alder scwhack fest...my feet didn't touch the ground in multiple places, and I was using my whippet to hook and pull on...I would give it an adventure class rating.

Ryan and the Alders

 

There wasn't a temperature inversion, and so it just got colder and windier as we got higher up the mountain. I was hiking in my puff coat up hill and I wasn't hot, my thermometer was reading -10 without wind chill...it was freezing out.

The Ryan's Hiking Up the Couloir

 

I want to say Ryans altimeter put us at over 5,000 feet up this couloir...it was freaking long!

High Spot Group Shot

 

Although I call myself a fair weather skier, this was definitely not my usual style. I have fat, soft powder skis, because that's what I want to ski...the couloir was mostly wind scoured, sustrugi textured, hard pan....if I wasn't in such a beautiful place, I would not have been psyched on the skiing itself....however, even skiing shitty snow beats walking down a peak any day.

Ryan Skiing Down

 

More pics...