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Turning Around...
Got out today for a great tour in the San Juans. We went up to a familiar spot and eventually toured back to our main objective. This season is shaping up to be the "standard operating procedure" for the Juans. Lots of lurking, depth hoar...
Our group of 3 has toured together many times and we communicate well in the bc. As I begin skinning up a tight line through dense forest we had lots of settling-some of it very wide-spread. Lots of shooting cracks and "opening" of the pack, but nothing moved on us-just lots of signs. We were in a north/northeast aspect area.
Our assent path would've continued into more open terrain with steep hang-fire above us-technical terrain with some exposed route-finding... With all the settling and cracking, it just didn't feel right.
We decided to turn around.
We skied out of there, back to a safe zone, regrouped and decided to tour up further. We got near tree-line and found some fantastic south-facing gullies with old debris under the new snow-stuff that had already cleaned itself out. The turns were great, and safe. We had an excellent tour and enjoyed a cold beer back at the truck.
The area we didn't ski will be there for another day.
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Awesome! Having a plan B makes it easier too.
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I am down here in the south san juans. I have not been touring much. I got tired of the constant settlements. If a miracle does not occur by mid january I am going to turn around and go back to Alaska. Glad you were able to find something southern to ski. Southerly stuff around here is still pretty thin and deadfall.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Hacksaw
"Courageous retreat."
we need more stories like these. It reflects reality
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Nicely done! I think the ability to turn around from an objective is the single most skill I seek in a touring partner.
