Tuckerman Pics - May 1st-2nd

[gincognito]

A brief write-up of the festivities can be found amongst others here.

Here be some accompanying pics.

First we have a shot of C. being dwarfed by the melting headwall. Falling ice and opening crevasses are always a concern, so little time is wasted contemplating the options.

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall..._CHeadwall.jpg
She's down in the lower left. Honest.

And here she is ripping it up on a large bowl of Tuckerman corn.

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...rmal_CBowl.jpg
A little bit easier to spot here.

We then wandered up the chute for a little extremo action. Steep, variable snow and a river of glop down the center made this interesting.

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...rmal_Chute.jpg
Dodging climbers also added to the excitement.

Next came the traditional Left Gully. Snow was thin for the last pitch so we opted to start from the wall on climber's right. T heads down to set up for a photo, leaving me plenty of time to chill and plan out my run. I decide a little new school shenanigans are in order. Kids, do not try this at home!!

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...l_LeftBail.jpg
Patented tip dive to body smear to horizontal daffy.

Of course, being the star that I am, I manage to bring it all together and throw in one (semi) controlled turn before having a look back up (after sliding most of the wall and performing an impromptu stone grind).

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall..._LeftGully.jpg
Note the professional hand drag.

We called it a day after that and heading back to camp. A fine day under fine skies.

Sick and ashamed and happy (and onwards to Hillman's),
d.

[gincognito]

Hillman's. Hillman's was...sketchy. Snow cover was...less than ideal. Route finding was...interesting.

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...ForestHike.jpg
T fighting the scraggly trees, which were still buried at this time last year.

Creek crossings, tip hang-ups, and boulder climbing were part and parcel of this endeavour. The bottom third of the run took more than half of the total time to climb up.

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall..._TreeClimb.jpg
Tree-assited climb or gratuituous butt shot? You make the call.

Finally, we were rewarded with this view of the valley and the Hermit Lake Shelter down below.

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...illmanView.jpg
A fine place for lunch.

And this is the run it was all for.

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...HillmanRun.jpg
A few turns, hope the shrubs, few more turns, careful the waterfall...

T taking advantage of the upper portion.

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...l_THillman.jpg
Not yet a photo slut, T chooses to blend in with the surrounding rocks.

All in all, definitely worth it. But you already knew that. As fine a way as any to end the season and put away the skis with a sense of peace.

Sick and ashamed and happy (and not to say that I don't want to take them out again),
d.

[bad_roo]

Originally posted by gincognito
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...l_LeftBail.jpg

Fritschi should put this picture in the owner's manual under "How to retrieve the situation when your Freeride binding pops into walk mode."

[Phil]

Gezz a little space up there. The race in on health vs snow cover ... will there be any left ?

Thank you for the stoke.

[sick.bird]

CAW! CAW!!

[edg]

Originally posted by bad_roo
Fritschi should put this picture in the owner's manual under "How to retrieve the situation when your Freeride binding pops into walk mode."

On that note, don't ever buy Fritschi tele bindings. I had a pair of the Skyhøy things and they were shocking. I didn't mind them being heave and their appearance of being normal alpine bindings, but them splitting apart (and I mean literally) half way down a mogul field (on the Brevent) wasn't their high point...

edg

[Hicks]

Nice shots!