TR: Queen Basin June 1st, 2008

[goldenboy]

Apologies in advance for the lack of action shots...

I wasn't in the mood to drive anywhere or put too much effort into anything given the weather forecast for temps which weren't supposed to reach freezing. Mtnbikerskierchick and I drove out the recently opened Gothic road to see what things looked like. In the evening light, one of my favorite routes anywhere, which we call "White Widow" looked melted out. As it turns out, it was still in except for a little bit at the top. Plan B was to ski "El Nacho", something I skied in '97 or '98, but not since. My friends Luke and Jeremy decided to join us as well.

MBSC hiking, with Gothic mountain behind:


A little higher up, with Crested Butte behind:


Once we got a little higher, we determined that the Elks were indeed still holding snow in June:


I hadn't been up high in this area for a while,so it's always fun to get a different view. CB and Whetstone:


A HUGE slide occurred this winter (2-9-08) in the bowl below us. Here's a couple of shots from the Crested Butte Avalanche center:




We could still see the evidence:


L-R, the many summits of Avery, Precarious, and Pyramid.


Different view of Maroon (S) (seen through the saddle):


Whiterock looks fun off the summit:


The old East Maroon wagon trail and pass are pretty obvious:


I was a little bummed that White Widow was mostly in, since it's one of the best couloirs I've skied, but I guess we'll hit it another day:


Our intended route, "El Nacho" looked pretty poor, so we changed plans a bit. Queen basin has a bunch of couloirs, called the ten little indians, so Jeremy picked one:


mbsc and I choose a fun hanging face instead:


MBSC:




We came out under El Nacho. Get it? Notch --> Notch-o --> El Nacho? Not sure who named it.


I was a little worried about crossing Copper creek, but it wasn't too bad. Luke kept his helmet on, Safety First!!


The last time I skied this area, the skiing through the forest was a rotten mess. Sunday, even walking back through the patchy stuff after noon, the snow was still amazingly solid, even though it was a light freeze. I was only sinking in an inch or two, and the air temp felt like it was at least 60 by then. It's amazing how a good snowpack stays good, and a bad one stays bad.

[couloirman]

good to see people still getting after it. Makes me jealous, looking at all your lines while Im here in PA watching it pour rain outside my window. Nice trip. Oh and that avy looks scaaaarrrrrrrrryyyyyy!

[montanaskier]

cool line as always!

[FrontRangeDrummer]

This looks like a cool area.

[Kling]

Good stuff you two!

[Kya]

And that entire TR I was picturing a mountain that looked like a plate of nachos....until the explanation.

Looks like a fun day dudes!

[smmokan]

Its nice to see what it looks like down there right now... I'll be down in early July so hopefully there's enough melting between now and then to keep me occupied!

[mtnbikerskierchick]

It was a good day out! I can't believe CB has so much snow still! We'll go back next year and hit the Widow. It looks so sweet!

[adimmen]

The Elks are simply unreal.

[thin cover]

yeah pa is not a fun place to be watching all that snow and everyone else ski it. 80 and raining makes it seem that much more distant. good work though and of course I am jealous as all hell.

good to see people still getting after it. Makes me jealous, looking at all your lines while Im here in PA watching it pour rain outside my window. Nice trip. Oh and that avy looks scaaaarrrrrrrrryyyyyy!

[skiingislife]

Nice TR.


This photo reminds me of my semester at Wasted. Except that it didn't snow in CB back then.