11.13.04

**iskibc** · 11-13-2004, 11:49 PM

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...cs/Cnv0226.jpg

Dawn Patrol, pfffffft. Had to work 1 hour this morning, so any plans of getting up early to beat the crowds and make some turns were faded. No problem though, as there are many spots still ripe for the taking. Met up with Wahamma just after noon and we were soon on our way up to the hills for some turns.

Sometime after 1:30 PM we were well on our way as the clouds shifted and the snow began to pick up a little. We reached the summit and didn’t have much of a view due to the fog and light snow. We waited around for a while, dug a couple of pits, and then finally got a little light to make a run down the couloir. A sharp ski cut into the couloir resulted in a clean fracture about 6 inches down into the pack. Fracture lines split in every direction and the snow released from under my feet and down the slope. There's nothing worse than digging a pit and finding a good snow pack and then making a ski cut to witness something like this. Kind of frustrating. I decided to make another ski cut towards the other side of the couloir to see if this was just an isolated weakness in the pack. I made a sharp cut across the slope and everything stayed put. The area of weakness from the first cut was on a very shallow snow pack that was heavily exposed to the wind. Once I got below that area it seemed as though I was dealing with a totally different snow pack. After a quick look at the underlying pack things looked good to go. I got into a safe zone and called down Wahamma. He made some nice turns through the super smooth snow. We made our way down the couloir and the snow seemed to get better and better.

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...cs/Cnv0217.jpg

We ended up making a traverse and dropping into an untouched powder keg filled with small cliff drops and nicely spaced tree shots all the way down to the trailhead. As we dipped into the trees the snow got deeper and lighter.

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...cs/Cnv0222.jpg

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...cs/Cnv0219.jpg

Wahamma:

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...cs/Cnv0218.jpg

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...cs/Cnv0221.jpg

We only had time to make that one lap, but it put grins on our faces that lasted throughout the evening.