So I went out yesterday with Brandon and Any. I knew it was going to be an exciting ride and was told it was going to be a "big day." Considering that Brandon claimed he was tired, since he had done a 10 thousand footer the day before, and said Andy wasn't that fast, just efficient, I figured I would be fine.
We skinned in Skiumah Creek and up the ridge above Cascade Creek (a hidden hanging valley just to the east) gaining the ridge in what felt to me like record time. Then we skied a chute down the Rescue Creek side with 2500 feet of straight fall-line skiing with 3 feet of powder on a solid base. We put in a skin track back up to the ridge, hopped one chute over and got another 2500 foot shot back to the bottom of rescue. All of the transitions at this point were feeling like I was in a race: trying to catch up after being the last one to the top and the bottom, worrying about staying warm, and trying to eat and drink something. During the second lap I skied the whole run with half a sandwich in my cheeks like a crazed chipmunk. I was questioning whether I was having any fun and if going this big on a backcountry day was worth it to me.
Once again we climbed back up the ridge, feeling myself getting slower with every step and being dropped off the back since Brandon wasn't having to break trail this time. At the ridge we had a to do a sweet boot pack up the ridge. I put my poles between my back and my pack, and with a ski in each hand scrambled up the steep section of snow. It felt so cool, like I was doing an epic ski mountaineering ascent that I got a second (or fourth by that time) wind. I caught up to Brandon and Andy and was told that we had just finished off 9200 feet of climbing that day. To celebrate we smoked the 3000 feet back to the bottom, once again in deep powder snow. I started to get more efficient in my tele-turn, feeling the flow a little more. Although my quad cramped up halfway down and I had to stop and catch my breath every 10 turns, that was the best ski run of my life! Perfect snow and floating solid turns.
At the bottom, Brandon and I decided to skin 800 feet up our skin track just to get the 10er, being my first and Brandon's first back-to-back outside of racing. Our legs were toasted to say the least but it was well worth it to gain that last bit and not have that monkey on my back. It just gives me that much more respect for a guy like Greg Hill.
I was contemplating earlier that day about whether it was worth it to ski with Brandon. Was I having any fun at all? I had a good heart-to-heart with God to give me the strength to enjoy it. Although I find that I didn't have a lot of time during the day to reflect on God's creation and power, it's good to have the experience to reflect on now. It's a pretty good example of how he can lift us up when we're at our lowest, give us joy when a storm cloud it right over our heads. I've decided it's definitely a different kind of fun that I would have skiing with other more sane ski buddies, but fun nonetheless. Yesterday ranks pretty high on my all-time list of days skied. Now that I've gone that big, know a little more about what I'm capable of, and am getting more efficient at transitions and skiing, the next big day of skiing will be much easier. I got a taste of what it's like to be able to ski so much untouched snow in the backcountry and it gives me incentive to train and get stronger to make it more enjoyable.
My apologies for the lack of photos. I didn't bring my camera to shuck any excess weight I could and knew that I wouldn't really have time to take pictures anyway. I'll wait and practice my photographer skills when I'm in the position of being more at the front of the pack.
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