February 14th, 2010: Mt. Ralston

I didn't really feel like doing anything today, it being Sunday and all, but JonnyB convinced me that climbing Mt. Ralston would be a grand ol' time. More importantly, he promised that if we took the high ridgeline from Talking Mountain, there would be ample SnowyPhoto opportunities. He was right on both counts and there are an unprecedented four SnowyPhotos and a movie!

We scouted many future lines from along the meandering ridgeline. The Crystal Range was looking particularly appealing.

We certainly found some gnarly terrain along the way. JonnyB hammered out the steepest section of the ascent, keeping safe distance from our friendly neighborhood cornices.

What do you know, we found more great snow. JonnyB wasn't to be distracted by yet another remarkable Tahoe-Tallac view and instead focused on carving up the Ralston Bowl.

Here we see great skin attachment technique for the ski out. Really? Not a chance. You better believe we skied it again. (Right before some real chargers skied straight off the peak... give us time.)

Flagpole Skies from Bernard Rocca on Vimeo.
Another great day of Echo Lake peakbagging came to an end but the skies looked like they were up to something funky, so I decided to watch what happened. Now you can too.