Evan departed early, but the rest of us stayed on for a final round of weekday skiing. The fresh snow from early in the week had firmed up quite a bit on the south aspects and in sunny north aspects, but we were still able to find plenty of soft snow along the Beckers Peak/Talking Mountain ridgeline. Kevin departed Talking Mountain via cornice on the first lap and we went back to the sweet powder stash of
Dead Tree Run for lap number two.
The week came to an end and it was time to traverse back across Echo Lake under blue skies. Josh and I enjoyed the sun on Warm Rock, a popular summer swimming destination. Though we didn't suffer from the usual dilemma of hopping back into cold water for the return swim, getting back on the skis wasn't all that appealing either.
At this point in the year, we often wonder about the safety of the lakes as we ski across or alongside of them. This week we felt comfortable based on the amount of snow piled on top of it in most places and the toughness of one exposed area near a big rock, which often creates one of the softer areas on the lake. Still, I felt it was time to do a bit more research and found the following two links, which are both informative and a bit entertaining:
Lake & River Ice and
Ice Claw Demo.
Brief Summary: Don't traverse sketchy ice, but carry ice claws if you do and roll away from the hole towards where you came from when you pull yourself out of an icy body of water.
1 comment:
"Obviously you don't travel at night on unfamiliar ice." I suppose that after you whack it thrice with a pole, it should be familiar so we don't ahve to worry about this. As for our coyote encounters, it appears that we are safer by just 'knowing the ice': "If you know your lake ice and are confident about it, then a nighttime snowshoe and ski to see the stars and howl at the wolves can be perfectly safe. Just don't be traveling long distances at night." We'll remember that during our next encounter with the wild beasts...
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