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Chronicles of the Obscure

Report Submitted by aqua toque
(trip) Date: Thursday May 27, 2021

Submitted: Sunday May 30, 2021

Participants:

solo

Discussion:

When Hwy 66 opens up every May 15 and access becomes easier there are those who feel that the nooks and crannies of the Elbow watershed can hold good opportunities for spring turns -- depending on the snow year.

I have some such spots in my repertoire which have yielded varying degrees of success in the past.

A tad late to the game this year I headed into a particular former objective of mine on May 27 -- a full 12 days subsequent to the road opening. That being said, the view of snowy peaks from the highway inspired cautious optimism.

Well, the hoped for snow lingerage at lower elevations was not in the cards and a full 2.5 hours of hiking ensued with plastic boots in the backpack and heavy-duty metal-edged skis strapped to the sides.

Upon reaching the first remnants of continuous snow in the approach drainage the switch to skis and skins was made. The wet rock faces on the surrounding high cliffs hinted that there had been no freeze even at elevation and travel on snow could be sub-optimal.

Turns out there was still sufficient consolidated accumulation remaining in the creekbed to allow for decent progress up the valley. However, upon reaching the objective it was unilaterally deemed to be not sensibly skiable.

For chronicling purposes I did manage to capture an awesome selfie and an a la Chuck gps track. Both can be found in the photo link.


View from the trailhead


Link 1





2 comment(s) posted

Comments:



2021-05-30 - comment by SkierRoger

Fantastic aqua toque!
And I love your weekend warrior dashboard dudes





2021-06-03 - comment by sillybunt

Nice spring outing mr toque. I'm sorry the big prize was not attained due to thin snow but the adventure looks worthwhile.



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