Grey Jey Dey

Except near the Continental Divide, where wind was whipping snow into thick walls of cloud advancing downslope, Monday was a classic bluebird day! I did not see any bluebirds, but I did see mountain chickadees (Poecile gambeli), gray jays (Perisoreus canadensis), and magpies (Pica hudsonia). If you recognize these landscapes, it is because I ski this route about once a week! It is a magical little loop that can take anywhere from 4-6 hours depending on the snowpack, sunshine, wind, and how many laps I decide to ski. It spans an elevation gradient of ~9,000-11,500 feet; my cardiovascular system feels like a well oiled machine after a day on this trail! I ascended above the packed trail and found myself wading through thigh-deep snow (my telemark setup is not very wide). After moving about 500 feet in an hour, I got tired and decided to ski down the packed trail!  

"the crest of the wave"