Thursday, October 19, 2017

Cold and Icy Day on the Pfeifferhorn, October 13, 2017

Red Pine Lake with a skin of ice, which was melted when I descended an hour and a half later.

Topping out on the Red Pine/Maybird Divide, near summit of No Name Baldy (right skyline), and the Pfeifferhorn (elev 11,326 ft.) comes into view.   The snow was not an issue on the ascent, other than careful footing in the shadowy parts of the trail where the foot-traffic had turned the snow to an ice-rink, but I fell hard on my ass twice during the descent.
Nose-over-toes sonny!

The crux ridge just before ascending the final head wall.

Timpanogos and Box Elder Peak from the boulder ridge.

Boulder hop holiday.

Dorkville!! It was much colder than expected at the trail-head and I was in running gear. The only extra clothing I had in my truck was my cycling leg warmers and a light wind-breaker, which I use about once every five years - hence the wrinkles. Yeah, I'm now dressing like my Dad when he embarrassed me as a kid and I'd tell my friends,  "I have no idea who that homeless guy is."

View NW off the Pfeiff summit, looking down the classic ski run (sunlit ramp lower right) into Hogum Fork. The ski run is much steeper than it looks here, about 50 degrees at the steepest with a rap over a 40-foot cliff about half way down (just left/below the horn of rock). 

Summit view east.

Summit view west, with Lone Peak the far peak in the middle ("w" shaped), Thunder Mountain North (r) and South (l) is the middle distant ridge, and Peak 11137 is the near peak, half snowy and shadowed (r) and half sunlit (l).

Upper Maybird Gulch looking east from the base of the summit head wall.

White Baldy from upper Red Pine Fork.

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