Rudy's Flat, February 22, 2019

Kara and I were supposed to be in Ketchum Idaho this weekend skiing, but Kara got the flu and I have a painful muscle tear from running on an icy trail earlier this week, so we postponed the trip to Sun. Valley.

For my leg the Doctor prescribed rest and compression sleeves on my legs, but the sleeves are  a total gimmick. My leg still hurts, especially when on a steep climb, plus they cutoff the circulation to me feet, resulting in my toes getting cold way more quickly than normal. Today they went numb just 20 minutes into the skin track. Plus skiing with Jonah is not restful, at least physically. He's always a joy to ski with, always a smile and a great low-key persona, but on the skin track he charges hard and it’s tough to keep up.

Kara's Pot Farm with the saplings fully buried. The cover hasn't been this deep in  at least five years.

Jonah and Harrison. Harrison charges too but today was his very first day touring,. and he did it on totally unfamiliar gear. Those G3 tech bindings puzzling. It took me ten minutes to figure out how to lock down the brakes for skinning. But Harrison is a force. A few more days of experience and he'll disappear up the hill with Jonah while I flounder way behind.

Jonah charging! Today the forecast called for sun but it snowed lightly the whole tour, with some wind and frigid temperatures. Not the best day to try out my new compression sleeves.

The "snow stake rock" is just a foot above the surface. In the summer it is at least four feet above the mountain bike trail which runs right past the base of the rock.

Harrison (l), Jonah (r).

160cm (62in) at Rudy's Flat (7,100ft).

You know it's cold when your nasty, sweat soaked bandana is as stiff as fine china, but I wouldn't eat off that bandana.

Jonah and Harrison on the flats. This was our high point for the day due the setting sun, the collapsible wind-pillows we crossed just down the trail - not a good indicator of conditions above on the ridge -and my hurting leg and frozen toes. I couldn't skin up anything steeper than about 15 degrees without sharp pain in my left calf, but if we'd started two hours earlier everything would've been different. My pain would've disappeared and we would've skied the good stuff off the ridge above.
  I'm the designated excuse maker on the team and I'm quite skilled if I do say so. 

The setting sun brings beautiful light on this winter evening. View NW looking over the top of Kara's Pot Farm with
Davis County beyond. 

Bountiful Ridge looking deep. It was tough to walk away today but see my multifaceted excuses listed above. The nuanced complexity of my excuses is World Cup caliber. I RULE when it comes to making excuses.

On the "Traverse" from KPF to the summer mountain bike trail. KPF may not be the shortest shortcut to Rudy's but it's definitely the cleanest and most open route though a major natural barrier to access, also known as Gambler Oak.

Nice turns on lower Kara's Pot Farm,

Now, can you kind of visualize why Gamble Oak is such a  major pain-in-the ass?  My new Black Diamond soft-shell ski pants are toast, courtesy of a dead snag aimed directly at my sore calf muscle. I'm thinking Gorilla Tape and few staples will fix it. You can see my compression sleeve through the tear. Damn! I look so geriatric!

Beautiful light as the sun sets.