Even a Cave-Man Can Do It, April 17, 2021

I broke my ski pole today and replaced it with a branch from a Douglas Fir. Red-neck for sure, but it worked! Without thinking I even did the double-pole-smack to free any clinging snow off the “baskets." (in the video, coming soon.)

Sooooo red-neck and cave-man, errr excuse me, cave-person.

The snow was not powder but it was fun, easy turning today. The winter of 2020-21 started out very thin, barely enough snow to ski until mid-February, then it dumped for two-weeks straight and the avalanche danger was off the charts. It was too thin to ski then too scary to ski. Once the snow stabilized it seemed like unsupportable crusts ruled the world for weeks and weeks. Yeah, I’ve been critical of snow-whiners, but this year I have struggled to make elegant turns. I fight the base when it is not supportable. When one is carrying speed and then suddenly a ski breaks through and the other does not, it’s like catching a tip on a hidden tree-stump. I don’t often crash, but when I punch through a crust my arms windmill and butterfly, and I fight like hell to avoid a face-plant. The elegance of a finely crafted, perfectly balanced, carved turn was lost. I didn’t carve a proper back-country turn for weeks. I lost my Feng Shui. Finally, the last month has again brought easy turning. Even if not in perfect powder, the art of carving a ski has returned. 

I rode the moto to the start of the single track in North Canyon. The upper North Canyon road was muddy and I crashed once, but I got there. I then booted to KPR and then switched to skis, but the snow was intermittent and fighting brush was like skiing in early November. The snow is going fast.

KPF melting quickly. It was brushy before Februaries dump, and it’s brushy again. It is growing back and will soon be like it was before any ‘adjustments' were made.

Snow stake almost free.

Nice to see green after a crusty winter.

56cm (22in) at Rudy’s Flat.

Probe tracks and dork shadows.

My ski pole exploded while skinning. Perhaps operator error, but my use was nothing too extreme, just pushing myself uphill per usual, then suddenly it falls apart. It certainly didn’t help when I yanked - hard - to free the plastic, internal camming yolk. It broke the cable stringing it all together. When I took it to the Black Diamond Warranty folks they just laughed, “Warranties on poles are good for like one year . . . Dooood!” Too bad for me, this was day 367 from purchase.

Rectangle Peak over Dead Tree Peak.

Antelope Island under Dead Tree Peak.

Skinner, looking back towards the Oquirhs.

Side-stepping down the rock outcrop above Rectangle Bowl, just at the top of the ski run “Scott Cutler’s Yellow Coat." The trail to the left (out of photo) is now bare and rocky so I took the snowy route and had to do some side-stepping. 

Doug Fir, one of its dead branches made for a good ski pole. 

Crescent Peak (near), Blacks Peak (middle), Session's Mountain (high-point left).

Todays ski runs, down the Rectangle.

Pine needles over rocks! After my last run, I skied down to the Mueller trail about a quarter mile north of Rudy’s Flat then shuffled along the trail back to Rudy’s, skinless because I was too lazy to re-skin. 

Ski tracks are there, just not deep enough for contrast.