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#1
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TR - Santa Fe Baldy, 3/12
"Bob Lee" wrote in message ... Trip reports, what this group could use is some more trip reports. Last week a Santa Fe, New Mexico, homeboy, Matt, asked around to see if anyone was interested in skiing the highest peak near here, Santa Fe Baldy, 12600 ft.: http://topozone.com/map.asp?lat=35.83222&lon=-105.75778 My Saturday was open and the weather'd been dry and stable for over a week so it seemed like a good idea and we arranged to go up. One thing about SF Baldy is that the base of the mountain is four miles from the trailhead, so you have to figure on covering some ground for a day trip. Ah memories. I snowshoed to the top of Baldy in February, 1983. My compatriots were not too comfortable with XC skis back then, and I had just light 50mm-wide skis, anyway. So, we opted for less drama. I'd have great pictures, except on the ascent day, we had a complete whiteout, and 1.5 feet of snow fell during the climb, obliterating our tracks. Overall, there was about 5 feet of soft powder, proving that snow conditions make the difference between Heavan and Hell (I later skied in about halfway on corn snow in May, an utter snap). Near the top we were hit with an odd snow composd of pellets that were just below freezing; my eyelashes froze together at several points. The only way we knew we were on top was by the cairn, my memories of the top in summer, and the fact that all routes led downhill. The sky and slope blended into a featureless white blizzard. We managed to navigate back by map and compass, and got to our (now buried) snow caves at nightfall. Nowadays I would be scared sh*tless by those conditions if I didn't have a GPS. My most vivid memory came from one stretch, maybe 200' below the summit, where odd conditions of wind had managed to strip the slope nearly bare. On that slope was a frozen cow pie (cattle would graze to high altitude in the Sangre de Cristos "back then"). When I saw your pictures of the bowl, I was reminded of two things: 1) I nevered worried about avalanches before then, and 2) after the trip I heard (never verified by me) that Unganade, who "wrote the book" on New Mexico mountains, died in an avalanche on Truchas Peak, just to the north. |
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#2
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Thanks, Great pictures and you're right, more trip reports.
"Bob Lee" wrote in message ... Trip reports, what this group could use is some more trip reports. Last week a Santa Fe, New Mexico, homeboy, Matt, asked around to see if anyone was interested in skiing the highest peak near here, Santa Fe Baldy, 12600 ft.: http://topozone.com/map.asp?lat=35.83222&lon=-105.75778 My Saturday was open and the weather'd been dry and stable for over a week so it seemed like a good idea and we arranged to go up. One thing about SF Baldy is that the base of the mountain is four miles from the trailhead, so you have to figure on covering some ground for a day trip. The weather was clear as a bell, but the forecast called for strong winds. We left the Santa Fe ski area parking lot just after 7 AM and started down the Windsor Trail. A couple hours later we were at the southwest flank of SF Baldy, ready to start up. The skinning was excellent over wet corn, frozen corn, then wind packed powder as the elevation increased. http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb33.jpg It was clear and sunny, but the wind was coming up throughout the morning. We were able to keep our skis on the whole way to the top. We hit the saddle into the east side cirque at around 12,300ft: http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb37.jpg There was a humungous cornice on most of the leeward summit ridge: http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb40.jpg http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb42.jpg And it was kind of windy, like gusts to 40 mph: http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb41.jpg We hit the top just after 11 AM. This is the view south from the summit - we decided to ski that chute in the middle of the picture with the rock shadows because it was pretty and mostly cornice-free. Nice view: http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb44.jpg Our line was ENE facing, with a steep entrance, mellowing out to around 40 degrees, and a drop of about 650 ft. This is Matt's first (or second?) turn, making it count: http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb45.jpg The snow wasn't too bad for being kind of old: http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb46.jpg The entrance - it made you pay attention: http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb47.jpg Matt likes the BIG turns - I made about four for every one of his. Snow conditions in the chute ranged from wind packed powder with a small crust to mashed potatoes near the bottom, and just about every condition in between. It made the skiing interesting, but way fun: http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb49.jpg In the next pic, Matt checks out the cirque - my tracks are in the chute in the center of the picture, to the looker's right of the big rock outcrop, Matt's tracks come out to that flute a bit more to the looker's right. That sluff farther right was caused by someone else a day or two earlier. http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb51.jpg Another view - check out that cornice and the color of the sky: http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb52.jpg We took a short break for lunch in the bottom of the basin. Matt has this trick pack with a built-in seat, just right for checking out the views. Pretty comfy, eh? http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb53.jpg Nice view as we headed out: http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb56.jpg After lunch we headed over to the side of the basin to try to skin back out over the SE ridge. The climb out ended up being one of the most challenging parts of the day. We began on skins, but there was a thin wind packed layer over a crust that was pretty tricky. After we had both lost our edges a couple of times on the steep slope, we decided that it would be easier to boot back over the ridge. Kicking steps up the shaded, steep, north-facing slope to the ridge was kind of heinious because the snow was hard - it often took a couple of kicks to get the step in. We topped out on the SE ridge somewhere around 12,000 ft. That would have ranked as a memorably painful part of the day, except that when we crested the ridge (around 1 PM) the frozen corn on the south-facing slope that we had skinned up on the ascent had softened nicely in the sun. The run down that slope was *so* nice! The snow was creamy and the slope was just steep enough to let us swoop and turn effortlessly though a widely-spaced pygmy spruce forest in the brilliant sun - a bonus run of 1000 feet of easy super-fun skiing. I only got this one picture, because it was so effortless it was hard to stop: http://www.swcp.com/~rlee/sfb59jpg But then we had to begin the skin back up and out to the road. It was four long miles of sidehill trail skinning though thick woods. It had the potential to be soul-crushing, so I had to go to my happy place. We trudged along, getting back to the trailhead just after 4 PM. Really a great day. And tonight, it's snowing like a bitch here - close to a foot at my house this evening. It'll be a while before the steeper backcountry lines are skiable again, but it's good to have winter back. Bob |
#3
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"Bob Lee" wrote in message ... I've been here for over a dozen years, but I am totally unfamiliar with the name Unganade. Google gave me nothing. Got any information or sources? I put in an extra "a". Try a google search on: ungnade "new mexico mountains" He wrote a book, now much dated, detailing nearly every range. I believe he was a Los Alamos physicist/ |
#4
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"Bob Lee" wrote in message ... You say he disappeared, maybe? The back cover of the book says that he was killed on a climb in 1965. I had a friend who had worked at Los Alamos, and this friend said the accident involved an avalanche on Truchas Peak; I never verified that claim. |
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