Somebody needed to check on the ice, so it might as well be us numbskulls.
- January 14, 2012
- Team: Ralph
- Car to car: 13.5 miles, 800' gain, 9 hours
Note: click images to see a larger version in a new window
Ralph wanted to go for some ice climbing. We weighed the options and decided to ski in to Bridalveil Falls behind Stanley Lake. This time of year that means a long slog to Stanley Lake, then skiing up the valley to Bridalveil. Total miles each way about 6.75. When we left the car, it was bitterly cold. Hard to keep warm, even skiing fast and pulling a load cold. At first, we thought we might ski into sunshine. Then the clouds moved in. But it warmed up anyway.
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We wandered around a bit as we headed up the valley. It was impossible to follow a trail, but it didn't really matter. After crossing the creek, we continued up the valley. It was quite warm, and the creek was open. Snow was falling from the trees. This did not bode well. |
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It was just slightly less than forever when we got to the sign on the old mining road pointing out Bridalveil Falls. The falls is almost dead-center in this picture. |
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Something did not look quite right. When we zoomed in we could see that there was open water in the middle of the falls. Right above and right below we could see fat, blue ice. But niether of us had packed our neoprene so we abandoned our project. So we enjoyed the warm sunshine (too warm!) and then did the slog back to the car, this time taking even longer than forever. It was a good adventure, but next time we'll leave 20 pounds of climbing gear at home. |
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