My friends back in the states are excited to finally get snow. Not that I don't enjoy snow either, but I have been really excited about high pressure in the Hakuba area recently. The past few days have consisted of going up high and hiking a lot. Hiking isn't my favorite, however being able to go where chairlifts cannot, and few other people go makes it worth the effort.
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| Lee Lyon, skiing a big mountain and not crossing a track |
Hiking does bring me better snow and more adventure than chairlifts can offer. Today was no exception. Lee and I skied Yari, in one of the longer days I've had in a while. Yari is one of the dominant three peaks that makes up the Happo One backdrop.
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| Yari. The objective was the big guy down the middle |
I'm not sure how often Yari is skied. We didn't run into any other groups while skiing today, and for good reason. Simply vertical feet, Yari is about 2,200 meters, or 7,200 feet. Add several miles of road to the approach, and it meant an early morning with a long hike today.
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| Lee, hiking |
A very long hike.
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| Hiking and hiking and hiking some more |
The light got flat in the afternoon. Low pressure is due starting tomorrow, and it seems the snow wanted to come early. Not being able to see well didn't mean the turns in the couloir weren't good. The descent was worth the mornings slog. Soft, windblown snow made the turns very nice until the runout.
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| Lee, mustering the energy after hiking all morning to make some nice turns |
A bit of navigation over snow bridges and through waterfalls and we were back on the traverse to the north face run outs. Very happy to have skied this line, and very tired from the toils of the day.
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| Tired and stoked |
