magnum again

     So Magnum today.  Again.  Didn't feel like dealing with the crowds of sunburst and tincan and after a recent first-time visit I thought I would revisit to become more familiar.  Good news of the day: good company, fresh 2-3 at TH and 4-6+ depending on aspect up high, partly to mostly sunny (no flat light), first tracks all around with no one else, balmy temps near 30.  The fresh 2-3 was enough to make that icy crust below it pleasantly ski-able.  Bad news: balmy temps near 30 caused me to sweat a lot (I'm in trouble come spring), exposed to my first avalanche.

     We headed up and skied a warm-up lap followed by a steeper longer run and called it a day.  On the way down to the car we skied over a rollover that was wind loaded and soft slab and it let loose.  Fortunately it was shallow debris, in low consequence terrain, and only part of it ran all the way to the valley floor.  The dogs were swept a little way but got out fine, no one was buried or carried. 

 

     A ski day like today with the sun out and no flat light is so invigorating for myself, it fuels my tired legs up the hill and the stoke of the run makes me repeat.  The fresh, smooth, blankets of powder with skin-tracks running up and ski tracks running down are my self-expression in the backcountry, a leave-no-trace graffiti that is more graceful and eloquent than obnoxious.  At least that's how I see it.   I heard a quote from a skier in the backcountry film festival this evening say he was 'exploring self through the medium of skiing.'  and the backcountry style of this is the best and only way to thoroughly do so.