The theme of the weekend was "avalanche avoidance". The trail to Rockbound Lake crosses some runouts, but I felt that we would be able to navigate around them safely. Plus, I figured the scramble up the headwall between Tower Lake and Rockbound Lake would make for an interesting experience.
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| Blisters were a recurring theme on this trip |
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The trail to Tower Lake was pretty well packed, but beyond that there was only one set of tracks. Half our party stayed back due to a mixture of blisters and difficult terrain.
Three of us soldiered on, and after the development of a new technique for negotiating steep, loose terrain, we finally managed to top out of the headwall and arrive at Rockbound Lake, which was as impressive as ever.
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| Rockbound Lake, after the development of the "ski mantle" technique of navigating steep terrain without crampons |
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Curiously, the snow around Rockbound Lake did not exhibit the November and December crusts that were so prominent elsewhere. However, the base was mostly facets and very very loose. There weren't many signs of natural avalanche activity either, which made me a bit cautious when crossing the two large runouts along the trail.
Skiing back down the headwall was challenging but fun. We eventually caught up with the rest of the group (they had started skiing back down when we were still on our way up) and had a nice run back to the car.
Here's to hoping that the snow conditions stabilize soon and we can get on some powder slopes!
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