Fresno

Pete and I skied at Fresno Ridge in Summit Pass on Friday in temps that hovered on the tough side of 0 in the morning and the slightly easier side by beer thirty. The snow as phenomenal dry and light and conditions were rock solid stable. The bright sun made it all the better.
We pushed from the highway (1,200') to about 4,000' for one of the biggest and toughest runs I've ever done. The shin to knee deep powder and avalanche dragon lair feel of the two chutes we hit certainly didn't diminish anything about the experience. We were able to get a second shorter run in to close out the day on the willow slope as well.
The cold temps froze my camera batter so I only got a slim few photos.
Enjoy.


View Fresno in a larger map

First rays of light hitting the upper reaches of Manitoba.


Looking north.


Fresno Ridge Weather Station records temps and wind speeds so skiers and riders can tell how cold and blown around they'll be.

I've been lying about all that skate skiing. As you can see by my gut, I've just been drinking beer and eating pizza.

The big day Friday actually kicked my tail harder than I initially though and Saturday I was definitely hurting, but I still went and hammered out a 30k+ ski in town despite some very vocal initial protests from the upper body of all places. At 8 degrees out though, things felt comfortable compared to the day before.

I was again a little intrigued how I felt relieved in the second half of my ski as darkness fell and I put on a headlamp. Who would think that racing through the woods in the cold and dark of a winter night would feel so right? Guess it's just the place.

Anyway, happy winter solstice, Monday marks the beginning of the end of night! For the curious, we'll have all of 5 hours and 41 minutes of daylight here Monday, or roughly sunrise a little after 10 and sunset around 3:45.

Also, there will be no planned Thursday post, Merry X-Mas.