Huron Peak 5/8/10

Snowboards, Shovels, and Tarps

All viable methods of descending a mountain at high speed.

We drove a short distance beyond Winfield until wet snowdrifts blocked the road. From there we hiked about 1.75 mi to the summer trailhead and started up the mountainside. We quickly lost the standard route in the snow and forged our own way up some incredibly steep terrain. The snow was mostly slush so it wasn't difficult to kick steps to treeline. There we entered the bowl at its NW extreme and contoured around the cliffs to meet the standard route near 12500'. On up to the summit we went as the wind blew and clouds threatened. We chilled (as in froze) for a few minutes and then headed back down. There is a large snowfield in the bowl, which we attempted to glissade/ride on our various implements, but the hardpack made it difficult to control speed. On returning to treeline we fared much better in the slush on 45-50 degree slopes and made good time to the TH.

Images

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