Hatcher

Today was both Jon and I's first day out to Hatcher Pass.  And now I know why I haven't made the trek up Hatcher Pass.  We started out heading up Peak 4068 enroute to ski Halibut Tail.  Just as we started our ascent, the entire slope settled with a big "whump".  We decided to hedge our bets, and we turned around.  We opted to ski a spine on the west face of Marmot.

The climb was not easy.  Attempting to get our skins to gain purchase along the "bootpack" rather than the "skin track" was not an easy task.  Thanks to the knuckle-dragging boot-packing snowboarders and sledders.  The wind was howling pretty good.  I actually got to use my Voile ski crampons.  I think the snobomb is going to get himself a pair (of ski crampons, that is).  The first couple of turns were nice, but there was a nasty rain crust.  The bottom 3/4 of the run boasted some nice blower pow.  We only made 1 run and brought the pups back to the truck.

In other news, there are some pretty spooky conditions down in Turnagain right now.  A party of 4 skiers were caught and injured in an avalanche down in Summit Lake this weekend.  We skied Pete's North, and kept our slope angle in check.  Scary thing is, that it broke above them while skinning.  Glad everyone turned out ok.