Category: Skiing

Powder skiing in the Kachina Peaks

After a fairly unusual late Fall and early Winter—in which we were far more likely to have rain than snow—“Real Winter” showed up and made a powerful statement. The six-day storm total for snow in Flagstaff was 36+ inches which allowed this event to slip into the Top 10 multi-day snow events.

The downside to such an event, of course, is dealing with snow removal. No sooner would we clear the driveway and sidewalks than a snow plow would throw a 3 to 4 foot berm of hard snow on the driveway. Sigh. Does this qualify as a “Sisyphean Task?”

Driveway and sidewalk are cleared. But what about the street?
Driveway and sidewalk are cleared. But what about the street?

Enough work. Time for play. And so we headed for the San Francisco Peaks and the Kachina Wilderness for some backcountry skiing. The peaks received in the neighborhood of 7–8 feet of new snow. Dreams of deep powder motivated us!

Breaking trail through new snow on the lower sections of Humphreys Peak Trail.
Breaking trail through new snow on the lower sections of Humphreys Peak Trail.

We arrived at the Arizona Snowbowl ski area lower parking lot and headed towards the Humphreys Peak Trail. We broke trail through the deep snow—and only veered off the trail once—for about a mile before picking up an established ski track from downhill skiers. This provided a much easier route. We broke off from the trail and followed a set of ski tracks up to the area known as Flying Dutchman.

Powder! And no other skiers. At least, not yet!
Powder! And no other skiers. At least, not yet!

This area had already seen a fair bit of ski activity and the snow cover was carved up. We wanted fresh powder so we continued up through the trees—once again breaking trail through deep snow. The trees vary here from tightly packed to open glades and skiing down requires navigating from open glade to open glade and minimizing the trees. Easy to say—harder to do.

Heavy riming on the trees.
Heavy riming on the trees.

We continued up to the B-24 bomber crash site where we decided to stop. Above this point the trees thin out quickly and the threat of skier-triggered avalanches was present. We had lunch, peeled climbing skins off our skis and headed down. We had gained almost 2100 vertical feet since leaving the car and it was time to convert all that potential energy into kinetic energy.

Rime coats the landing strut of the B-24.
Rime coats the landing strut of the B-24.
This image from 2013 shows the landing strut without rime.
This image from 2013 shows the landing strut without rime.

At this elevation (~11,400 feet) there had been significant riming on the trees. So much rime had accumulated on the branches and needles that the trees looked like large heads of cauliflower. Rime had also accumulated on the upside-down landing gear of the B-24. This is the only piece of wreckage that is visible in the winter. Everything else is buried.

View towards Arizona Snowbowl and, in the distance, Camp Navajo.
View towards Arizona Snowbowl and, in the distance, Camp Navajo.
Tree fall above the trail. Numerous trees toppled in the major windstorm on December 16, 2016, when winds exceeded 80 mph on the peaks.
Tree fall above the trail. Numerous trees toppled in the major windstorm on December 16, 2016, when winds exceeded 80 mph on the peaks.

There are not many pictures of the downhill descent. Too much fun to stop and take photos!

Fort Tuthill ski day

After an early winter of mostly rain across northern Arizona, big snows have finally arrived. Two storms in three days delivered about two feet of snow on the south side of Flagstaff with lesser amounts on the north side. I live on the south side. So we have had a lot of snow to shovel off the driveway plus the piles of snow that the snowplows leave. Yeah, lots of work.

But we did find time to get out and ski. Normally, we do trail runs on Saturday mornings with Northern Arizona Trail Runners Association (NATRA). But when there is more snow than trail we switch to snowshoes or cross country skis.

So we found ourselves with a handful of other runners out at Fort Tuthill early Saturday morning. The roads in the county park were already plowed making entry easy. There is a new “snow play” area in the park so getting the roads and parking cleared quickly is a new priority.

And off we go following the Soldiers Trail in a clockwise direction. Very quickly the runners found the snow too deep so they opted to run along the plowed roads in the area. The remaining four skiers traded the lead often because breaking trail through this much snow is a bit of a workout.

Breaking trail at Fort Tuthill.
Breaking trail at Fort Tuthill.
Ski tracks at Fort Tuthill.
Ski tracks at Fort Tuthill.

We worked around the south side where the trail follows the old logging railroad grade. Then the trail curved around to the west side of the park where we could quickly see how forest thinning has made a big improvement on the health of the forest. Finally, we found ourselves at the trail intersection of the Flagstaff Loop Trail in the northwest corner of the park. This was as good a turnaround spot as any.

Intersection of Soldiers Trail and Flagstaff Loop Trail.
Intersection of Soldiers Trail and Flagstaff Loop Trail.

The ski back was significantly faster than the outbound trip had been because we now had a nicely packed trail to glide on. We arrived back at the parking area just about the same time as the runners.

Another winter storm is on the way with up to a foot of snow possible. Winter has finally arrived.

Clear, Blue Skies and Deep Powder

We had a nice snow storm earlier this week that brought a bit less than a foot of new snow to Flagstaff—but more than two feet in the mountains. Time to get out and ski some deep powder!

Snow covered trees in the Kachina Peaks.
Snow covered trees in the Kachina Peaks.

So off we went to ski the backcountry. Our destination was the area known as “Allison Clay” on the west face of Humphreys Peak. Getting there is not straightforward as there is no trail. One has to bushwack their way from the lower sections of the Humphreys Peak trail around a portion of the mountain before reaching the open slopes. Nonetheless, the trek can be quite beautiful when there is a lot of fresh snow on the trees.

While bushwhacking through the forest we spotted this yin-yang symbol on a tree.
While bushwhacking through the forest we spotted this yin-yang symbol on a tree.

Along the way we stopped at “Flying Dutchman” to survey the conditions. The old snow had settled so much in the past few weeks that the new snow was insufficient to completely cover the rocks and many were poking through the powder. After a quick stop, it was time to continue to our main destination.

First, we must climb this...
First, we must climb this…

Normally setting a trail through the forest and finding Allison Clay is not that difficult—but on this outing I aimed too low and we ended up below the normal ski zone. Not a problem! As it turned out, we found another nice gully with deep, untracked powder. Up we climbed—determined that we would return through this gully on our way back. Higher up, we broke out into the open and began the moderately steep climb up the west face of the mountain. Then it was time to convert all that potential energy into kinetic energy—in other words, let gravity do its thing.

...so that we can do this!
…so that we can do this!
Tree skiing in a wide gully.
Tree skiing in a wide gully.

And, oh, it was GOOD—especially the powder-filled gully! By this time, however, we were getting tired since we had to break a lot of trail through deep snow just to get here.

Look at that happy smile!
Look at that happy smile!

Next morning—same thing. We did all the work yesterday breaking trail so today would be easier. Unfortunately, winds had increased overnight and the avalanche danger began to increase so we chose to ski through the trees and away from the open slope. That turned out to be even better because the powder in the trees was simply marvelous.

Clear, blue skies and deep powder. Wow!

Edit: 01/25/2017…fixed broken link.

An Evening on the Mountain

The 7th Annual Kahtoola Agassiz Uphill Race was held this weekend on the slopes on Humphreys Peak and within the boundaries of the Arizona Snowbowl. This is a winter race with runners using whatever sort of foot traction suits them. Some wear Kahtoola microspikes as minimalist equipment. Others use snowshoes. And some use skis—both downhill and telemark style. It’s an interesting contest as the runners can easily outpace the skiers on the way up—but skiers have the advantage on the downhill. Still, the fastest competitors were the runners.

Providing the rhythmic drumming during the event was Flagstaff’s very own Sambatuque.

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Powder skiing on the Kachina Peaks

After a few days of overcast skies and snow the weather has finally improved. With sunny skies and light winds, Friday was a good day to do some back country skiing. Our original destination was near Forest Road 794 at about 8000 feet elevation. We were disappointed to find that even at these elevations much of the snow pack was lost a few weeks ago during the warm winter storm that brought rain to the area. So we went with our backup plan and drove up Snowbowl Road to the base of the ski area. We skied across the lower slopes to the Humphreys Peak Trail and began our climb — eventually leaving the trail and traveling through the trees to some great ski terrain.

Looking downhill across untracked powder at the WWII bomber wreck site.
Looking downhill across untracked powder at the WWII bomber wreck site.

Our first stop was the area known as “Flying Dutchman.” Enough snow had fallen in the past few weeks to finally cover most (but not all) of the rocks. We followed an uphill track and eventually caught up to some acquaintances that we had not seen in a few years. After a few minutes of chatting, they headed downhill while we continued up to the site of the WWII bomber wreck — located just below tree line. The snow was very good — but still a few rocks were poking up through the snow (or lurking just below!) to catch and damage ski bases.

Tracks through the deep powder in Flying Dutchman.
Tracks through the deep powder in Flying Dutchman.

We skied down across the bomber site and then into the trees returning to the top of Flying Dutchman. This is always a lot of fun as it is moderately-pitched, wide-open terrain with plenty of vertical descent from top to bottom. And, yes, we hit a few more rocks.

Powder skiing!
Powder skiing!

Finally, back into the trees and down the narrow Humphreys Trail — which can feel a bit like a bobsled run when it gets hard and icy. But today the snow was good.