We have had snow–lots of snow–this month. After one of these events we headed for the San Francisco Peaks and some backcountry skiing. Fortunately for us, there were skiers ahead of us and the track up the trail was already well established. Thanks!
We arrived at the bottom of “Flying Dutchman” to ski the powder–but clearly we were not the first as there were many tracks already carved into the area. Years ago we were often the only skiers here and put down first tracks. Those idyllic days of the past are long gone.
Crossing the lower portion of Arizona Snowbowl to access the Humphreys Trail.Previously broken track up the Humphreys Trail made things easier for us.Blue skies overhead, low clouds in the distance, and powder in front of us.“Flying Dutchman” and skiers tracks.Top of the powder slope and contemplating the downhill ride.Trees with rime ice. Also, our ski tracks on the left side.
The rime-ice and snow-covered trees were really amazing and the deep powder skiing was great fun. Blue skies. Light winds. What’s not to like?
The last major snow event around here was a multi-day storm from January 19–25 that put down about 36″ of snow in town. The Kachina Peaks received anywhere from 5 to 7 FEET of snow. Since then, the weather has been pretty quiet with no storms. The snow in town had melted away and the snowpack in the mountains had melted/sublimated substantially.
Finally, however, another snow storm moved across the area earlier this week bringing about 16″ in two days to Flagstaff and about 18–24″ across the peaks. Time to hit the slopes.
New snow on a toppled aspen tree.
Our original destination was the area known as Allison Clay but that idea was abandoned because of the amount of trail breaking required to get there. Instead, we went for the nearer destination known as Flying Dutchman. A few skiers had already broken a trail to the top of the area so we had an easy climb. Thanks, guys!
Here are a few images from the downhill runs.
At the top of Flying Dutchman.Lower glades before hitting the Humphreys Trail.
Will this be the last chance for good skiing? Or will we see another big event in March?
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.
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.
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…
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!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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
The last week of January proved to be a big snow producer on the Kachina Peaks with upwards of 40 inches being measured. Locally higher amounts were certainly possible. Here are a few images from a day of skiing.
Entry to the Kachina Peaks Wilderness.Snow-laden branches droop down over the trail.Rime covered branches poke upward through the deep snow cover.
