Is actual winter finally here?

 This was my 40th tour this season, and all prior ones have been anywhere from marginal to average at best. This is our worst season on record, with, at this time, a season total of just 97", a pretty hurtful statistic. Having said that, in the last 72 hours, we got 11", so this morning, I went to the northernmost couloir below Wheeler Peak. Actually, to be precise, it is between Wheeler Peak and Mount Walter. I went solo, and I was aiming for summitting Mount Walter. I got really close, but just about 400-500' below the summit, I hit a hollow slab, so I decided to skip the summit (there were no obvious ways to work around that slab without spending an inordinate amount of time post-holing). Instead, I decided to get the best ski out of the almost 3,000-foot drop I was looking down.  After all the false alerts from the prior storms, my expectations were low, and  I expected the skiing would be OK, i.e., a lot better than the last several outings. But as it turned out, this ski was meant to be the reward of the day and the season. This was, by a gazillion miles, the best ski of the season. I had a foot+ on a highly stable snowpack, and the skiing was absolute world-class! It didn't hurt that I got first tracks; I saw no one else on the entire mountain. Here are some pictures taken from that west face.

This is a panoramic view of, from left to right, Lake Fork
Peak, Kachina Peak, and in the distance, the Taos resort.

Here is a close-up of Lake Fork Peak. It is finally getting
filled up and should be a good ski now.

Here is a close-up of the "backside" of the Taos ski resort

This picture is to give you a sense of how much snow there
is on the Wheeler Pk - Mt Walter west face.

The Taos backcountry is slowly getting ready for some turns

 The last storm has considerably improved the conditions in the cirque around Williams Lake. Starting tomorrow and up until Monday we are getting some snow. Hopefully, it's a lot, in which case, many of the lines we can clearly see in these pictures could be in condition. Here are a couple of pictures taken from a couloir on Wheeler's West face yesterday:

The moon over Kachina Peak.

Another foot of snow and some of these couloirs
should be in condition,

What a difference a few inches can make...

This is my 20th outing of the 24/25 season, and the few inches of snow that fell between Christmas night and Friday completely transformed the Williams Lake trail. What was once rutted and rundown now feels like a magical winter wonderland. With five to six inches of fresh snow, everything around you is pure white and glistening!

Check out some pictures from yesterday. The first two? Let’s call them: “Find the avalanche path...”

Looking over Williams Lake to Lake Fork Peak, elev. 12,881'.

View of the southern ridge line.

Wind plume over Wheler Peak, elevation 13,161'

Lake Fork Peak through the trees.

The bog above and south of Williams Lake.

Frozen lakes and rivers, known as the "Highways of Winter," 

were used by Stone Age skiers. Thanks to these natural 

pathways, they could often travel farther and faster 

in winter than during the warmer seasons.

12 days of skiing so far this season, and I can't wait for the next storm!

Saying that backcountry snow conditions are "variable" right now is putting it mildly. That said, getting 11 ski days in by November is definitely a privilege, so there’s no room for complaints.

Here’s the breakdown of those 11 November days plus one in December: 10 backcountry days, 1 resort day, and 1 mixed day (backcountry in the early morning, resort in the later morning).

The first two pictures are from Thanksgiving Day at the resort, and the other three are from today in the Wheeler Wilderness.

View up the glacial moraines below Lake Fork Peak.

More moraines.

Picking a route through rocks and rock wells...

Kachina Basin in the Pre-Season

 Today it was off to Kachina Basin. This is the kind of tour that is more about uphill fitness and dialing in the equipment than chasing epic powder stashes. Having said that, I was surprised to get some chalky but high-quality powder.  In any case here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what Taos looks like today.

Kachina is not yet fully filled in but it won't take all that
much more to have a ball up here.

Cat tracks at the base of Kachina Basin.

The first of the Taos backcountry scene past Kachina Peak.

A tempting objective in the distance. I am new to the area so
could easily be wrong but looking at the map I am thinking
Gold Hill at 12,711' elevation.

First Ski of the 24/25 Season

 Today, after three days of snowfall, was the time to take out the skis. The first of the season is always a special occasion. Of course, there is the anticipation and trepidation. There is enhanced enjoyment in the evening before in preparing the gear and making sure the ski bases are okay, the skins are clean, and the backpack is ready. These things are pretty routine for most outings, but on the first tour of the season, it's all just a bit more festive feeling.

Given that we just emerged from a major storm system that dropped up to three feet of snow and stopped just a few hours before my tour started, avalanche terrain was out. In the Taos area that means you go to the Williams Lake Trail. You start at about 10,200' and go to 11,200'. It's a five-mile roundtrip and the whole trail is on the flat, removed from any steep slopes. It's not the most exciting destination and it is overpopulated, but today, it offered one to three feet of powder and a total glistering winter wonderland. 

Here are some pictures.

View of Taos backcountry 1/2

View of Taos backcountry 2/2  

Williams Lake at about 11,200'

First break and transition spot of the season.

Loki the Magnificent

Wheeler Peak - Taos, NM

At 13,162 feet (4012 m), Wheeler Peak, in the Sangre de Cristo range, is the highest point in New Mexico. More importantly, it offers the kind of views rarely equaled anywhere. The vantage point is high enough that you get a 360-degree view but not so high you don't perceive depth and details to a stunning level. You see all the way to the snow-capped hills of Santa Fee on the south side and deep into the Colorado San Juans on the north side. In the foreground, the cirque that includes the Taos Ski Valley shows the unlimited potential for stellar backcountry skiing this area offers

With a 6:30 am start on June 2nd, the snow was firm and in parts frozen which became challenging when it involved steep climbing. I went up via the William's Lake trail and as soon as I left Williams Lake behind and started walking up the west face of Wheeler Peak it started to feel a lot more like, at times, stressful mountaineering and a lot less like the Zhen a hike will deliver. There was enough steep snow and ice cover to keep the trail out of view so I ended up straight-lining a fair amount which got me to what felt like the brink of exhaustion a couple of times. Microspikes came in very handy on this hike, they were close to critical. I got up faster than I descended. To get to the summit took a tad bit over 3 hrs. After a 30-minute break on top (that's how incredible the views are) and a leisurely 4 hrs down the whole thing worked out to a very enjoyable 7:30 hr hike.

The William's Lake route amounts to an 8.7-mile walk with a little over 3,000 ft elevation gain. Here are the pictures.

In the foreground is one of many Wheeler Peak early
morning ice fields - afternoon post-holing slush fields.

A huge number of exciting ski lines...

...more ski lines. The highest peak is
Lake Fork Peak at 12,881'

In the next bowl over (east of Wheeler Peak) Old Mike Peak,  
13,113' looks a lot like Mt Raymond (10,241') in the Wasatch
other than the almost 2,000' elev. difference.

William's Lake

Yours truly with Loki the magnificent.