The snow started falling in the mountains and by Monday I was pacing up and down the office with outdoor energy waiting to be unleashed. Marvin agreed to give me a ride - actually two, since he announced that he had the old Arctic Cat running.
We weren't able to make it down Revilla Road very far because there was too much snow. What a great problem to have (when properly equipped). So the truck was parked, the sleds were unloaded and we started off. I got about three hundred yards down the road when the sled suddenly died. I was almost certain that I had bumped the shut-off and when it started right up again that seemed to be the case. Unfortunately it was not too be. After trying every field mechanic trick we could think of and using what seemed like hours of our precious skiing time we finally decided to pull the old Cat back to the truck and double up on one sled. On a hunch I left the sled running and sure enough, one good backfire and it was as good as new... Unfortunately the photo above relates in no way to my story. About five miles into our nine mile ride I managed to destroy the drive belt. Thank goodness Marvin had a spare. Swapped it out in no time flat and headed the rest of the way up. Can you tell which belt is a little used up? Yeah, it would be the one that no longer has any cogs.
Shawn, this photo is for you. Nothing like over the knee powder at the trailhead when you are enjoying the sun.
Okay, so maybe it wasn't super deep everywhere - Marvin showing off his skinning skills.
Nice scenery! Throughout the day the sun would come and go illuminating a peak here or there. I always say that it's a great day to be skiing no matter what, but this was truly one of those days that ended all too quickly.
I think this tree showed up in an earlier post.
First tracks!
Thank you again Uncle Craig for the Leatherman. This is now the third time it has been used for emergency binding repair in the backcountry. It would have been a very disappointing day without a little ingenuity and the right tool.
I thought those mountain top cap clouds stretching from Mahoney to Deer Mountain in the background were pretty neat.
Marvin takes one of the steeper lines on Dude and looks good doing it.
Did I mention it was a powder day?
Flying by.
A little tough to see at this resolution but Marvin and I managed to ski all the major lines off the Dude headwall. A back-country job well done!
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