The view from the top.
Spring is here. At least according to the calendar. And though it isn’t a tradition to try to get out on the first day of the new season, with Christy and I both free this past Sunday, we set our sights on an objective we’ve had for some time- Buckskin Benchmark’s Southeast Face. The 13,370 foot summit just north of Buckskin Pass sits between the giants of the Elk Range and looked to have a fun, direct ski down it’s southeast face.
So in search of a semi-long day with a ski descent from a summit that we’ve never stood atop, Buckskin was the call. After the hot days we saw last week and the forecasted wind and clouds, we knew the snow would be variable. But it didn’t matter, it was all about the tour and climb and less about the ski. We had a great day.
The 2-3 hour grunt up and over to Willow Lake Basin passes quickly with views like this.
Once at the lake the objective comes into view.
Christy leads the charge up our ski line.
Nearing the top, with Willow Peak off in the distance.
On the summit, the wind and clouds made for some tough skiing but we didn’t care. We were just happy to be out.
Dropping in, the first turns were steep and fairly typical for a ski mountaineering day– varying between wind blown powder, breakable crust and frozen spring snow.
Quite the location.
And lower down it was just as variable, which was just fine with us. Bring on the spring!
4 Comments
Leave your reply.