flashmo

So, I took advantage of the break in the weather yesterday, it got up to 30 degrees in the valley, and grabbed my snowshoes and camera. I headed for a trailhead that is about 12 driving miles from the house. Six hours later I made it back to my truck tired, but recharged.

I only covered 3.7 miles, but had 1843 feet of elevation gain, climbing the little mountain that I had set out after. The face had 3 feet of loose powder, and it was almost impossible to get it to pack up under the snowshoes. Once I got to the top, there was only about 4 inches of snow on the windward face, probably because the winds were steady at 30 mph, and gusting to 40mph.

Fifteen minutes into the climb, I shot a moose...with the camera. The short lens really doesn't do the moose justice (I was only about a hundred yards away). She is standing there with the snow above her knees, and she was dragging her belly in the snow as she moved off (she was self-conscious (sp?) about being watched while she ate, like most females ).


A few more pictures on the way up...





And a couple from the crest, looking over the backside (couldn't stay there long, the wind was brutal).