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Peak(s):  Huron Peak  -  14,006 feet
Date Posted:  06/02/2008
Modified:  11/30/2010
Date Climbed:   05/26/2008
Author:  Jcwhite
 Did you bring your ice skates?   

http://www.elksandbeyond.com/14er-ski-descents/huron-peak/

Image



Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
1


Comments or Questions
CO Native
User
Crazy!!
6/2/2008 3:48pm
Wow, hiking right past a fresh slide on the way up.

That second photo is awesome!! Beautiful hike.


doumall
User
Fresh Slide?
6/2/2008 5:28pm
Have you traveled in the spring Mr Safety Pants?


CO Native
User
Yep.
6/2/2008 7:20pm
I certainly have, but the slough this past weekend was too much for me. I chose to play it safe climbing in RRCOS. I realize some don‘t mind that kind of risk, but lots of snow and 3 straight nights without a hard freeze makes me wet my safety pants.


doumall
User
Frozen
6/2/2008 7:51pm
It hit below freezing temps at 10k from the 23rd through the 31st in the Collegiates.

http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel/snotelday2.pl?site=369&station=06k40s&state=co&report=temperature_min_wy

The snowpack can freeze hard with slightly above 0C temps on a clear night, as I witnessed Sunday morning. These guys know when the snow is frozen under their feet.


Jcwhite
User
From russia...
6/3/2008 3:25pm
The river really wasn‘t all that bad, like i said we only found it to be calf deep both ways and a headlamp shows the bottom of the river.


BillMiddlebrook
User
Slides
11/30/2010 5:28pm
I'm pretty sure that slide was the one that RoadMtnMan triggered one or two days prior when he was on Huron. It's actually a good thing that it had already gone or Andy and Jordan probably couldn't have skied it. I skied Princeton the day before with these guys, so I remember the upcoming weather conditions on Huron (didn't go because I'm fat and lazy) that day. As I recall, they had a sufficient freeze that night.

It's the time of year that you're going to see plenty of these slides if your a serious bc skier - kinda comes with the task. I see stuff like this quite often as do many other skiers. There's definitely more risk when you're skiing big peaks, so avy knowledge, planning, and gear is a must. As doumall mentioned, temps are a key component, in addition to aspect, load, etc. Most of us know the risks and plan as best as possible.

When we did Princeton the day before their Huron ski, we had an overnight freeze and warm morning temps so we knew what to expect on the ski descent. We knew what the previous storms had dropped, the type of consolidation to expect, and I remember trying to predict the depth of stuff that was going to slough off when we skied. It turned out that conditions were very close to what we anticipated. It doesn't always work out the way you want and sometimes the conditions can cause an aborted ski mission.

I'm pretty conservative when it comes to planning big mountain bc ski days, but I'm sure if people saw some of my photos they would think I was crazy or stupid for skiing a certain line. Pictures don't always tell the entire story. Sometimes the photos show you what could have happened if you were there on a different day!


doumall
User
Ouch!
2/5/2011 12:22am
Those conditions look rough.



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