El Nino / Los Ninos

Skiing and mountain literature, photos, and innovative media
Post Reply
User avatar
skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
Contact:

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by skykilo »

Skied on the south side of Santa Fe Baldy with Aaron yesterday. Estimated vertical is about 4,000 ft and I got moderately worked. Breaking trail was arduous on Baldy!

It doesn't look too bad here but each fresh step was approximately triple effort and my hypo-aerobic lifestyle was giving me a taste of tachycardia.
baldy, trailbreak

Around tree line the time of day, wind, and evolution from decent snow to slabs cued our descent.
baldy, timetoski

We found enough good snow that the day is not classified as strictly exercise.
baldy, baldyski

Our final descent to the parking lot was the surprise bonus of the day with very nice conditions.

User avatar
skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
Contact:

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by skykilo »



Joeytwist1

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by Joeytwist1 »

AWESOME!!! what did your time from car to car look like for Baldy??

User avatar
skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
Contact:

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by skykilo »

We didn't go to the summit, only about 12k, due to wind and slabs and time of day. Round trip was right around six hours, with one descent on the way out to Baldy and another good final run to the parking lot.

User avatar
skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
Contact:

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by skykilo »

Image
The vehicle that has repeatedly won our hearts over the years is having difficulty. Without its services I didn't feel like driving our Nissan Sentra up to the ski hill yesterday. They got 17" between Thursday night and yesterday and the roads were snow covered. Instead took the bus up there. The $5 fare comes with a $5 Ski Santa Fe discount. A 1:05 pm bus departure from downtown Santa Fe, at the base of the ski hill just before 2 pm. Bought a two-ride lift ticket for $(25-5)=20 and made my way to the summit of Lake Peak as quickly as conditions and my fitness allowed.

Summit of Lake Peak in the background.
Image

Cursing through a few spots where it was a wallow through snow up to my waist, I was on the 12,409 ft summit a little after 3 pm. It seemed advisable to use caution on the upper portions of the ski down the ridge to the north toward Heaven's Hill. Made a few small ski cuts but nothing really moved. Some very nice powder turns on the lower portion. Worried about catching the 5 pm bus home, I skinned toward the top of Heaven's Hill as quickly as possible. Started down a very enjoyable powder run at about a quarter to 4 pm. Made the transition on the Winsor Trail as quickly as possible, started skinning just before 4 pm, still worried about catching that bus. To my pleasant surprise, I was able to cruise the 2.3 miles rising from about 10,400 ft to 10,800 ft in half an hour. Maybe I'm not as over the hill as I feel some days. Skied half trail and half powder to the upper ski area parking lot and caught the bus with nearly 20 minutes to spare.

That was fun!

User avatar
huevón
are we there yet?
from el mundo
Contact:

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by huevón »

Got any nukular eSkis yet? #whoosh

The eBikes and eSkates are taking over the town here. Seen fooz drifting street corners on eScoots @40kph in Auckland over NYE.

Perhaps a quiet stealthy eSnoMo MiniLite, exempt from ranger detection, for the Murcan market? 🥋

User avatar
skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
Contact:

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by skykilo »

That seems like a concept with a lot of traction. There were threads on TAY about snowbikes in the last few years. But from where I sit, ski tours are some of the only times I escape eLife and that disconnect seems like a good thing.

User avatar
huevón
are we there yet?
from el mundo
Contact:

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by huevón »

Oh right Shackleton didn't need any of that. Nature had already evolved him into a zen master of the soulslog 🦄🙏

User avatar
skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
Contact:

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by skykilo »

Noticed a natural slide in my zone while doing a solo tour this afternoon/evening.

Crown estimated at 2 ft high. It didn't seem like a good idea to get closer for a better estimate.
Image

Looking down from the same spot as the previous shot.
Image

Slide in first pic starts halfway down ridge coming from peak, at the small trees below the ridge. Lots of debris at the bottom left.
Image

The slide might have ran 200 ft along the ridge to a lower saddle. There was a crown about that far away, not totally sure it was connected.

User avatar
skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
Contact:

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by skykilo »

another perspective two weeks later
Image

User avatar
skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
Contact:

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by skykilo »

We got a big dump and it was a beautiful day.

Lake Peak looking good.
Image

Looking back toward the ski area and Santa Fe.
Image

Looking good to the north.
Image

Lake Peak from the north on the way to the not-stash.
Image

Joeytwist1

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by Joeytwist1 »

Sky, you have got to take me with you on one of these tours. looks super awesome!

User avatar
skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
Contact:

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by skykilo »

Let's go. Snowpack should be coming into condition for more adventurous tour with the warmer weather this week.

User avatar
skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
Contact:

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by skykilo »

Local backcountry mini-golf gnar zone is in the best shape I've seen since moving to Santa Fe.

Untracked but can't possibly be a secret?
Image

Slightly more difficult to obtain.
Image

That was very nice. Chute proper was hard windslab but the trees above and below it were as good as it gets, old cold pow.
Image

Joeytwist1

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by Joeytwist1 »

I am rather jealous!!! Loos like a ton of fun

User avatar
skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
Contact:

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by skykilo »

You still have my info? Might take a lap on Saturday.

User avatar
skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
Contact:

Re: El Nino / Los Ninos

Post by skykilo »

It's high tide around here.

Image

Image

Image

Post Reply