The day started with sunny bluebird skies when Sandy, Cheryl, and Tom left the 4th and Union parking lot at 7:30. Half an hour later, they met up with Diane at Downieville.
After a refreshing break, the crew headed up the hill to Berthoud and on to Current Creek. The parking lot had a few cars with people getting ready to hit the slopes. There was about 8 - 10 inches of powder on the approach, but some of the south facing slopes had a little bit of sun crust.
We followed the uptrack towards the Upper 110's, then kept to the track as it wandered aimlessly, finally coming to the glades at the head of the valley. If only we knew who was responsible for the well-established track, we would commend them for their combination of skin track and snowshoe tracks leading to the usual starting spot. However, any credit for this wonderful uptrack was totally negated by willful and careless damage inflicted on the beautiful powder slopes as they descended. In any case, our crew opted for more vertical and untracked powder for their descent so we climbed a bit further to drop into the bowl to the left of the usual slopes.
Sandy, Diane, and Cheryl follow Tom's tracks to the meadow at the base of the middle bowl.
The snow was a bit variable with the combination of the previous days' wind loading and temperatures, but the untracked powder was too tempting to pass up.
We stop to admire our handiwork.
At the meadow halfway down the run, we dropped into the trees and had a great time winding our way back to the aqueduct.
Snack time prior to the next climb.
On the second run, Cheryl encouraged us to head over to the far bowl on climber's right. There we met up with a motley group of telemarkers, AT skiers, and snowboarders. One disgustingly young skier practically ran up to the top of the peak. On his run down, the snow boomed and groaned distressingly. All this noise convinced us to stay well away from the ridge. After another snack, we headed down the slopes.
Diane, Cheryl, and Sandy cut over from the far bowl to the middle meadow.
By this time the clouds had moved in and a few light flurries were beginning to fall.
Cheryl and Sandy celebrate the run to the meadow.
After regrouping at the middle meadow, we headed through the trees again, this time ending with a thrilling slot through a final screen of trees and dropping into the aqueduct. The unconsolidated deep fluff along the steep banks of the ditch provided ample excitement for the gang.
It's time to skin up and climb out of the aqueduct.
Back at the top, we decide to repeat our first run down the middle bowl.
Bundled up against the blowing flakes, Sandy, Cheryl, and Diane regroup in the middle meadow.
After three satisfying runs, we decided to head back to the trailhead via the ever popular Callais route. The sun crust was minor, and the rocks were easily avoided. After a quick shot through the luge run, we were at the bottom and ready to call it a day. Despite the long weekend, ski traffic was minor, and Tommyknockers was nearly deserted.
Stats: 1850' / 3.5 miles / 6.5 hrs.
View the entire group of photos and movies here.
