Sunday, April 10, 2011

Mayflower Gulch 040911

Despite no new snow and 3 days of 40° plus highs, we managed to get a good workout on the snow at Mayflower.



Cathy had us meet at Woolly Mammoth at 7 and we were on our way to Summit County with Norm, Sandy, Phil, Judi, Kashia, Susan, Ginger, Fred, Bob, and John.  With no traffic to worry about and a refreshing stop at Frisco Safeway, we continued on to Mayflower.  It was all crust and ice at the TH, but patches of powder in the shade of the trees kept us optimistic.  The sun was toasty, if the 40 mph winds weren't raging.


At the Y before the cabins we headed right, up towards the well-developed cornice.  A few attempted to ascend to the ridge, but the blasts of unpredictable wind changed their minds.  Some of us headed through the trees on skier's left, where we found a mix of boilerplate crust and powder.  After surviving that run, we opted for a more open run through the glades, where powder spotting skills ensured survival.  The sun faded to gray as the storm clouds made a noon-time arrival.  New snow fell, but most seemed to whirl away in the wind.  Still, a third run beckoned us most of the way to the top, and we took a shot at the wide open slopes on skier's right.  Once again, the scalloped powder deposited by the wind was the best skiing.


We regrouped at the bottom at 1:30 and flew down the ice-glazed trail to the flats, where some of us limped the rest of the way to the cars.  


Half the group headed home, while the other half made a stop at ever-popular Tommyknockers.  


Back at Woolly Mammoth, the howling winds caught back up with us as we gathered up gear and headed home.


3 runs / 1600' / 5 mi

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