Pumphouse 011412

Dave lead us to a breezy but mostly warm trip to the Pumphouse ridge.

Mark and Norm enjoy the rays at the base of the slope.

Dave gathered some of the usual suspects plus some new faces on his CMC trip to Pumphouse. Sarah, Sandy, Sue, Mark, Norm, Quinn, Marty, Rob, Bob A, and I met Dave at the usual WM HH at the relaxed hour of 8:00 am. Cathy and Kay visited briefly before departing for the Loveland. After a stop in Downieville, we headed to the Pumphouse parking lot where we were joined by Judi, Ellen, Bob, and the ever elusive Will. 


After preparing our gear, we scampered across the highway and ascended through the trees past the gravel pit / mine to the open slopes of the Pumphouse ridge. In the trees the powder was again bottomless unless some kind soul had tracked it previously. Up on the ridge, we found a mix of hard crust, soft crust, and wind-deposited powder. 


Norm and I split from the group to explore the more northerly-facing slopes where we dodged most of the rocks, skirted the hard crust, carved the soft crust, then glided through the wonderful powder at treeline, just prior to bogging down in the trees. We climbed out of the powder holes and thankfully ascended on an old track that we could mostly discern beneath the overlying powder. We reached the top of the ridge again, then descended to the breakout spot where we rejoined the bits and pieces of the group as they yo-yo'd the east-facing slopes. The top of these slopes had a bit of hard crust, but this quickly transitioned into soft crust that could be carved with a bit of effort. The lower slopes were generously broken up by the traffic, and for once, this was a good thing, making the turns easier as the day went on. 


Some of us broke for lunch at various times at the bottom of the run while others just kept on skiing.

Lunch time at the sunny base of the slope.

Quinn enjoys a more relaxed lunch.

Dave is looking for powder. Careful Dave, careful!

After a few more runs, Dave herded the group together at 2:00 for the exit run down the up-track. The track got progressively faster as it saw more traffic, and the deep off-piste powder was still ski-stoppingly slow, making for some interesting maneuvers. 

Dave collects the crew above the gravel pit to wait for the rest to descend.

Down at the road, we took off our skis and hoofed it back to the car, an amazingly tiring trek despite the short distance.

Norm and I did 3 or 4 runs for about 1500' in 3 miles. I'm sure others who stayed in the main group yo-yo'd faster for more. Apres-ski at Tommy's where they still have the cask-conditioned beer engine for a creamy Pick Axe IPA.