Christmas Canyon

page 2

Switch-backing up the mountain I decided that my descent route would be over on the edge of the trees. The snow pack was bomb-proof to the ground with about 4 to 6 inches of dusty snow on top. Much better conditions than I expected and much better than the thinner wind affected stuff I was skinning up on. Near the top of the bowl I started hitting patches of boiler-plate surface interspersed with a thin wind slab layer. Spending as little time as possible on this part of the bowl was now a priority. A few sweat beads later I reached the ridge and the brilliant sunshine. Shadows and heat now quickly turned to sunshine and cold as the west winds whipped hard into my face. I had to linger for a little bit to take in the view and re-fuel as I had not stopped long enough to eat on my tour in.

My companion Moriah was anxious to get going back down so skins off and skis on we turned our backs to the sun and headed back down into the shadow of the Egans. The first few turns off the top were about surviving the windblown interspersed with hard pack until I could pull hard to my right into the sheltered area next to the trees. From there it was a beautiful fall line with smooth carvable snow on a perfect pitch for enjoying the earned turns. The lower angled run-out at the bottom was also good snow for carving and I enjoyed practicing Tele-turns on this longish slope until I reached the trees at the bottom.

There's ski tracks in this picture along the edge of the trees.

The descent out of the canyon was cruiser and I made such good time that I had to stop and wait for Moriah to catch up on occasion, four paws were much slower than two skis. I re-examined various animal tracks to pass the time waiting. I found fox tracks, coyote tracks, lion tracks, rabbit tracks and on the lower section I saw where an elk had dropped into the canyon and followed my skin track up for a distance. I couldn't spot the critter on the slopes above me but I knew that I was probably being watched or listened to at the very least. I wondered if perhaps the feline who's tracks I had seen further up the canyon had also been aware of my presence. The daylight was fading for real when I reached the vehicle and waited one more time for Moriah to catch up. Two ravens came flying by me heading up the canyon, 15 minutes later they came flying back out followed by Moriah, as if they had gone and rounded her up. Christmas eve dinner was waiting and I made it home just in time to enjoy it with the family who were so kind to allow me to enjoy a canyon tour on this fine holiday.  So many things to smile about on Christmas and during the course of the evening as I listened to the Christmas music being sung and watched my daughter dance down the church aisle I couldn't help but smile. Somewhere in there I managed a smile or two for a canyon I'll now always call Christmas Canyon.