We were the optimistic ones on Sunday who tried to skin most of the way, and were fairly successful, but it required numerous dismounts, etc. The hikers probably made better time than us (ah, but they had to carry their skis).
These folks' pictures of skinning up the trail on Friday show what we were up against:
http://www.timefortuckerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6264
There's a nice trip report from Sunday in this thread: http://www.timefortuckerman.com/forums/showthread.php?p=74894#post74894
We skied the central gully. Quite skiable, but the suncrust was not the perfect spring conditions we were seeking. A beautiful day to be in the Gulf of Slides, anyway.
The runout of Central Gully
Looking up
Skinning up Central Gully
Kicking in a boot track up Central Gully
We opted for descending via the slightly softer snow to skier's left of the main gully
Shards of suncrust kicked up at every turn.
We had skinned up this far, and dropped our gear here; now it's time to ski down with the full pack!
Still a few vertical feet to go!
Most skiers and riders were hiking down from 3400' elevation, I think I managed to get down to 3100' with a few short walks before I packed up the skis for good.
These folks' pictures of skinning up the trail on Friday show what we were up against:
http://www.timefortuckerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6264
There's a nice trip report from Sunday in this thread: http://www.timefortuckerman.com/forums/showthread.php?p=74894#post74894
We skied the central gully. Quite skiable, but the suncrust was not the perfect spring conditions we were seeking. A beautiful day to be in the Gulf of Slides, anyway.
The runout of Central Gully
Looking up
Skinning up Central Gully
Kicking in a boot track up Central Gully
We opted for descending via the slightly softer snow to skier's left of the main gully
Shards of suncrust kicked up at every turn.
We had skinned up this far, and dropped our gear here; now it's time to ski down with the full pack!
Still a few vertical feet to go!
Most skiers and riders were hiking down from 3400' elevation, I think I managed to get down to 3100' with a few short walks before I packed up the skis for good.