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Peak(s):  Uncompahgre Peak  -  14,318 feet
Date Posted:  03/21/2012
Date Climbed:   03/17/2012
Author:  Bean
 Uncompahgre Ski Descent   

After last month's unsuccessful attempt, Carl, Marc, Eric, Rob, and myself again made the painfully long drive to Lake City to give Uncompahgre another go; a photo posted by climbers who were up the weekend before showed that our one point of concern was no longer an issue. After much deliberation on the drive down, we got started up the road at 2:30am. Unfortunately, our nice smooth skintrack had been wrecked by snowshoers, requiring a bit more effort on the approach. A little over two hours later, we were back at the summer trailhead and took a break to regroup, badmouth snowshoers, and eat.

Before 6am we gained the climber's-right side of the gully, climbing up the (now bare) spot we dropped in to it last time. This was the first indication of how much had melted since we were here last. I saw some runnels adjacent to our trail, but it was hard to tell the extent of them - later in the day, we saw that it was quite significant. We stopped here briefly before pushing on.


Photo by Carl Dowdy

For whatever reason, I much prefer approaching in the dark. It was cold this night though, and I was happy to see the approaching sun.



The morning was beautiful, and we put away our headlamps not long after 6am.



We just about made it to the spot we turned around last time before sunrise, but missed it by a few minutes.


Photo by Carl Dowdy




Photo by Carl Dowdy

The view past the notch was beautiful.



The clouds kept things dark for a bit, which I was happy with.



The rest of the guys were happy when the sun came out and slowly started to warm things up.



I didn't get any photos of the gully on the way up (or down - though I got some video, which I may or may not get up) as it was a bit loose and steep, but the view from the summit ridge was spectacular.



Carl pushed on ahead and was the first to the top, with me closely behind.




Photo by Carl Dowdy

We took in the views on top for a few minutes while the rest of the group made it up.



The ski off the top wasn't great, but it was there.


Photo by Eric Sangueza






Photo by Carl Dowdy

After downclimbing the gully and getting back on some snow, conditions were a bit better...


Photo by Carl Dowdy







...for a while at least.


Photo by Carl Dowdy

The ski down the road was pretty choppy as a result of the aforementioned snowshoers, but we all made it down in decent time, packed up, and headed for PowerStop in Gunnison to refuel from our eight and a half hour day.

My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload):




Comments or Questions
BillMiddlebrook
User
Nice
3/21/2012 8:57pm
Great job. I can't believe how thin the snow is. Crazy


pioletski
User
Right on -
3/22/2012 3:14am
Even last year the snow was thin on the summit block. Nicely done gents!


taylorzs
User
Excellent
3/22/2012 8:00am
Looks like a nice summit. Perhaps this will be Carl's finisher year???...


Dancesatmoonrise
User
Snowshoers... hmm....
3/22/2012 4:09pm
Color me three shades of green. : )

If there were two more weekends to winter, I'd be wishing I'd joined. Let's see... Holy Cross, Uncompahgre, HC, Unca, HC... Guess I'll have to take that Unca with a little Wetter...next year, I suppose... : )

Strong work, gentleman, going back and finishing business!


benners
User
Good Work Fellas
3/22/2012 7:09pm
Looks even thinner than when I skied it in early January a few years ago . That same exact strip of snow you skied off the summit was what granted me a descent from the top, glad it filled in again for you!

Looking forward to hitting one with you all soon...


bckcntryskr
User
summit skiing
3/23/2012 2:22am
Great to see a skilled team getting it in.....Nice TR guys


mtnfiend
User
Nice Job Guys
3/23/2012 2:26am
Way to get in June, errr... March!!


KansasBoarder
User
Yeah!
3/23/2012 3:33am
Solid shots, gentlemen! Congrats on another summit - only a few left. Let me know if you need a partner for some more Sangre Fun!


Bean
User
Splitboarder
3/23/2012 12:33pm
Like the rest of us, he knows walking is boring and slow.


RoanMtnMan
User
Get'er done...
3/25/2012 3:58pm
That one is rarely ever a pleasure. More like a chore. I think we skied it in Feb and left the truck at noon. Nothing else stands out to me except the sound of chattering skis. Glad you guys ticked it off. Will the Sangres come into shape this year?


YooperJonKornely
User
Snowboarder Question
1/24/2013 4:02pm
The pic of the snowboarder... is that a splitboard or did he ”boot” up? Great job on the ride!


SnowAlien
User
Now here is the route
4/2/2015 7:45pm
and the mountain that look like fun. Congratulations.



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