First Turns of the Season: Tyndall Glacier, RMNP 10.7.07

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The first part of Fall has been rather boring in terms of weather. A few storms have clipped the state over the past couple of weeks leaving anywhere from a dusting to a foot of snow on the upper elevations. Most of these storms have been followed by long warm dry spells leaving no evidence of a snowstorm.

Hallet Peak:

The skiing so far has been dismal at best. This time last year the WKS crew had already logged in a few powder days, one of which being a 2′ pow day atop Vail Pass. The itch to ski deep snow and big lines is growing ever so fierce so this dry spell is only making things more difficult to cope. I keep reminding myself that it is only October 10th and there is still many months ahead for this ski season.

Fall colors in RMNP:

Andy Dimmen and I headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park on Sunday to get some exercise and hopefully ski some fresh snow off one of the “glaciers”. The big storm that hammered the Pacific Northwest and Utah a couple of days earlier was on track to hit us but ended up taking a detour. The storm ended up splitting to the north and south and left Colorado with only a couple of inches. We met up in Longmont shortly after 8am and made the short drive up to the park with hopes that we would possibly score some fresh pow.

Tyndall Glacier:

The day before I was up near Emerald lake with a group of students from work and scoped what appeared to be fresh snow on Tyndall Glacier. When we arrived on Sunday morning it appeared only a few inches had fallen the night before. We were hopeful the strong winds, which are well known in the Park, had loaded up the glacier with a little more than what had fallen down low. Early season wind effect is always a sure bet in RMNP. Sometimes a 3″ storm can load up the glaciers with 12″ or more of wind buff.

We cruised up the well maintained trail past Dream lake and Emerald lake amidst strong winds and a clearing sky. There is no trail past Emerald lake and the hiking begins to get tedious and steep as you climb under the intimidating and towering face of Hallet Peak. Our pace slowed down as we hopped from boulder to boulder and zig-zagged our way through the difficult terrain leading up to the glacier.

After a couple hours of scrambling we finally made it to the base of the glacier. The wind had done it’s wonders and left a good 7″ or so of fresh snow on the more protected parts of the glacier. We decided to go for the north couloir as it was more protected and appeared to hold more powder than the main snowfield.

Andy climbing:

It felt great to step into the crampons and begin climbing up a steep chute for the first time this season. The couloir measures out at 50 degrees for most of the way. The line is short (700′ vert), but steep and fun, especially for early season.

Nearing the top:

We kicked steps up the couloir and topped out on the divide to fierce and cold wind. We didn’t waste too much time hanging around on the top as the wind was brutal and the sun was disappearing in and out of the clouds. Looking around it appeared the Never Summers and eastern Rabbit Ears Range picked up a bit more than anywhere else in the northern part of the state. Most of the peaks were coated with a decent amount of snow.

Scenic looking south:

Our initial plan was to make a few laps on the glacier but it was getting late and we didn’t want to risk getting caught in the dark. Making those first few turns of the season were pure bliss. My ski technique was horrible and rusty, but it just felt good to be on skis again after a long summer hiatus.

The first face shots of the season were had as we entered the middle part of the couloir where a good 8″+ had collected from the previous storm. I almost forgot what it was like to ski fresh powder. It was refreshing, rejuvenating, and something that was much needed. When we got down we both looked at each other and had nothing but big grins on our faces. We shook our heads and high fived each other in celebration of the first turns of the year.

Andy making turns:

We made good time hiking out of Tyndall gorge and made it back to the car around 5pm. The powder fix was a nice treat, but it wasn’t nearly enough to calm the jonesing for more powder. Hopefully it won’t be long until the next fix. Enjoy the pics and pray for snow!!