Joined: 15 May 2009 Posts: 2 Location: Donner Summit, CA.
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 10:39 pm Post subject: Evolution Loop, Skate Ski solo blast
Greetings skiers, never been to this site before, though I should have. Posted this trip report on a climber forum, and thought you all might enjoy it. Probably many of you have skied this route...
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Sitting at the kitchen table one day later raw is how I feel, like I rubbed my whole being hard up against the earth, scraping away layers, physical and deeper. Eyes, brain and skin absorbed a little too much sun, muscles drained, soul still tired. Left with the rare feeling of wanting to stay indoors for a day to regroup, recover and reflect…
4:00am Wednesday May 15th. With a nice bit of late moon I am trotting up the closed road to North Lake, through the campground easily finding the trail to Lamarck Lakes. Patchy snow and some footprints lead me up the hill, I’m off to a good start. Dawn and a beautiful place,
walking the rocky ridge between the upper lake and the correct drainage leading up, way, way up, to Lamarck Col. I herringbone the steep sections, skate the lower angle ones, perfect smooth corn.
7:30am Walking the final steep pitch to the col, I reach it, 4,000ft of up, a good mornings work.
I am traveling light, Fischer Revolution Skate skis (147cm) Salomon carbon skate boots, Swix alu team poles, ice axe, Salomon gore-tex hiking shoes, day pack with water, food, down coat, clothes I’m wearing, headlamp, camera.
Light is the whole point, I think of it as a math equation, seeking for the ultimate optimization of fitness +skill + psyche, with just the right amount of food and equipment, needed to traverse the maximum distance of mountain terrain effectively. I figure I can survive a night out if equipment or body failure slow me down.
Add more weight, I would need wider skis to handle it, slowing down, I would need more food to stay out longer, spiraling down to a “normal” trip of 4 days. Carry less, I would be stupid.
Best words I can think of to express this ethic come from my soul mentor,
Doug Robinson,
“Technology is imposed on the land, but technique means conforming to the landscape. They work in opposite directions, one forcing passage while the other discovers it. The goal of developing technique is to conform to the most improbable landscape by means of the greatest degree of skill and boldness supported by the least equipment."
Though I am one of the pioneers of this particular style of back country skating, have to shout out to two other pioneers, fellow racers and visionaries, Mark Nadell and Jeff Schloss who did this same same skate over 10 years ago along with many other big routes, and provided me with the inspiration and loaned equipment to do it now.
On with the journey, slapped with the big views of Mt. Mendal and Darwin,
I put the skis on and step out to make some turns. The snow is bullet proof perforated crust, bone jarring roughness as I skid first one way, stemming jump kind of turn, and skid the other, terrible skiing really, mitigated by the glorious views in stunning morning light. ¾ of the way down the snow smooths and the turns get fun.
Down into the bottom of Darwin Canyon, linking frozen lakes, this is where the skate gear really shines, man flies over snow…
Turning the corner, I stay high on the Darwin Bench, ending up well above Evolution Lake, threading snow and talus, the carbon skate boots are not so great for walking on rock, I switch shoes and climb down a ways, till back on the snow I swoop down onto and across this gorgeous lake.
View of Mt. Huxley is stunning, what a fine looking peak, I can’t wait to come back for the ridge traverse that Croft raves about.
On up the valley, looking across to Mt. Goddard, the dominant peak of the area, across Saphire Lake, then a rest stop to refill on water at the now open creek/river pouring out of Lake Wanda.
I feel like a little guy all alone in a very big place…time for another inspirational quote, this one from Clarence King:
“As often as one camps at twelve thousand feet in the Sierra, the charm of crystally pure air, these cold, sparkling, gem-like tints of rock and alpine lake, the fiery bronze of foliage, and luminous though deep-toned sky, combine to produce an intellectual and even a spiritual elevation. Deep and stirring feelings come naturally, the present falls back into its true relation, one’s wearying identity shrinks from the broad, open foreground of the vision, and a calmness born of reverent reflections encompasses the soul.”
Skating on, I get to Wanda Lake and stop at an incredible set of tracks, look like a bear, but hard to believe one would be strolling way the heck out here. (Regret that I didn’t pull the camera out for these). Snow is softening, but still good glide, some of it has this quality of being topped by glass that makes a cool sound as the little plates slither away after being cut by my skis, I head up past the next lake, and can see the pyramid shape of the stone hut at Muir Pass at the top of the hill.
Suddenly movement, and a guy is heading toward me making nice turns! He stops, name is Alvin, a cool older gentleman, out on a ten-day solo, base camping and skiing as many peaks as he can. We admire each others outfits, opposite ends of the gear and weight spectrum.
He tells of skiing Mt. Goddard, a grand objective and just one of the many peaks that have felt his edges this week. I am totally digging my one-day jaunt, but would love to come back, hang out and ski the peaks like he has. We say farewell and ski off in opposite directions, he like an adventurous turtle with his home on his back, and me like a hare, with a long way still to bound toward home.
Coming up to the hut at the pass, more people, party of 4 doing the same loop as I in opposite direction and out for a week. They are bemused by my setup. “Are you training for some kind of race?” one asks, “No, I raced all winter to train for this day!” I reply. I sit with them and have my lunch, devouring a full package of smoked salmon, they insist that I take a slug off their bottle of port to wash it down. They give me some good beta for the end game linking the lakes below Echo Col, and I am off.
Perfect corn skiing off Muir Pass to Helen Lake, making nice tele turns. Over the next drop off, my caution meter goes red, and I stop to course correct and avoid a cornice, a chuck of which I see looking back, has collapsed and slid down. The low point perched on the edge of LeConte Canyon, and then up the final climb. Now I am a bit tired, I take another rest stop, taking in the views of the awesome Black Giant, then start hiking up the slope.
I count 100 steps then pause catch breath, and continue. This counting keeps me on track and the slope is over soon. Finally the last 40 feet on rock to the Col. Beaming as I realize this is the last uphill of my day! Though wide-awake knowing how much skiing I still have to do.
Top of the Col, and only 10 feet of downclimbing before putting on skis.
The slope is very soft, and I am very cautious, bad place and situation to set off a wet slide. I traverse and kick turn a few times till trying out my jumping stem turn, which works great, whoppeee! I am skiing down this steep col with my little skaters!
my proud survival tracks.
On down to Echo Lake and the lakes below, thick wet snow on the downhills, but still fun to ski. I get very cautious about skiing across the lakes, starting to sink into water pockets occasionally.
I think this wild looking peak is a spur off of Mt. Wallace.
At Topsy Turvey Lake, I follow the beta gained over lunch, and head up and over the ridge to the east finding a good line down to Emerald Lake. Now it gets hard, soggy deep snow, interspersed with open wetland.
I thread my way to Blue Lake and find the tracks of the party from two days before. I get on another big patch, back on skis and work my way down, till it becomes too much of a thrash to keep skiing. Realizing I am off the route of the trail, but not caring too much I thrash on through very rough terrain, steep gullies filled with deep wet collapsing snow, my shins get barked repeatedly as I poke through into talus.
This sucks, but I am so high from my day, that I am aglow even as I am truly thrashing. Trying to follow the grain of the land and becoming adversed to the soft slushy treacherous stuff, I follow the rock ridges down and left preferring to down climb on dry rock than to wade. I realize I am way off the trail.
Finally I say fuuck it and just head straight down to the far south edge of Lake Sabrina, enjoying an off-width downclimb after tossing my poles down. Now I am trying to walk the bathtub ring around the lake, sand and loose rocks a few of which I surf after dislodging them. This won’t work, and I can’t handle such an inglorious end to such a fine adventure. I give it up, and thrutch straight up through the willows a few hundred meters until I hit the real trail, an easy mile takes me past the dam, onto the road, and back to my car.
Whew! What a day…15 hours, apx. 34 miles, lots of elevation gained, a loop through the heart of the high sierra, ready...for...rest...now...
Joined: 31 May 2006 Posts: 95 Location: Truckee/Tahoe Donner
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 10:53 pm Post subject:
Yo Peter,
We be proud of you!
Great job! This is still my favorite skate route of all time. Seeing your photos makes me want to go do it again. Your going it alone adds a whole 'nother element of risk in there.
Joined: 31 May 2006 Posts: 95 Location: Truckee/Tahoe Donner
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 11:11 pm Post subject:
Peter,
Jeff and I did the Lamarck/Evolution/Echo Col trip back in 2005, with Tav Streit and an Alaskan kid from the UNR Ski Team, Jesse Carlstrom (pictured below on Darwin Bench). That was Jesse's first big backcountry skate, and for all we know might have been his last! I think we opened his eyes as to what us "old guys" could pull off.
We had tried the loop twice before that (2001 and 2003, i think), but the snow conditions and weather those days didn't meet our success/enjoyment matrix standards. In 2005, we hit it really well, but the finish was, like you said, a LONG ways from Echo Col down to Sabrina. Thankfully, we weren't out there as long as you were, as our snow was getting pretty bottomless by the end of the day.
Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Posts: 1594 Location: Salt lake City
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:08 am Post subject:
Wow....Nice job and TR and I think we are going to have to try it next year... we did that loop last week and were thinking how great it would be on skate skis....especially from about midnight to noon when things firmed up. We did manage to skate on the lakes on cripplingly heavy AT stuff (dynafits and stigmas) and even that was almost fun.
Added: this was one of the most serene and beautiful tours I have done
Last edited by powderpond on Sat May 16, 2009 4:47 am; edited 3 times in total
Joined: 23 Nov 2007 Posts: 232 Location: Woodland Park, CO
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:12 am Post subject:
Holy Crap - That's one of the most exciting TR's I've ever seen.
If the snow is nice corn, how steep a slope can you tele with skating gear?? I tried skiing the Stowe Derby with true skate skis around 1990 and scared myself silly on a Green resort slope. I never thought to try them in the spring; sort of a carry over of my 'klister alergy'.
I had thought that I'd be able to find an old pair of Revolutions knocking around the used gear shops and ski swaps, but they're going to be like gold once people see your shots.
Joined: 10 Jan 2006 Posts: 619 Location: Pikes Peak Country
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:36 am Post subject:
What's also cool is the extra ski or pair of skis that you guys take along for emergencies. Imagine doing that with tele or AT gear! Of course those skis, bindings, and poles aren't exactly designed for that kind of abuse, I mean fun.
Outstanding! Please, post more of these amazing adventures.... your journeys inspire. Mad props to all the Tahoe skaters and their magnificent forays into the heart of the High Sierra!
Vermont Refugee wrote:
I tried skiing the Stowe Derby with true skate skis around 1990 and scared myself silly on a Green resort slope.
Funny, I did the Derby in 1990 on Rossi Cobra skate skis one very COLD Vermont winter day. The hairpin turn saw lots of pile ups; luckily, I eluded the carnage via some well placed step turns. Not much snow that year, making the ski into town not doable and shortening the course, but still a very fun event. My "boys" were happy to see the hot tub at the Trapp lodge that evening, fo' sure.
Joined: 07 Dec 2004 Posts: 539 Location: Berkeley/Meyers/Motel Subaru
Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 4:25 am Post subject:
Quote:
Doug Robinson,
“Technology is imposed on the land, but technique means conforming to the landscape. They work in opposite directions, one forcing passage while the other discovers it. The goal of developing technique is to conform to the most improbable landscape by means of the greatest degree of skill and boldness supported by the least equipment."
What a powerful and inspiring TR. Loved the Robinson quote and how you are personifying it! Dang, I don't think my tracks coming down Echo Col would look much better with phat skis.
Also enjoyed the description of Alvin; in my minds eye there's a score of folks out there like you guys, living the dream...
Sitting at the kitchen table one day later raw is how I feel, like I rubbed my whole being hard up against the earth, scraping away layers, physical and deeper.
This sounds kinda....I don't know......weird. Or sexual.....or.....
Nice TR. _________________ I get paid to be suspicious when I've got nothing to be suspicious about.
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