The DL on Fair Glacier

Decided back in May that I was skiing until the end of the month, then I was done.  Well, end of June is here, and we had a hell of going out party skiing Fair Glacier this weekend.  'Big Ron' said 8 mile approach to basecamp, 2.5 mile roundtrip to the top of the glacier from there. Perfect for one last big ski trip.

After last weekends N. Arapahoe bushwacking adventure, I was a little bit worried.  Fortunately, our $5 parking fee, and $5 backcountry permit provided Monarch trailhead to employ 5 rangers to hang around the ranger station, as well as providing a perfectly maintained trail all the way to Crater Lake.  Waterfalls were flowing in full force, Columbine's dotted the meadows, it was as green as the Spring we'd been waiting for.  Then we started getting glimpses of Fair and Peck Glaciers, and we knew we were in for a good time.

That was until Beau and Mr. Porcipine got acquainted.  Final score, Beau - 0, 'Pine - 1.  We spent the next 30 minutes hog tying Beau, pinning him down, and pulling quills out of his leg with a Leatherman. Lovely. 

Camped overlooking Lone Eagle, Crater Lake, Peck Glacier, and in the distance, Fair.  Fried Mahatmas burritos were the gourmet dinner, with aged white cheddar, and some fine Swiss chocolate for dessert.

Pretty warm in the valley, woke up and was able to be coaxed out of my sleeping bag without a whole lot of fuss.  Post coffee, Missy decided that Gimpy Beau, who was still limping around on three legs was probably going to be too sore to ski, so Chris and I headed up the valley to the snow.  We could hear him crying in the distance as we walked down the valley. In the end, it was probably better that way because getting to the glacier required a good amount of scree scrambing, and once on it, it was walking on ice.  We put the crampons on straight away, and with an ice axe in each hand headed up the still shaded, north facing Fair glacier.  Crampons were key, sun didn't start hitting the top of the glacier until nearly nine, and the bottom part until at least 10:30.  Once at the top, I was glad to have the extra time.

From the saddle, N. Arapahoe on the other side, with our tracks from last weekend dwarfed by the massive mountain, Apache to one side, Mt. George to the other, Toll with snow in the distance, and even farther away, Longs.  Playing the waiting game, we tried to balance the threatening clouds moving in with the need to let the snow soften more.  When it looked like the sun was about to leave us for good, we headed down, right at 11:00.

A little bit crunchy, not perfect corn, but steep at the top, mellowing out to about 35 degrees and nearly 1500 vert. of sweet turns down to Triangle Lake.  That's when the rain started.  We hiked over to one last snow patch where Missy had taken miraculously recovered Beau and skiied down to the creek. Then the thunder started and we were more than happy to head back to camp for some coffee and bagels.

The hike out was filled with Doom and Gloom for a good way down the valley before clearing to a beautiful summer afternoon, devoid of hikers who were scared away by the clouds.  I think we saw three groups the whole way out.

In summary, I'm really sorta bummed that we declared this our last ski trip.  Maybe 4th of July...