Overnight at Emerald Lake

 As I drew near the crest of Primrose Cirque I sent Jim Knight, the guy that I was planning to meet at Emerald Lake, a text to see if he was on the trail.

He replied simply, "At hut, em lake."

I was now glad that I had elected to go up alone, I thought I was getting a head start because he had work so I kept looking back over my shoulder because expecting to see him gaining on me. Jim is close to twice my age and I have a hard time keeping up. The guy is a mountain machine.

I only had a couple hundred vertical to go before I reached the Hidden Lakes Basin but I was starting to drag. During that last little push I was encouraging myself out loud. Every time I go somewhere with a full pack it reminds me why I like dawn patrols, your pack weighs about a quarter as much.

I finally reached Jim and his dog at the "Hut" which is still completely buried. I cooked up some food and we sat and talked. Jim talked mostly while I asked questions. The guy has done it all. Quite a few of the climbing routes I have been doing lately are his, or his sons, creations. The ice axe I was using was even one of his designs. 

The sun hit us early and we took our time letting the sun warm the snow. We made the decision to just head down Primrose instead of going any higher. As soon as we dropped in we knew it was a good idea. The snow was already too soft and sloppy, still fun, but sloppy. 

It was a good little trip, I have been wanting to camp up there all year and now I did. Check. Now next season I know I want to do a multi-day trip up there, there is a lot to ride.

 Dusk, it wasn't dark long. The full moon lit it up like day.

I want a dog like this in the future... She warmed up to me pretty quick and she can run for days.

 

Home sweet home.

This place always makes me feel small.

White to green.

Shutdown

The moisture in each breath froze in my nostrils and crystallized in my beard as I hiked. The temperature slowly dropped as we ascended Primrose Cirque on the backside of Timpanogos. The snow was deep and light. Our goal was to get to Emerald Lake to spend the night then get up for an early sunrise on the summit. The perfect snow and the amazing lines we skirted as we climbed had us all full of anticipation for the morning.

I ran into technical difficulties with my splitboard which made me leery and kept me bootpacking up the steeper terrain while Parker and Tanner worked to switchback up the face. I stopped for a moment and looked down the valley bellow. Silence. There is nothing like being in high places surrounded by silence.

As I crested the little roller, I suddenly felt uneasy. We continued our ascent until Parker chimed in saying he felt something was up. The slope was looking wind loaded but seemed stable, but all of us had been feeling uneasy. Roughly 150 vertical feet from the top of the cirque we decided to pull the plug. Our cumulative gut feelings turned us around. We felt good about the decision, but it was tough to give it up.

We rode down in the dark through what, in daylight hours, was an amazing winter playground. In the dark, sections seemed like a trap. We were all smacked in the face a few times by low hanging branches. The night ended well, cold but safe.