Day 1 - 02.01.10- Stanley, Idaho to Williams Peak Yurt
Woke up at the Stanley Mountain Village feeling sick as hell. My head was congested and pounding. I swallowed a few eggs and bacon and chased it with a cup of coffee hoping it would lighten the feeling in my head. It didn't seem to help.
Here is our crew fueling up before....
After the breakfast I took a full dose of cold medicine, knowing the ski in would destroy me other wise. At the trailhead our team of 13 loaded flimsy plastic sleds with beer, food, and clothing and others crammed as much gear into their ski bags as possible. It was quite a scene.
It was a beautifully clear day, and off to the west we saw our destination.
The yurt is located off of the highest peak in the photo... Williams Peak.
The ski in was somewhere between 6 and 7 miles with nearly 2,000 vertical feet of elevation rise. Normally this would be a fairly easy mellow ski but with the weight of the sleds and backpacks everyone was suffering a bit more.
After four hours skinning we finally reached the Williams Peak Yurt.
Williams Peak Yurt... Actually 2 yurts.
Wood stove in the southern Yurt
Wood burning Sauna
Bunk Beds! Yurt Life...
Once we got to the Yurt I literally passed out in all of my down gear and twitched in and out of consciousness for about 5 hours. At this point I thought my trip was over. I hardly had enough energy to move.... But along with lots of rest, H20, and tea I pulled together enough energy to eat as much food as possible in hopes it would revitalize me.
Day 2- 02.02.10- Skier's Summit of Williams Peak, and Marshall Lakes
Slept till nearly 9am. Feeling better but still not great. Ate breakfast and slowly packed for a mellow day of skiing. Wasn't sure how much energy I would have but felt like I needed to go test it out a bit.
Everyone in the group made their way to the skiers summit an hour or so skin up from the yurt. The views were incredible and the warm sunny weather was pleasant.
Looking at Williams Peak from the Skiers Summit
Leif, Nicole, and Katie on top of Skiers Summit
Lots of the skiing off the summit looked extreme and I was a bit hesitant due to avalanche conditions. So we opted to ski the less extreme but still untracked "Bowling Alley" then traverse hard towards Lower Marshall Lake.
Looking back up towards the "Bowling Alley" from Lower Marshall Lake
Heading up towards Upper Marshall Lake towards the Williams Peak Cirque
Amazing ski terrain...
The snowpack showed little signs of instability as we climbed towards Williams Peak Cirque. The faceting layer we had been worried about seemed as to metamorphosis and gain strength. We skinned higher and got a good view of the cirque and the big fatty.
Digging a snowpit
Great skiing down from the upper cirque. Untracked powder on a 33-35 degree slope... That combined with the lower avalanche hazard created a good times. My cold was also starting to feel better but I was pretty tired.
Day 3- 02.03.10- Meadow Creek Bowl
Woke up feeling better.. Decided to go further north and check out an area called Meadow Creek. From the topo map it looke like it would be a big open bowl with terrain for everyone. It was a great choice!
Day 4- 02.04.10- Big Fatty and Williams Peak Cirque
Toby, Jason and I went across Marshall Lake to ski the Big Fatty. It's a steep couloir, around 45 degrees, off Williams Peak in the Williams Peak Cirque. It definitely got your stomach tight when you'd look up at it.
It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, no wind, nearly black sky, and 8"-10++" of fresh powder fell the during the night. Beautiful day. One of the best ski days I've ever had!!
Toby skiing towards the big fatty
The couloir
Gams topping out
Toby and Gams on top... Thompson Peak in background
Thompson Peak.. Choose your line.
point 'em down.
After skiing that line we were all energized and psyched. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the sun and powder filled slopes. We skied all over the cirque!
Williams Peak Cirque
Toby enjoyed another powder run
Terrain above Lower Marshall Lake... AKA- Pillow Town
Williams peak cirque powder skiing
What a great trip! Perfect weather, great snow, stable snow conditions, good friends and nobody got hurt or had equipment failures. These kinds of adventures rarely come true. This will be a difficult trip to beat but I'm looking forward to challenging it. Lets make reservations for next year!! Who's coming?!
JB
