Gash to Sky Pilot

Brian and I were able to join forces on a day of good weather with a loose goal to ski the N face of sky pilot and another run above bear lake if conditions seemed reasonable.  A cold and dark departure from town had us skinning from the car (at the end of the plowing) just before first light.  A beautiful sunrise ensued as we past the lower TH and continued up to gash point proper.  

sky pilot on a gorgeous morning

Once on top with hardly a cloud in the sky, we took in the nice view before skiing and traversing down to bear lake.  We decided to check out sky pilot first and after a few hasty and one thorough pit assessment mid-way up (details here,) we continued up to the summit.  By this point, the bluebird conditions had given way to overcast skies but the views of the endless expanse of the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness were still as rewarding as always.  The N face did not ski well thanks to recent wind hammering but the position made up for it. 

leaving bear lake 

top of sky pilot

below the N face of sky pilot

From a bench just above the lake, we decided to next check out one of the tree-lined S facing runs above the lake, a new run for both of us.  Brian had surprised me by bringing race boots and light skis and thus earned himself trail breaking duty for most of the day.  I faded a bit near the top of this climb but the resulting view of the sweathouse spires from close proximity and a Baby Ruth revived me for the two thousand foot run of powder and wind-board down to the lake.

S facing terrain above bear lake, we skied one of the tree-lined runs lookers R of the rock-lined runs

sweathouse spires

a foreshortened view of our third run

A leisurely transition ensued as we geared up for the big climb back to gash point proper.  Brian again dropped me near the top of the climb but I arrived a few minutes later and we ripped skins, ready to ski 4000 feet down to the car.  The snow on the ensuing run was largely untouched by the wind and thus held great powder skiing, which was a nice contrast to the wind-hammered conditions on our other runs.  I was pleasantly surprised by the coverage and resulting easy egress all the way to the lower TH.  A short remaining flat ski out the road brought us to the car, a few minutes before darkness fell. 

attractive splitter near the top of gash point

Despite the low snow quality on most of our runs, it was great to get out for a full day in the mountains.   

Stats: about 20mi/10,800 vert in 10 hours car-car

Rose: 4000ft of powder on our last run

Thorn: feeling low energy on the second-to-last climb above bear lake

Bud: overall stability and mid-elevation snowpack were both better than I was expecting and bode well for future outings