060 | RMNP . Tyndall Glacier

► Tune of the week:

Manic Street Preachers: "La Tristesse Durera" (remix by The Chemical Brothers)





► Picture of the week:

This Photo was taken by Hans while on our way up to Hallett Peak for a June 28th ski descent of roughly 2,000 vertical feet (more on that to follow):





► Skiing recap of the week:

On Saturday, June 28, 2008, I set out to Rocky Mountain National Park once again, but this time with Hans (who I was with at Independence Pass a couple weeks earlier) and Owen who I would be skiing with for the first time. Learning from previous mistakes, we made damn sure to be on the go by 530 AM and we were actually a few minutes ahead of schedule at the gate.

The day was sunny with slight haze in the air. The 5-mile hike to the top took us 2 hours and 45 minutes to complete. Just the previous week, a very similar hike took us 45 minutes longer. Clearly, we were making very excellent time which would help us ski down in better conditions on the mostly east-facing slope that is Tyndall Glacier which starts just to the north of Hallett Peak at 12,400 feet and ends at the very popular Emerald Lake at 10,080'.


Here's another sunrise picture taken by Hans:




Picture below is Hans admiring the view towards Long's Peak with interesting cloud cover below:




Here's Owen near the summit getting a long glimpse of Tyndall Gorge:




Just moments away from dropping in:




Owen goes first and shows great hippy leg extension:






Next up is Han-solo:









Now it's my turn:






Owen heading towards the lake below:




I soon follow ...




... and make an attempt to skim across the water ...




... but didn't have much luck:






A look back at the first part of our descent:




Owen about halfway down:




Hans:



Owen a couple hundred feet above Emerald Lake:




Hans:




This is the view of Emerald Lake across from the lowest remaining piece of snow that could and would be skied. While setting up shop, I was treated to quite a skinny dipping spectacle which I unusually respected and refrained from photographing.




Hans near the top:




And now a little close to the edge:




Owen follows.






Skiers 2, Lake 0.


A look back at the second part of our descent which is entirely continuous except for about 100 feet that required a downclimb. My route took me down the snow path directly in the middle of the picture below:




On our way back to the car, we made friends with a bull elk:




We ended up making our descent at 9 AM (some time was spent taking picture during the sunrise and at the top) and reached the car some time around 2 PM. The snow was very creamy and made for great skiing. We are all surprised by how much we were able to ski which in the end, totaled 2,000 vertical feet. Not a bad way to spend the last Saturday in June.

Click here for the photo gallery of the pictures shown above.



► Cartoon of the week:





► Wackjob of the week:





► Quote of the week:

"Doubt is the father of invention."

- Galileo