20090208 Blackwood Ridge Tour

And....we're back! Sorry that it has been almost a full month without any news from me. I'm faced with a couple of issues:

1. We're struggling to put most of our household into storage and commit to living on the road and from the small cabin in Lake Tahoe for the next year and ahalf.
2. Montana's sick, and he needs weekly visits to the veterinarian. Trying to balance that with Patsy's clinical rotations and my work in Bishop and Lake Tahoe is proving to be a challenge.
   
3. We currently have one computer, and Patsy needs it more for her school than I need it to write. Regardless its hers to begin with. So I'm saving up for a new computer - see the sidebar.

enjoying the view / ania and greg

So, anyways. Greg, Seth, and Ania joined Patsy, Montana and I at the cabin on Saturday night. A great excuse for burgers and beers at the Bridgetender. Sunday morning we had a leisurely wake-up, Ania cooked up some eggs, and then I took the three guests on a tour of our new backyard, Blackwood Ridge.

greg / weather's coming

A long climb that gained almost 2000 feet of elevation gained the high point of the ridge, which I'm calling Blackwood Knob, at 8250 feet. From here the ridge drops down to a saddle at 7900 feet before climbing back up to Ellis Peak (8700 feet), which was our original goal for the day. But the forecasted storm was rolling in, blanketing Ellis, the ridge, and the entire crest in cloud. We turned our eyes elsewhere.

ania / ready for the down

We didn't have to turn far. Greg suggested the NE bowl spilling from the summit of the Knob looked good. And it was - steady pitch, a few tight trees in the top half, lead to the bowls bottom around 7400 feet. It was good enough that we climbed back up and did it again. Then we turned back toward the cabin, took a low traversing climb out of the goal to regain the ridge, then followed the ridge back to the cabin.

seth leads the way / back to the ridge

Statistics: Homewood to Blackwood Knob (8250 feet). 6 miles traveled (estimated via Google Earth), 3050 feet climbed, 3100 feet skied over three descents.

seth and ania's flamingo / what's wrong with
sheep? / i'm a little worried about those two