New powder on San Bernardino Peak
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:09 pmHowdy All 
Sally and I were blessed to hike in new snow on Wed. The trail had a dusting of snow fairly early (7 K). By the time we reached Manzanita Flats and the junction sign, the new snow was on top of the old snow, which made hiking on the berm a bother. We donned microspikes but I managed to slip on an icy section as we were traversing to the east around the ridge.
Once we reached the flat area on the other side of the ridge, we went up cross country towards the wooden bench. The snow had finally started to consolidate, so we didn't post hole too much. We swapped the micros for snowshoes and headed up the gully towards the saddle on the ridge. All the previous tracks were obliterated. The new snow was absolutely gorgeous and glistened like sugar. There's just something very special about making tracks in new powder.
I took us up the right side of the ridge for a change. Mistake -- we ran into rocks on a little bump that we normally avoid. Once we manuvered around the rocks on the bump, we headed up the middle of the ridge. Eventually we reached the San Gorgonio backbone and started traversing uphill to the east to gain west San Bernardino peak. Once there, we reveled in the pristine stillness of being the first folks on a peak after a new snowfall. The clouds were amazing and kept changing -- their movements entertained us throughout lunch.
Rather than retracing our ascent route, we took our usual route down the east side. It was very steep and I was unnerved by the sensation of "slipping" on new powder over consolidated snow. Sally did a butt plant and assured me that the powder would slow/stop any descent. I tried a butt glissade and found that she was correct. After this, I enjoyed going down hill. Once we rejoined our ascent route, we stayed on it all the way down to where we'd donned microspikes.
It was amazing to see how much melting had occured during the day. From Manzanita flats on, most of the new dusting was gone. The old ice was still present, so we kept the microspikes on for a while. Starting singing songs from muscials (how to pass the time when you just want to be DONE) and finally, we were back at the trailhead. Enjoyed a great cheese burger and fries at the Oaks. My commute home was delayed by an accident on the 91 -- it took an hour to get to Riverside from Redlands. Other than that, a perfect day
Miles of smiles,
Ellen
Sally and I were blessed to hike in new snow on Wed. The trail had a dusting of snow fairly early (7 K). By the time we reached Manzanita Flats and the junction sign, the new snow was on top of the old snow, which made hiking on the berm a bother. We donned microspikes but I managed to slip on an icy section as we were traversing to the east around the ridge.
Once we reached the flat area on the other side of the ridge, we went up cross country towards the wooden bench. The snow had finally started to consolidate, so we didn't post hole too much. We swapped the micros for snowshoes and headed up the gully towards the saddle on the ridge. All the previous tracks were obliterated. The new snow was absolutely gorgeous and glistened like sugar. There's just something very special about making tracks in new powder.
I took us up the right side of the ridge for a change. Mistake -- we ran into rocks on a little bump that we normally avoid. Once we manuvered around the rocks on the bump, we headed up the middle of the ridge. Eventually we reached the San Gorgonio backbone and started traversing uphill to the east to gain west San Bernardino peak. Once there, we reveled in the pristine stillness of being the first folks on a peak after a new snowfall. The clouds were amazing and kept changing -- their movements entertained us throughout lunch.
Rather than retracing our ascent route, we took our usual route down the east side. It was very steep and I was unnerved by the sensation of "slipping" on new powder over consolidated snow. Sally did a butt plant and assured me that the powder would slow/stop any descent. I tried a butt glissade and found that she was correct. After this, I enjoyed going down hill. Once we rejoined our ascent route, we stayed on it all the way down to where we'd donned microspikes.
It was amazing to see how much melting had occured during the day. From Manzanita flats on, most of the new dusting was gone. The old ice was still present, so we kept the microspikes on for a while. Starting singing songs from muscials (how to pass the time when you just want to be DONE) and finally, we were back at the trailhead. Enjoyed a great cheese burger and fries at the Oaks. My commute home was delayed by an accident on the 91 -- it took an hour to get to Riverside from Redlands. Other than that, a perfect day
Miles of smiles,
Ellen