Summer Snow

 

On Saturday (the first day of summer) I climbed up Sharatin again with the dogs for some official summer snow. It was not quite as nice a day as the one earlier in the week when we first went up.  But the cooler conditions and clouds made it a much more pleasant climb.  I did not get fried by the sun.  

I also realized that relative to climbing Pyramid, Sharatin is not so huge a time commitment.  Not so bad as I thought anyway. This time of year a leisurely climb up and down Pyramid with a run into the North bowl takes 2 hours, and there is a 40 minute drive to and from the parking lot. On Saturday I took it easy climbing Sharatin and my whole climb ski and hike back to car took 4 hours with an hour of total driving time.  So basically Sharatin is double the time commitment.

Now that it is summer the days are finally getting shorter.  From here on out we lose a little bit of daylight every day.  Whoooo heeeee - we are on the upslope to Winter!

Patrick

Some more from Sharatin

 

My trip up Sharatin was so spectacular that I need 2 posts to show all the photos.  Also the skiing was so good that Stuey and I are thinking of going again today.  So maybe even expect some more photos soon!

This year has been a weird snow year.  We did not get much snow or even any winter weather until almost March. And even then we did not get much snow down low.  But on high, above about 2000 feet, we got a normal or even above average amount of snow. That's why Sharatin has such good snow coverage while Pyramid is about done. Even on Sharatin while there is still more than average snow on high there is actually less than normal down low. I looked back at past posts (click here for one with Nora in 2018 from mid June) and noticed that we skied a lot further down the mountain.  And yet you can see that there was actually less snow at the top of the mountain.  

Patrick

That's Pyramid on the right and the little bit of snow seen in bottom 2 photos

final ski on Pyramid

Last tracks on Pyramid - that's Sharatin in distance on left

Sharatin Snow

 

Yesterday for a last 'farewell to skiing' expedition I climbed up Sharatin with the dogs to go skiing.  Pyramid is pretty much done for the year - I got my last Pyramid tracks in on the 18th.  But Sharatin still has plenty of snow. I climbed up the Red Cloud trail and got on the snow at 1900 feet and more than a mile (skinning distance) from the summit. From the summit I skied more than a mile down into the big north facing bowl and dropped down 1100 feet.  Then I climbed back up and skied back down the Red Cloud trail.  I shaved an hour off of time back to the car because I got to ski so much of the route home.

I have not gone skiing on Sharatin for a few years now.  The kids and I used to go there regularly in May and June. But for the past few years we have not.  I had forgotten how big of a world it is up there. The dogs chased me on the long ski runs and were so tired by the time we got home that they barely moved all evening.

Up there pretty much everything is still covered in snow. It is like a winter landscape except it was very sunny and hot.  I made a Youtube video that you can watch by clicking on the link below.

(Click here for video)

Patrick

Last of the snow

 

There is still snow on Pyramid.  There is a run of snow that is about 300 vertical feet. But it is not long before it melts out.  It is likely that today will be my last ski of the year on Pyramid. After this week the only snow worth skiing will require long hikes to the alpine.  Sharatin Mountain and behind Bells Flats still have plenty of snow only they are not very convenient.  Pyramid has been the perfect after work dog walk/ski and I'll miss it.

Patrick

The North Bowl has melted into two

 

On Monday looking for Stuey's ski I could still ski 800 vertical in the North Bowl without crossing grass.  But yesterday I had to ski across a short gap of grass to connect the two still large snow fields. The skiing is still pretty good - only now it is not continuous. On the front side you can still ski to the top of the jibber but have to cross grass twice.

Generally the North Bowl melts out in the exact same spot around mid June. Last year was a good snow year and the North Bowl melted into two on June 26th. This year it occurred on the 4rth of June.  That is a week or so earlier than usual, but far better than I was expecting back in February when it seemed we'd never get winter.

Patrick

Spring Beauty

 

Spring is well advanced these days.  It is starting to green up fast and is almost summer. The wild flowers are really starting to ramp up. Yesterday on Pyramid I noticed that the spring beauties have started to bloom alongside the trail.

Considering how early spring started I am surprised at how well the snow is holding up on high. I was talking to a pilot and he told me that the mountainous spine of Kodiak is still very much socked in with snow - like as much or more than usual.

On Pyramid I can still ski to the top of the jibber bowl on an unbroken path of snow. But not for much longer.

Patrick

Red loves to 'otter' slide down the snow on her belly

The high speed chase