Calicokat (Jim) and i did a hike up Register Ridge to Mt. Harwood and Baldy on the 'spiked heels of So.BayMark yesterday. We found RR below 8k weak in snow. We began in boots and before i knew it, i was front kicking steps from the snow that already had two days of melt/freeze. Below 8k it was hard snow, soft snow, hard & loose crappy dirt and even some ice. I called it a
mixed bag of tricks. Above 8k the white stuff was consistant... consistantly changing from hard snow, to soft snow, to ice to both! Maybe microspikes would have been the preferred mode of transportation but i don't own them. Instead Jim and i booted it for a while, then switched to 'pons, choose snowshoes to finish out RR, then 'pons again to 'send Baldy and snowshoes again for the descent. The change-outs were time consuming, but not post-holing was better. I would not have wanted to decend the bowl in mirospikes or 'pons since the snow was soft and deep. I have done it before, but my legs were still worked from my snowshoe of Baden-Powell two days before.
The highlight of the day was the beautiful cloud formations from the small systems that blew through. Of note: Jim pushed his pole deep enough into the snow from this weekend to hit the ice from the melt-out from the last two months. Be aware! Baldy is not going to have the lengthy season it had last year and i have a feeling this is a good as it's gonna' get.
View south from RR
Icy Mt. Harwood slope
Saw two hikers ascending Zen Chute. Possibly Michaetb??
Enjoying the patterns formed by wind with Darth Vader
On final ascent
Descending the bowl in soft snow
Leaving the mountain with a puffy aura
rest of my pix are here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/ryan.norma ... rRidge3111#
