March 2002 

 

Note:  clicking on any photograph will present a full screen version.
	Upper Bowls.  Above the Matterhorn is "Winter Alta" (11,300'+), which is just poking its head up behind and left of the Matterhorn.  To the east of Winter Alta a ridgeline heads to the Tablelands, affording panoramic views along its entire crest.
	Getting ready to eat some corn.  As the sun came out and warmed up the snowpack, this southwest facing slope was getting real soft and real nice to ski.  Gratuitous self-timer photo as I'm getting ready to ski back down to the hut.
	Looking down at Pear Lake.  From the top of the hut bowl, you have a magnificent view down into the Pear Lake cirque.
	The Watchtower.  Well, Tom & Dafna never showed up at the hut that night.  Concerned for their safety, I skied out at first light the next morning to find them.  On the way out, I had this great view of the morning light hitting the eastern face of the Watchtower, a huge cliff face at the north end of the hump that guards the Tokopah Valley below.
	Mt. Silliman.  First climbed in 1864 by the four greats of the Whitney Survey (Brewer, King, Gardiner and Cotter), Mt. Silliman dominates the north side of the Tokopah Valley.  That south face sure does look like it harbors some tasty corn snow.
	View east from the hump (without fog).   So my trip out over the hump was done under perfect clear skies.  Here you can see the broad expanse of the Tablelands at the top of the photo.  In the foreground is the ridge you must climb over to get to Emerald & Aster Lakes.  The hut is not visible in this photo, but is located just underneath the triangle of rock in the center of the photo (click on the photo for a larger version)

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