Highline Traverse

Quick update: brother Sam and I got the traverse done -- from Henry's Fork Campground to Mirror Lake Hwy in a loooong single push. It was about 55 miles over some beautiful and wicked terrain.  Our time? Just a bit over 38 hrs. And that's including the four hrs or so we spent being lost.  Probably one of the hardest "days" in the mountains I've ever experienced. Glad to be done. Glad to have done it. 

Highline Traverse

Just drove up Mirror Lake hwy from Evanston and left a car at the snowline -- 9k. Now heading to Henry's Fork where we will start the traverse. Brother Sam is my partner for this excursion. We are hoping to do it in a single push, but conditions are warm and probably slower than we would like. We have 1 sleeping bag and some mylar to get us through a night if necessary.  I'm a bit frustrated because my pack is heavy -- about 16 lbs. We'll see how it goes!

Time for a Uinta Traverse?

I think the time is ripe for a Uintas speed traverse. I'm thinking of starting at Henry's Fork Campground, hooking onto the Highline Trail and ending up at Hayden Pass on the Mirror Lake Highway. Anyone have any beta on conditions? or route?

 

I got a GPS and some mapping software. I don't know why I didn't do this a long time ago, it's really useful and really cool. With it, I've been looking at possible routes. The route I'm looking at is roughly 53 miles with about 11k elevation gain. The 11k in a single-push is easily doable. It's the 53 mile part that I'm wondering about, especially if conditions are bad. Do I take a sleeping bag? A tent? Right now my plan is to not take a tent, but to take a MontBell Thermawrap Parka and Pants. And maybe 1 lightweight sleeping bag to share with my partner -- if we have to stop and sleep or bivy.

Fast and Light

Though somewhat self-serving (what, really is not on this blog?), Brian Harder has written an article on the fast and light mode of ski touring. Check it out here.

WURLOS: The Gear

From WURLOS 2010

Almost as fun and almost as stressful as the skiing itself is gear selection. Equipment-wise, we were all on rando race setups. I was on Ski Trab World Cup Duo Race skis, Andy on Hagan Superlights, and Bart on Dynafit SR 11s. All of these skis are about 65 mm in the waist and around 160 cm long. They are less than 2 lbs per ski (around 800 grams) and all incorporate carbon fiber.

For bindings, we were all on Dynafit Low Tech Bindings. At 160 grams, built of titanium and aluminum, they are some of the lightest bindings available. One of the problems with the Low Tech bindings is that they do not have a high heel post. A higher heel post enables us to skin steeper lines, which is required by the WURLOS. We built our own heel lifters with some aluminum. With the yellow tab down, we had a medium heel post, and with the binding flipped around, we had a high heel post, which made steeper skinning much more comfortable and efficient.

From WURLOS 2010

For skins, I went with wall to wall mohair tail-less skins to conserve weight and to prevent glop. Bart was on some G3 nylon skins and Andy with BD nylons skins. All were wall-to-wall.

For poles, Bart and Andy went with double Whippets. I went with one Whippet and a Dynafit carbon pole, again to save weight and to be more efficient. In truth, there were a few times when I wished I had double Whippets. One of the issues I have with Whippets is that they are heavy. Bart and I are working on a lighter alternative.

For boots, we were all on Dynafit DNAs. Except for a few durability issues, we love the DNAs. They are comfortable and most importantly, they have a large range of ankle articulation, which makes for fast and efficient touring. And for the DH, they ski relatively well. Case in point: it's by go-to touring boot, no matter what ski I'm using. Dynafit is coming out the TLT 5 next year, which will change what is possible for a lot of ski tourers out there.

From WURLOS 2010

After our first attempt at the WURLOS, we had a good sense of what gear would be required and what we would not need.

From WURLOS 2010

Here is a list of what I carried:

1. CAMP Speed Helmet -- super light ski mountaineering helmet
2. OR lightweight beanie with the top cut off -- to save weight! Just kidding, for more ventilation.
3. Mont Bell Thermawrap -- super light and warm, awesome hood protects when weather turns bad
4. CREE LED light -- recommended by Kanyon Kris, puts out enough light for descents, best part: $20
5. Black Diamond Icon Headlamp
6. Smartwool lightweight top, scoopneck, women's model
7. CAMP X3 600 Pack -- super light at under 600 grams. It has a hip belt pocket and a ski carry system that allows you to put skis on your back without removing the pack.
8. carabiner -- to fasten skis to back, or to rappel off
9. Lowe Pro camera case with Canon S90
10. Closed Cell Foam Pad -- used to sit on during breaks and to wrap around ski bindings so they don't gouge my back
11. Patagonia wind shirt
12. Marmot thermal bottoms -- At about 11:00 pm at the top of the Pfeif, I stripped off my pants to get these on. It was worth it.
13. CAMP Water Bottle Holder
14. Pieps Freeride Beacon -- small and light
15. Dynafit ski pants aka tights
16. Lorpen spare socks
17. REI One spare gloves
18. Sunglasses
19. Leatherman
20. Blister care kit, containing Leuko tape, bandages, moleskin, and Dr. Scholls blister pads

Not pictured:
21. Camelback bladder
22. wool undershorts and undershirt
23. JETBOIL -- Andy brought a Jetboil to melt snow and cook ramen. It saved us big time. We ran out of water and the Jetboil brewed it quickly. 20 hrs into the tour, we stopped and had ramen noodles and it was a major luxury. On Monday, both Bart and I each ordered a Jetboil. I carried the fuel, Andy carried the stove, and Bart carried the noodles.
24. 20 meters of 5 mm cord. We didn't need it.

We didn't take shovels or probes. Nor did we take crampons, although we they would have come in handy in a few places.

That's probably more information than you wanted, but for future reference, it might come in handy for me.

For food, I took Brian Harder's advice, and took a lot of GU. Throughout the tour, I ate 15 GUs, 2 packages of Cliff Bloks, 2 Pro Bars, 2 granola bars, a bag of jerky, and 4 Snickers. For fluids, I drank Pepsi, water, Carbo Rocket, GU20 and Ultragen -- probably about 3-4 liters.

WURLOS: The Mountains

Well, Bart, Andy, and I more or less completed the Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Linkup On Skis (the "WURLOS"). For many reasons, the WURLOS didn't follow the path of the WURL as established by Jared Campbell, but there was a ridge linkup, it was in the Wasatch, in my mind it was "Ultimate," and I'm not aware of anyone who has completed a similar project, so, in keeping with and in honor of Jared C's label, I'm going to continue to call our path the "WURLOS." I'll dedicate this post to the mountains of the WURLOS, since it is the beauty and spirit of these mountains that fueled this project, and in the event others might want some beta about our path. Perhaps, in the future, I'll make some other WURLOS-related posts, like, what you think about during 21.5 hour tour, or why I dry heave when I see GU, or essential WURLOS equipment (or lack thereof), or how to cure to being afraid of vertical exposure, or how about, Making Sense of the Senseless? For now, the mountains . . . . Here is the route.

From WURLOS 2010

The primary objective of the WURLOS was to climb and ski many of the 11k+ peaks on the ridge splitting Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, and on the ridge splitting Little Cottonwood Canyon and American Fork Canyon. The WURLOS route began at the "S Curves" in Big Cottonwood Canyon at about 6500 feet and climbed up Broads Fork. The Salt Lake Twin Peaks sit at the head of Broads Fork, and from there it was game on. Here are the peaks the WURLOS tags and skis:

1. SL Twin Peaks
2. Jepsen's Folly
3. O'Sullivan (Sunrise)
4. Dromedary
5. Monte Cristo
6. Superior
7. Baldy
8. Hidden Peak
9. AF Twin Peaks
10. Red Stack
11. Red Baldy
12. White Baldy
13. Pfeifferhorn
14. Chipman
** 15. Bighorn
** 16. Lone Peak

** We didn't tag or ski Bighorn or Lone Peak, but it can be done.

Here is a shot of the Big Cottonwood side (north facing) of Cottonwood Ridge, and the path we took.

From WURLOS 2010

From Twin to Superior is about 5 miles, but it is over some pretty rugged terrain. Here is a shot of the peaks that comprise what some call the "Triple Traverse" -- Twin, O'Sullivan, and Drom.

From WURLOS 2010

The descent of O'Sullivan's east ridge is a steep side slip.

From WURLOS 2010

To ascend Monte Cristo, we traversed into this cirque. I'm not sure if it has a name. Anyone?

From WURLOS 2010

And then ascended the Heart of Darkness. The Heart was filled with nice bootable snow. And at the top was a small little scramble to the top. No rope was needed to ascend.

From WURLOS 2010

A view of Monte Cristo from the North.

From WURLOS 2010

And then to Superior. It's hard to pass up the south face of Superior if you have skis, and it is a fast and direct way off the Cottonwood Ridge. Here is a shot of Superior's south face and an approximation of the line of our descent. We descended at about 1 pm in the afternoon. The conditions weren't ideal, but they were acceptable so long as we skied fast.

From WURLOS 2010

Here is a shot of the Cottonwood Ridge from the Little Cottonwood Canyon (south) side.

From WURLOS 2010

Superior's south facing apron practically dumps you into Snowbird. Having had issues with Alta, i.e., its intolerance for uphill traffic, we did not incorporate Devil's Castle or Sugarloaf. Instead, we began our ascent from Snowbird's tram dock, ascending up Chips Run to Baldy.

From WURLOS 2010

The east ridge leading up to the Twins is an aesthetic line.

From WURLOS 2010

From the AF Twins, the WURLOS tags and skis Red Stack, Red Baldy, White Baldy.

From WURLOS 2010

A close up of Red and White Baldy, along with our route for the day. Luckily, we were ascending in the evening, and the snow was hard, perfect for booting.

From WURLOS 2010

The Pfeif was in our sights before it got dark. By the time we got there, however, it was dark. We ascended by the light of the moon and LED.

From WURLOS 2010

And since the Pfeif is one of the icons of the Wasatch, a picture of the east ridge.

From WURLOS 2010

Here is a shot of the peaks and drainages west of the Pfeif.

From WURLOS 2010

And a shot looking at the Pfeif from Hogum Fork.

From WURLOS 2010

Getting out of Hogum Fork is always tricky. I like going up the north facing snow field, but it is also possible to go up the ridge (recommended if the snow isn't stable).

From WURLOS 2010

At the top of Hogum, Chipman awaits.

From WURLOS 2010

And from there, Big Horn and Lone Peak are within reach. Unfortunately, as we reached the "X" depicted below, we were exhausted, we lost all visibility, we were sketched out about ascending and descending Big Horn, and it was past midnight. So, we skied out Bells Canyon to our waiting car.

From WURLOS 2010

Looking down on Big Horn from the northwest.

From WURLOS 2010

The elusive but ever-inspiring Lone Peak. Maybe next year.

From WURLOS 2010

WURLOS

Exiting Bells. Knees hurt.