Colorado Mine

Perseverence paid off as J-Rock and yours truly ascended some truly heinous melt-freeze crust on the eastern aspect. The unbreakable crust evoked thoughts of ski crampons, but countouring north brought the safety of breakable crust.

Can't remember the last time breakable crust was a relief. But as we wrapped around the countour from the east to north aspect, the snow continued to improve until we found what we sought. Back to the sun, the north facing bowls were blanketed with boot-top powder of the most incredible consistency.

With a Turnagain Pass whiteout, we postponed our Pastoral Peak trip and opted for an exploration of the Summit Lake country; as luck would have it, this trip reached the top ten in the spring skiing annals. DP gets creative credit for the trip concept. It was good to see Dante, Carl, and Jared on the hill though we were out of phase on the ascent and descent. Another friendly party of five made a total of ten powder seekers at Colorado Mine, but the mile-wide bowl provided the opportunity for all to enjoy the untracked experience.