November 21, 2010

Invertagain

Lucky 13

In our case, it was 13 degrees Fahrenheit at our predawn Tincan parking lot departure.  Some 2900 ft higher on Sunburst Ridge, the temperature was 38F at the same time.  Temperature inversion was welcome after our chilly start. 
Kruser had dialed in the south lines off Tincan Common and route back over the prior couple of days, so we had to go back.  Tincan Common was totally tracked, even mogulled in places, but several south lines still provided the untracked experience.  Numerous glide cracks, abundant topographic microfeatures, and some cliffs created some anxious descents, but the great snow made it worth three laps. 
 The southeast aspects had a bit of suncrust, but the due south and southwest aspects were still smokey even though above-freezing ambient inversion temperature had persisted for a couple of days.

1 comment:

Dante said...

Crazy weather on the drive. Rain from Anchorage to about just past Eddy's lot number 2. Snow to Center Ridge lot in Turnagain, Rain south of Center Ridge to ~ half way up Summit. Heavy snow through summit to ~ Devils Pass TH. Rain south and west to Sunrise. Snow from Sunrise through Cooper Landin. Rain again west of Russian River.