Good Luck Friday Dawn Patrol

Primrose Cirque

I picked up Aaron at 5:30AM, and by 6 we were skinning up the Alpine Loop road. We worked our way up what we call simply ‘the gully’. It is a draw above Aspen Grove that opens up into a series of bowls and empty ridges. Perfect for powder shots. We followed Aaron’s skin track from yesterday, and when were ready to drop the ridge the only turns on the slope were also his. We hit the still soft and fluffy snow, slipped through sporadic pines, and in a matter of minutes we were back at the car, wishing we would have had more time for more laps.

Red is up, White is down.

I love watching the sun come up over Timpanogos. Very few mountains welcome the rising sun the way Timpanogos does. The cirques reveal themselves, the cliff bands reflect the first light, the snow sparkles and shines. Just as we gained the ridge the light hit the mountain. The huffing and puffing of our skin up the hill faded, as we took in our surroundings.

Our final approach to the drop-in was fantastic. No wind. Solid snow, an established track and beauty all around.

The psuedo-cornice (cornicita, as Aaron called it) running along the ridge made for a fun drop into the bowl. Aaron took a running start at it and caught a nice bit of air as he plopped into the soft powder. We made our floaty turns, dodged trees, and generally whooped our way down the mountain.

It was over too soon.