Wednesday
After a few delays we made it to the base of Mount Judah at Sugar Bowl and got set for our adventure in the wilderness!
Of course, no expedition would be possible without a support vehicle. Big thanks to Tom for the drop off and pick up a couple of days later. :) :)
The first target was the top of Mount Judah and then across to Mount Lincoln. Most of the areas we skinned up were closed but we did have to go up part of a piste and got some funny looks. We had heard rumours that it was possible to but a single lift ticket to get to the top but when I asked in the lodge I was told they didn't do them. Although on the way up we had a chat with someone from ski patrol and they were under the impression we could have got the lift. Never mind, that would have been cheating anyway! We had a quick bite at the top of Lincoln and then started on the Pacific Crest Trail towards Anderson Peak.
Most of it was okay but there were a couple of spots where we couldn't skin through so had to carry our skis/splitboards.
There was a really strong wind up on the ridge, but it didn't hold us back and we were soon closing up on Anderson Peak.
We nearly walked straight past our hut but luckily I spotted it underneath all the snow.
The wind had deposited a load of snow in front of the door which we had to dig out before we could get inside.
We were greeted by a fairly basic set-up, with nothing but plywood sheets to sleep on. But we were just happy to be out of the wind and set about getting the fire going. Shortly after we arrived another four people showed up who were a good laugh and shared the box of wine they had brought with them.
There was a slight problem with the wood burner flue in that it had a big gap near the ceiling so we had to keep a window open upstairs or the hut quickly filled with smoke. We cooked dinner and melted some snow for water and turned in for a cold night sleep with the wind howling outside.
Thursday
I managed to hold in the need to go to the toilet most of the night but when I eventually gave up I was greeted by a stunning sunrise.
After our breakfast of porridge and water we cleaned the hut and got ready to set off. Craig outside the hut with Anderson Peak behind.
Before setting off a quick trip to 'Ken's Place' was in order! ;) We skinned round the west side of Anderson Peak which was hard going on the wind scoured snow.
It wasn't long before we reached Tinker Knob where we had a rest and refuel and studied the map looking for our first decent.
We found a good spot to drop in with no cornice, me and Craig transitioned out splitboards for the first time and we got some GREAT turns! My line is on the right, Craig's in the middle and Liam skiing down on the left. :D
After getting to the bottom there's always that dejected feeling when you know you have to transition back to touring mode, skin up and start hiking again.
The sun baked snow was incredibly sticky and made the going hard. The snow would stick to the skins and stop then sliding forward. It was more like wearing a pair of concrete snow shoes. We picked up a Nordic Ski Trail and followed round the other side of the ridge and skinned along until we spotted our hut in the valley below.
Craig enjoying the ride down. The snow was a bit stickier than we had ridden earlier but still great.
We got to the Bradley Hut and were in for a pleasant surprise.
It was warm, clean, well-equipped and had solar powered lighting.
Sleeping quarters were much improved too, and as we had the hut to ourselves we decided to double up on mattresses to make up for the previous nights discomfort.
Friday
We had a couple of options for Friday. The guys who shared the hut with us on Wednesday night had hiked from Bradley hut up to Squaw and rode down into Granite Chief which we thought would be good as we could then head to the bottom and get a nice meal and a few beers. However, this would have meant a long trek just to ride at Squaw. Instead we decided to head up Silver Peak and then ride down to Pole Creek and out to the highway. This is the view of Silver Peak from the other side of the Pole Creek valley.
We took an indirect route to Silver Peak to avoid losing to much elevation. It was a nice day for skinning through the trees and then up. After spending quite some time on my splitboard in touring mode my confidence on the downhill was increasing and I even managed to get some nice turns in! :)
Liam skinned to the top of Silver Peak while me and Craig transitioned our boards on some rocks just below and hiked the last little bit.
There was a very thin layer of cloud which made a nice halo effect round the sun.
A quick bit of poncing around at the summit while we let our legs rest before the ride down.
One of these lines was a friends from a couple of days before. Time for us to add to them.
We decided to ride down the North face which was a little sticky due to the warm weather. In hindsight we might have been off going down the North East face through the trees. Still got some great turns though! :D
At the bottom it was back to skins and a nice blast down a logging road. It was then on the phone to Tom who came and picked us up from the Pole Creek trailhead. Thank again! :D
Another great experience in the backcountry. I think I'll give my body a few days to recover and then pick out another route, can't wait! Would definately like to go back to the Bradley hut and maybe spend a couple of nights there. There was some awesome snow in the trees below Tinker Knob which we didn't get chance to ride.
This is the route we took with blue representing the hiking and red the descent. Start point, end point and huts shown with yellow pins. On the right hand side you can see Donner Lake and Truckee where Highway 89 joins the I80.
