[NMCCSC] Los Griegos Snow: 2019/01/12 &14

[Mike Meier via NMCCSCeGroup]

Fellow Snowgoers,

Sorry for the late report - the snow's taken a toll on my energy reserves.

On Saturday, I informally joined Alan Shapiro on a small Sierra Club outing
to Los Griegos. We climbed Ladera to Griegos Junction, then decided on an
"exploratory" venture down Squirrel Canyon.  Frances and I had hiked
Squirrel after the El Cajete fire and doubted then that we'd ever ski there
again. The deep, debris-laden erosion channels that had been created by
post-fire rains, made prospects look pretty dismal.  Well, there's been a
lot of snow there this winter, and, although I anticipated likely
bushwhacking to get down, it turned out to be an easy trip, through
unbroken medium weight snow.

There was more snow on Sunday, and I decided to solo the same route on
Monday. When I arrived, two skiers were just returning to the trailhead,
and reported that the snow was getting sticky.  After traveling ~30 yards
down the trail, I enthusiastically agreed, and stopped to apply Maxiglide.
I followed their track up to Griegos Junction, where they apparently
continued on, up Upper Ladera. Squirrel was almost what I was hoping for
with deep, but not fluffy, unbroken snow. It was entertaining to note the
huge sitzmarks that I had left behind on Sunday! (By now, I've figured out
how to get in and out of my bindings in less than 20 minutes.)

The snow is deep on LG, and there were no exposed roots or rocks, nor
scritches. There was no need for skins, but, if you go, bring Maxiglide!
Snow density and moisture increase as you descend.  There are a couple
places where the erosion channels are noticeable and easily avoided. My
Monday track is attached.

The parking area was plowed on Wed., but the road conditions are variable.
On Wednesday AM NM4 was snow-paced and icy, and clear as a bell by
afternoon.

Happy trails,
Mike

-- 
“A melancholy lesson of advancing years is the realisation that you can't
make old friends.”
― Christopher Hitchens
<http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3956.Christopher_Hitchens>


-- 
“A melancholy lesson of advancing years is the realisation that you can't
make old friends.”
― Christopher Hitchens
<http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3956.Christopher_Hitchens>
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