Harlen wrote: ↑Sun Feb 13, 2022 11:33 pm
You know that one of the Rings of Hell is filled with the envious-- careful.
Well I was actually hoping for mercy, and that I get left at the Ring where Dante observed everyone standing around up to their shins in excrement, smoking cigarettes. So I negotiated a deal with the devil to secure this arrangement, as I am sure a much worse fate would otherwise await me for the unsavory life I have lead as a mortal. The very next day, however, a spirit of unknown origin informed me the description Dante provided of the activities at that level in Hell, was the condemned souls on a coffee break, and that the actual punishment at that ring level was doing head stands for hours between the breaks.
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I assume other huts in the Sierra were also impacted by the Covid closure policy. Bummer.
I did notice your pulk in the SC cabin image, but the ordinal sequence of that image and its caption lead me to assume that pic was shot on the way
in to TM.
No doubt pulks in the Sierra can be a challenge. When I ski TM I usually come up Hwy120 from Lee Vining, a route where a pulk is ideal, assuming there is skiable snow, and that the road grade is not completely buried under snow banks. I'll usually set a series of base camps, and run day trips from these bases over the more demanding local terrain, leaving my kit back at the base camp. There are a couple of other venues on the Eastside where pulks are compatible, but most pulk friendly trips are on the Westside. I'd like to use a pulk on a long trip - JMT sections, HSR, The Haute Route, or the sections of the Sierra Crest Traverse, but the climbs into upper valleys and over steep passes really limit pulk use to a two day reach at best in most places.
I digress, but I miss the days when the Tioga Pass Lodge provided a great base, or pit stop, going in or out of the park. It was a place where you could run into some of the legends who pioneered wilderness ski technique and equipment, making the Sierra a mecca for modern day wilderness skiing and trekking. That was the golden age of ski touring. Alas the old guard is fading from the sport, Father Time leaves all behind. Nowadays folks are more interested in quick assaults on a peak or two, versus camping and traveling through a region as snow borne tourists. I am gratified to have witnessed that era and followed in their footsteps - err I mean ski tracks.
Ed
Come on, not everyone gets excited about wind sculpted snow waves and sastrugi! We gotta link up one of these days. Also I second Rob P. sentiments embrace the AT set up, locking in must feel a thousands time better than telemarking with a pack on. I have a similar set up on my 2 skis and I really enjoy it, even with winter weight. Only issue, with one of my dynafit set ups, the plastic ones i think, when breaking trail for a while, you get some build up between the bindings and the ski that you have to knock out.