So, first up is the maiden voyage the snowmobile fleet. I managed to pick up a couple of sleds from James, and although we seem to be having a record crappy winter, we had to get them out at least once for a spin... We decided to head up to Tam McArthur rim and then around towards Moon Mountain. It was a little too socked in to ski Ball butte, so we headed back to Tam Mac and a fun tour:
Getting stoked (500 two seater in this pic)
XLT bristling with skis.
Aaron pretty excited after his first spin around in the powder.
Fun comes crashing to a halt when I BURY the 500 in "deeper than it looks" snow. Some nice folks helped us newbies get 'er unstuck.
Aaron finds a cliff
Bigger than it looks?
Nice scenery on our tour.
More of the same.
Next I thought I'd throw up some pics from a driving tour of the high desert east of Paulina peak. Usually this would have been impossible due to snow at this time of year, but it's been such a whimpy snow year that we got into some awesome places.
A seemingly perfect design?
The girls find something interesting to look at.
Lunch with the State Champion Western Juniper
Goofball dog.
Mel on some butte (I forget the name) with Pine Mountain in the distance.
The stars were mind-bending out there with almost no towns nearby.
Just enjoying the night!
We caught sunrise back on that same Butte, but it was COLD that morning.
Scouting for a spot to do some skiing in the future in Echo Basin.
Death to snowballs!
Finally, I thought I'd throw up a couple pics from our last weekend of climbing out at Smith. It was a great time... we got to climb some fun pitches, meet some nice folks, and enjoy some killer weather and views. It'd been a while since I've been there and great to be back.
Aason starting up his first (?) full pitch trad lead ever?
Looking back down from the top of P2.
The view was sorta okay from the top. Just kinda...
The afternoons objective...
Aaron steps it up on the first pitch of the West Face variation of Monkey Face
Wedged into the corner on the second pitch of the variation.
Aaron shreads the bolt ladder
Looking back on some nice folks we met along the way. This bit is absurdly overhanging and gives you plenty of time to ponder the long way back down.
On top of the monkey, just as the sun is setting behind Mt. Washington.
Another fun trip with Aaron!
Just wanted to put this picture cause I thought it was cool... I snapped it on the way to work the other day... It's unique because of the triangular shaped shadow on the cloud celing in the upper left of the picture... That shadow is being cast by 10K' Mt. Jefferson (which is hidden from view in this picture), and was gone within minutes of it appearing just as the sun crest the horizon. Great way to start the day!
...and while Aaron and I were at Smith, Mel was working hard in her Avy 1 class
