Table Mountain Circumnavigation

 

The mountain weather forecast called for 40 degree temperatures and blue skies. There hasn't been any recent snow- so it was going to be a beautiful day in the  mountains  but not a beautiful day to ski. Miyabi planted the idea and four of us jumped on the stoke wagon.  Where does one ski to when the skiing isn't going to be great- around Table Mountain. Basically a skiing objective where you only actually have to turn your skis a few times or if you're really creative not at all. 

Ski Yoga 

Can't beat the views 

We left the parking lot and trudged up towards Artist's Point slapping our skis on ice, slightly cursing the conditions and building some more character. Juliet made the mistake of asking me what was new and got to hear all about potty training and my grout lines in our bathroom project.  Within a hour the snow had softened up a little bit and no one else asked me what was new-  things were looking much better. 

We were cruising effortlessly like pros through the south side of table mountain's avalanche debris. Just before lunch, we rounded the corner towards Iceberg Lake. It was so incredibly hot,  instead of taking out lunches,  most of the group took off pants ( most of the group was also wearing long underwear). After Juliet stopped being so sassy, and everyone stopped picking on Claire- and everyone's pants were back on- we  headed towards Herman's saddle. There were hoards of other day trippers on the saddle but there were also some paragliders taking off and landing nearby. It was super cool to watch and I was jealous that they were skiing some sick first tracks in they sky. A friend of the group grows hazelnuts and gave us all large sacks of his nuts last week. I feel like the trip report would be incomplete without mentioning that  most of the day was spent making horrible nut sack jokes which really never got old.  

Fred's nutsack and Mount Shuksan. 
 

. 

Over 2,200 feet of elevation gain and 7 miles we earned approximately three mediocre turns before getting back to the trailhead. I received a message from Brandon that things were going "really well" for them. We finished off the day with some beers and snacks, happy to have pulled a ski tour off. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...