A storm was supposed to roll in on Sunday afternoon. With that in mind we decided to head to Raymond. If it stayed clear we could go for one of the higher elevation faces: if the weather got nasty we could stay in the trees. Starting from the Butler trailhead in BCC we ascended up the drainage to about 8600', before skiing a shot into Maxfield Basin and then ascending to the Raymond / Gobblers divide. We had a big group!
As we climbed the ridge towards Raymond, the winds started to nuke. The storm was on its way! A few hundred feet above the divide, we dropped into the N-facing Raymond Glade. Amazingly there weren't any tracks in it. The skiing was good, with the best snow in the open meadows at the bottom.
We had a telemarker in the group: one who could drop the knee properly!
AND we had skier who liked to rip turns!
We stashed some gear at the bottom of the meadows, put in an efficient track to the top, and put in a few laps.
We then moved East, skiing a shot to the base of Gobblers called Delightful Gully. It lived up to its name!
TB cranking out a turn.
During the afternoon, the ridgetop winds died down: so much for the frontal passage. In the improving light the NW face of Gobblers was just too inviting, so up we went. The previous day's efforts kicked in about 1/2 way up and the forced march became a painful slog. We dropped in just short of the summit. The first few hundred feet were the usual wind-affected snow, which then transitioned into a slightly strange crust. Below that, the main part of the face was perfect for hammering out some big turns. A bit of bushwhacking at the bottom and we were out to the Cabin Run. Another big day: 7.400' vertical.
Route for the day.
