Fun in Four Pines

A few days off left lots of opportunity for hikes into the backcountry. On Friday, I headed out to Four Pines with David, his buddy Conner, and Halina. It was kind of a foggy day but I took the camera out anyway just in case. After the two hikes, we dropped into the north side of the ridge and were greeted with really deep powder turns. It wasn't long before Conner, David and Halina were scoping out some gnarly pillow/cliff lines. I, of course, tried to veer around such courses. As much as I am looking to drop more this winter, I think I'll hold off on the 20-footers for now. I carefully made my way around the first bunch of cliffs to see what my friends could do.

On the way down we came across several more outcroppings. Conner spotted a pretty crazy pillow drop and nailed it. He was a little fast for me to get a shot but I caught David following in his path. I was pretty glad I got at least one decent photo from the day because it was totally socked in and dumping snow, which made for pretty challenging shooting conditions.

Powder Pillows - David Duffy.

I'm sure we'll all get out together again for more photos. I always get stoked to shoot with talented skiers and riders, especially when they're girls :) Go Halina!

Next up was Saturday, another great day for venturing out of bounds. I was really excited to ride with my friend Laura from University of Washington. She works 9-5 so I haven't ridden with her all year. It was just lucky that I got a Saturday off of work. We started out the day with a hike up the Crags. They weren't open the day before so we thought it would be really good. It was totally deceiving from the top -- a field of untouched powder -- but when we dropped in we realized that it was sunbaked and heavy. Yuck. I still got a decent shot of David ripping down the heavy stuff.

A rare bluebird day in the Crags. Rider: David Duffy.

After that we decided it would be best to go out to Four Pines. We followed a parade of people out there and I felt like I really had to push myself on the hike so that nobody passed me. I'm definitely getting better at hiking at 8,000 - 10,000 feet!

We took a pretty mellow shot down the nose of the ridge in order to avoid avalanche danger on the steeper slopes. We were all stoked and tired by the end of the traverse so a trip to the Mangy Moose was in order.

I can't really think of more perfect days off. Lots of snowboarding, hiking, and spending time with friends...only the best :D