Dec. 3, Bagley Lakes (continuation of Nov. 16....)

Ok Judgy McJudgerson... Nothing was moving yesterday. The new snow was bonded to the rain crust. Small crowds. The person who made that track dropped the chute once already and...speculating here...made the determination it was safe to climb back up. And it was. Safe.  Well safe enough anyway. On that day at that time.

People dropping from above are obligated to make every effort to avoid sluffing the people below them.  Especially in a crowded zone.

Be cool everybody.

So...was it you?  I'll match your expectation that people not drop in on you when you're skinning directly up a great line in a typical avy starting zone that's below a blind roll if you'll accept my expectation that there will never be anyone in that spot when I make a turn over that blind roll.  I'll remind you what happend the last time I cleaned out that pocket...
AprilFool

IMO the safest way to get out of Bagley for your next lap is by skiing all the way down to the lake and then skinning out staying in the middle, just skinner's right of the ridge where Grandma's Cabin is.  This will put you out on the groomer somewhere just below the Blueberry access gate.  This way you're not traversing through the bottom of common runs and should someone set something off above you (hopefully) it won't reach you because you're out in the flats.  Once you're on the road it's smooth sailing up and you're not in danger of getting taken out by anyone.  It's a 50 minute round-trip from the gate to past the horn to the gate by this method and you're only exposed on your ski down and then your skin back out to the road (5 minutes).  If you skin straight back up you're exposed 100% of however long it takes. 

I wasn't even going to get into all the people that traverse out of their line half way down and put stripes into everyone elses run outs but that pisses me off too.  Fall line is too much fun to waste.

About the way out...what he said ^^^
I'll admit that I've cut it a little closer to the bottom of Cheap Date on occasion but never the disgusting traverse back up to the corner of the ski area or direct up to Artist Point.

My personal favorite "safe way" out of the bowl is to run it out to the lake and then head east towards the trailhead but stay on the south shore of the lake.  Instead of going all the way to the bridge I'd stay just right of the minor ridge that leads up to the interpretive center and gain that ridge as soon as possible.  This avoids anything that slides off of Cheap Date, Five Minute Trees or Blueberry One.  It also avoids stuff coming off the south side of Herman.  There is a large debris pile that grows throught the season just west of the bridge on the north shore of the lake that I try to avoid.  I'll admit that I've cut it a little closer to the bottom of Cheap Date on occasion but never the disgusting traverse back up to the corner of the ski area or direct up to Artist Point.

Nice to know both of our personal favorite safe routes out of that zone are one and the same.

I will admit to skinning up that lower "Little AK" slope once. It was last year in October, and I knew nobody would drop in from above because I tried to access that zone from above the day before and it was all rocks and unskiable.

Nice to know both of our personal favorite safe routes out of that zone are one and the same.

I will admit to skinning up that lower "Little AK" slope once.  It was last year in October, and I knew nobody would drop in from above because I tried to access that zone from above the day before and it was all rocks and unskiable.

I read bridge where you actually wrote ridge, thought you were saying to stay closer to the river. I don't usually do repeats on Table, it's more of something to do on the way to something else.

An alpine turning tele skier once told me that it's possible to skin all the way up Herman with just one kick turn.  He was trying to find a way around that one too...

That alpine turning tele skier found a way around that cruxy section and skinned Herman w/o any kick turns last year.  On Herman, kick turns = routefinding error (or low snow - my last Herman ascent a week or so ago was a kick turning disaster).   

At least you got out a week ago, the last time I got out was MB two weeks ago. This weekend I'm stuck working in Colorado driving laps around Summit County and getting grouchy on the internet.

Oh that was you?  Tsk tsk. 

Nope. Wasn't me. Too steep. I should have been a little more clear in my first post. On a sketchy day, that track is a poor choice. No doubt. If there was ever a good time to put in that track, last week was it. Low avy conditions and small crowds. He got away with it. No harm, no foul. Embrace the sh!tshow.

I for one don't like to feel like I am aggravating everyone but unless there is a real danger to myself, my partners or others I am going to do what I want.

This is complicated I know because we all have a different idea of acceptable risk.

^^All the backcountry etiquette anybody needs to know right there.
-Don't avalanche yourself.
-Don't avalanche others.
-Don't put yourself in a position to be avalanched upon by others.

Everything else goes. Including post holing in the skintrack and other related first world problems. *





*Is the grin too much? Maybe just the smiley? So hard to know how to play it sometimes.