June 28, 2011 Jared Links

Backcountry Snowboarding Lake Tahoe

On June 10th I had returned to
Lake Tahoe for the first time in
10 months since i had moved to
Portland. The cloudy grey winter
in Portland left me pale and white.
Bad combination for backcountry
snowboarding and lying on the
beach in sunny Lake Tahoe. The
resulting sunburn caused my nose
scab over, and my lips to bleed.

On June 12th we rode a mountain
called Round Top, near Kirkwood
Ski resort. Even though it was mid-
June, there was a healthy snowpack.
I had rode there the day before and
had noticed a line that went onto a
60 degree hanging snowfield before
entering riders right into a nice couloir.

We set up camp the night before and
drank some whiskey, and took some
photos. My old buddy Bill used some
artistic techniques. It was an awesome view. The full moon was shining bright off the snow.
The next morning we awoke early to
get a nice alpine start at 5 am. After an
hour or so of skinning we reached the
more technical part of the climb. We
switched splitboards for crampons and
an ice axe, and proceeded up the north
ridge. There were a few moments that
were life threatening, but for the most part it went alright with no accidents. We stood at the top of our line at 9 am.

Bill had dropped in another entrance
to the couloir and set up shop at the
bottom with his telephoto lens. It sounded hard and icy. I set up a small rappel at the top of the line so i could get over the crux safely, which is the obvious constriction/ bare spot at the top of the line. All went well and I unroped as soon as i got on the steep hanging snowfield. I made a few turns and snow was starting to slide. I made some nice turns while paying attention to the wet snow avalanche starting, and running over the rocks. Luckily, my toe edge held great and i made the entrance to the couloir and came out alive. I shredded past my slow moving debris that was running through the chute, and ripped it hard to Bill's photo outpost. My adrenaline was pumping and I knew I had done some gnarly.