... always different... temperature... texture... wind... lighting... weather... time... sound... mood... just like two snowflakes are different... even in the same spot on the same day... always improvising... new snow... old snow...
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Some pretty good snow conditions the past few weekends. Spent some time assaulting a few local hills with the 6-7/8 Mountain Squad. Around eight miles from the front door. Each around a four to six mile out and back. Around 690ft to 720ft rise over two miles with some intermediate steeps we estimate at around 32º. A few steep technical narrows. Good stuff for our neck of the woods.
Hill 2090
... a great long climb through hardwood forest......
... a few hemlock stands...
... rhododendron thickets...
... a long downhill cruiser on the get-back...
Hill 2100
... some long narrow steeps a little over a mile into it...
... 6-7/8 Mountain Squad commandos - Field Lieutenant for Core and Balance (FLCB) and Field Commander for Strength and Conditioning (FCSC)...
... infiltration deep into strategic territory...
... objective reached - unoccupied...
... breaching the interior...
... disengaged and cruising...
... some good fast steeps...
... leading to a long, narrow and fast technical steep - one or two missteps - no injuries or casualties...
... return to Command Outpost (COP)...
Hill 2063
... some hilltop recon following the long ascent...
... a bit long cruiser returning along the final hilltop approach...
... great conditions this day for this approaching steep - about four inches of fresh overnight powder over probably six inches of the previous week or two's consolidated snow pack - a big deal around here...
... some fun sh*t...
... back at COP - FLCB with Brigadier General for Strategic Planning and Assault (SPA)...
We hadn't touched a pair of skis last year. Prior year we attempted one afternoon with sketchy conditions - got shut down after about 1/2 mile. These days gotta' take the "big" snow days when we can get 'em.
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