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| North Face of Center Peak |
Once in a while, and I mean not every weekend, a spontaneous adventure happens. Like climbing a mountain you know nothing about. А random peak you saw on the side of the road, or on the trail to another destination, that called you so forcfully it blurred your common sense.
Such was my experience on this beautiful peak, hidden behind the High Sierra Crest which is , as I later found, called Center Peak.
Onion Valley is one of my favorite launching pads for Sierra ski-mountaineering. Right above the town of Independence, the road takes you up to 9,200 ft (a great bike ride!) where, all you have to do is strap your skis on. You can't go wrong with any direction: University Peak, Kearsarge, Mt Gould, Independence Peak, University Pk.
This time I went south, towards Robinson Lake, and gained the ridge connecting University peak and Mt Bradley (13,000ft). Steep, rocky drop to the west merged into a broad valley with a single, lonely peak rising in the middle. It looked beautiful. My plan to explore Mt Bradley begun to morph into something else. Traversing and scrambling to the south, led to a narrow, steep gully dropping down 1000 ft. I followed. The valley was calm and quiet. Very quiet. Views were spectacular in all directions, but Center Peak dominated my sight and my mind. In this parts of the Sierra Nevada country, at this season, one has better chance of seeing a bear than another human. But I saw neither the entire day. Not even tracks, or a mylar happy-birthday balloon. After a contemplative rest, I went around the north face, then up the east face/ ridge of Center Peak. On top, I spent a fair amount of time searching for a register. I found none. Stunning views to the west kept my camera busy. The descent had some steep, exposed sections. Back on the flats, I switched to a cross-country skate mode, a nice change to the typical Sierra dynamics of steep ups and downs. At the base of University ridge, I took another rest before the last climb. A bit fatigued now, I wondered if I will make it back in daylight.
I cramponed up the chute as clouds moved in from the north. Few technical sections near the top made me whish I had two Whippeds. On the ridge, I looked back to see Center Peak dissappear in the clouds.
Earth's rotation become tangible: I was racing last light. To save time, I considered skiing a different chute, than the one I ascended. After a few turns I changed my mind. I was loosing visibility, and I reminded my self that the known danger is better than the unknown. By the time I climbed back and traversed it got dark. Skiing back to Onion Valley, a 4000 vertical, is one of the best continuous descents out there. Even on a headlamp.
More Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/badakov/Center
This time I went south, towards Robinson Lake, and gained the ridge connecting University peak and Mt Bradley (13,000ft). Steep, rocky drop to the west merged into a broad valley with a single, lonely peak rising in the middle. It looked beautiful. My plan to explore Mt Bradley begun to morph into something else. Traversing and scrambling to the south, led to a narrow, steep gully dropping down 1000 ft. I followed. The valley was calm and quiet. Very quiet. Views were spectacular in all directions, but Center Peak dominated my sight and my mind. In this parts of the Sierra Nevada country, at this season, one has better chance of seeing a bear than another human. But I saw neither the entire day. Not even tracks, or a mylar happy-birthday balloon. After a contemplative rest, I went around the north face, then up the east face/ ridge of Center Peak. On top, I spent a fair amount of time searching for a register. I found none. Stunning views to the west kept my camera busy. The descent had some steep, exposed sections. Back on the flats, I switched to a cross-country skate mode, a nice change to the typical Sierra dynamics of steep ups and downs. At the base of University ridge, I took another rest before the last climb. A bit fatigued now, I wondered if I will make it back in daylight.
I cramponed up the chute as clouds moved in from the north. Few technical sections near the top made me whish I had two Whippeds. On the ridge, I looked back to see Center Peak dissappear in the clouds.
Earth's rotation become tangible: I was racing last light. To save time, I considered skiing a different chute, than the one I ascended. After a few turns I changed my mind. I was loosing visibility, and I reminded my self that the known danger is better than the unknown. By the time I climbed back and traversed it got dark. Skiing back to Onion Valley, a 4000 vertical, is one of the best continuous descents out there. Even on a headlamp.
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| Somewhere in the Sierras |
More Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/badakov/Center
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