Trip Report
Backcountry (WAY back) skiing in Eastern Nevada
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Tuesday January 5, 2016 7:29pm
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It was the weekend after the new year and Betsy was taking our kids back to college while I was staying home to take care of our dogs, Bodie and Ande.
Leave the boys at home alone and what happens? Road trip!
I wanted to backcountry ski but I didn’t want to deal with any of Lake Tahoe's new year’s traffic. So I didn’t. Although with limited vocabulary, Bodie and Ande are great with the words “Load up” and with that they jumped into the back of the plane for a ride out to eastern Nevada to help me search for some turns.
I originally wanted to head up Lamoille Canyon in the Ruby Mountains but I heard with the mining boom in Elko many miners have discovered snowmobiling and Lamoille Canyon is THE place to go – which didn’t sound like a good place to go with the dogs. So my plan was to go out to the relatively undiscovered Independence Mountains about 1.5 hours northwest of Elko.
It would be an adventure.
It was a great trip, although really a snow machine or a full day of skiing (without flying) would allow better access to higher country.
Ney Grant
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About the Author
Ney is a trad climber from Pollock Pines. |
Comments
Todd Eastman
Social climber
Putney, VT
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Fine effort and use of available resources.
The Nevada mountains are beautiful.
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Whew, that last picture puts a point on it!
that's no country for the current crop of have to have it boys n girls.
It looks like your nitch is finding far and wide & obscure it would seem to be an acquired taste.
Thnx for sharing!
a real wilderness and rarely if ever seen
Wishing you all the best on your adventures
Happy 2016 ~ I'm going to keep saying it until it feels right. Twenty Sixteen!
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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K2s with Fritschis?
TFPU
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
ne'er–do–well
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Is it just me or do the rocks look better than the snow.
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jonnyrig
climber
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Looks like fun, Ney. I was out that way to hunt elk this year, and it is correct... the local yokels are out in force on the snowmobiles. I saw some beautiful slopes that would have been fun to ski; but -15 might have been a bit cool for the dogs.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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NOICE! Way rad! Them doggies know how to punch in 121.5?
They look smart enough.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Good job!!
Way to bring the golden yummies of something fresh and different!
We need more stuff like this on the taco badly.
But, we don't all have a plane, so on that note, you suck!!
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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DMT, the heater warms yer buns, duh! BTW, light aircraft engines are
air-cooled so they really don't like being started at -20F and given
the cost of bearings these days doing so can be hazardous to yer wallet,
if not yer health! ;-)
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shylock
Social climber
mb
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Awesome for sure. Curious whose car is that though if you flew?
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
https://nutagain.org
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+1 for finding adventure!
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Ney Grant
Trad climber
Pollock Pines
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Author's Reply
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Jan 6, 2016 - 11:35am PT
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could you tell me more about this device? How does it work? What does it do?
Airplane cylinders are big aluminum things with steel pistons. At cold temperatures the pistons are larger than the cylinder so it can cause premature wear on the cylinders to get them started. Plus I run single weight oil (suppose to be better) so at low temps the engine will barely turn over with the thick oil. Rule of thumb I use is to try to preheat if temps are in the 30's and try harder if below freezing.
That preheater is called a Red Dragon and really roars, like an MSR stove on steroids. Before taking off from home I use a different technique. The day before I stopped by the hangar and put two 100 watt (not LED of course) light bulbs under the cowling with a sleeping bag draped over the top. Temps were low 30s but engine and oil temps were high 40s when I started it the next day, so light bulbs work surprisingly well.
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Ney Grant
Trad climber
Pollock Pines
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Author's Reply
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Jan 6, 2016 - 11:47am PT
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Awesome for sure. Curious whose car is that though if you flew?
Transportation is the biggest problem for sure. Elko is big enough for an enterprise rental car agency to be there. The FBO (private terminal)in this case called El Aero were super nice and had the car pre-delivered so it was waiting at El Aero for me. Then again there was no one there so he had nothing else to do as far as I could see. I didn't really need fuel but I made sure to fill up because that is how he makes money.
But many smaller airports don't have ground transportation. For example the below photo I took when flying home near Battle Mountain. Although it looks wind blown, there were other mountains around that look like fun. However I don't think they have rental cars there, and from the air it also looks like a snow mobile would be required or else it may take about a week to ski it.
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Ney Grant
Trad climber
Pollock Pines
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Author's Reply
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Jan 6, 2016 - 12:06pm PT
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Is it just me or do the rocks look better than the snow.
It is just you.
Actually, the descent on the first day was great boot-top powder. On the second day, not. I really didn't get high enough for the good stuff, so it was wind blown at the top of the gully and inconsistent further down. It was just one of those days where it was great to be in the mountains.
You can't really judge well from the photos. There is never much snow on the valley floors - it is a desert after all. At the top on both days it was wind blown hard pack or wind blown (denser) powder.
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Bump for content! Thanks!
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Larry Nelson
Social climber
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Cool trip report
Doggies dial in 121.5 Mhz?
LOL
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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I would love to wander some of those ranges in the summer. They are high and north enough to have reasonably low temps.
A few places look great on Google Earth.
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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BEAUTIFUL, love your occasional TRs. WOuld love to see more!
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splitclimber
climber
Sonoma County
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very cool Ney.
Supertopo needs to turn into a ski/snowboard forum. ;)
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looks easy from here
climber
Santa Cruzish
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Wow, that "White on white" shot is stunning. But I'm glad I'm looking at it through a computer screen and not first hand. Brrr!
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Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
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Gorgeous adventure!
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melski
Trad climber
bytheriver
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dosent teton village have an airport???
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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If I recall, Elko is out near BFE in the MONW
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limpingcrab
Gym climber
Minkler, CA
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Love it! I've been fascinated with obscure Nevada ranges for a while and I'm glad you shared your trip!
Dogs... Always seem like a burden on trips.
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Ney Grant
Trad climber
Pollock Pines
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Author's Reply
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Jan 9, 2016 - 02:42pm PT
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Dogs... Always seem like a burden on trips.
A surprisingly contentious subject when it comes to climbing and skiing, as I've read in some forums. Which is one reason I was alone - I like being with them and I realize they are a burden to many. Admittedly they also ruin some of my powder turns by anticipating the turn and running in front of me. I hate that.
But I love our dogs and enjoyed being out there with them.
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Ney, you sure know how to find seclusion. Love skiing with my beast Josie when I'm solo (she isn't very friendly toward other skiers). Good for you getting out there!!! BTW time to update that gear :^) cheers!
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Fritz
Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Ney: Thanks for sharing a "terra incognito" trip report. I've spent a lot of time in NE Nevada chasing old mines & ghost towns, and I don't know anything about the Independence Mountains.
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sempervirens
climber
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Jan 10, 2016 - 11:25am PT
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Really cool trip report!
The need for the engine heater is easily understood. But why the car battery? Why does a propane heater need electricity?
TFPU.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Jan 10, 2016 - 11:30am PT
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Ney Grant, TFPU! Great pics, looks like a fun adventure.
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Ney Grant
Trad climber
Pollock Pines
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Author's Reply
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Jan 11, 2016 - 08:48am PT
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The need for the engine heater is easily understood. But why the car battery? Why does a propane heater need electricity?
There is a 12V fan that blows the hot air from the burner through the hose. In fact if you just shut everyone off at once the hose will smoke from the heat. So you shut the burner off and let the fan go for a little while.
I use that battery in the summer to run my notebook, wifi, etc. So I can stop almost anywhere and still work. I like to imagine the guy I'm talking to on the phone thinking I'm in an office somewhere when I'm really, for example, at the Lee Vining aiport looking out at Mono Lake.
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Ney Grant
Trad climber
Pollock Pines
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Author's Reply
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Jan 12, 2016 - 09:21am PT
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BTW time to update that gear
Hi Charlie,
Yeah. I got Betsy some carbon G3 skis and Dynafit Radical bindings for Christmas. Sweet! Now I know what I'm missing.
But my Garmont boots are not Dynafit compatible, so I'm looking at a huge update. They are falling apart so I do get to justify new boots anyway, always a good thing.
I think I saw some carbon skis at your place. What kind where those? Any good boot recommendations?
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sempervirens
climber
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Jan 12, 2016 - 12:02pm PT
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There is a 12V fan ....
Oh, thanks, I didn't see the fan.
Damn good on ya' for putting all the elements together to make the trip happen. And then reporting here for us all.
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The Lisa
Trad climber
Da Bronx, NY
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Jan 12, 2016 - 12:28pm PT
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How nice to be able to jump in the plane with your dogs and find plenty of untracked!
Great report and photos.
I upgraded from Fritschi to Dynafit bindings and they are worth the investment, much lighter. I have Garmont boots that accept Dynafit (generic term is "tech") bindings but other brands do too.
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Steve Hindman
Mountain climber
Telluride, CO
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Jan 30, 2016 - 02:37pm PT
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Hi - thanks for the report. Looks like my kind of adventure. I'm contemplating a spring road trip to ski remote Nevada ranges. I was passing through from San Fran to Telluride a few years ago in the spring and had skis in the car. West of the Ruby's I saw a road that went off the highway towards a small but snowy range,drove to the end and had a great set of turns off the top of the closest peak. The day was even better when I returned to find no one had showed up or cared that I parked at what looked like an abandoned mine or milling facility.
Do you have any beta on others who have poked around some of the ranges west of the Ruby's?
Thanks again, and enjoy!
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