I love the National Forest. Don’t get me wrong a National Park with all its rules about what you can and can’t do is needed for those high traffic jewels of nature. But the national forest system accommodates a lot fewer people over more land and is less restrictive on the publics use. I am glad we have both to enjoy.
After a few weeks of sunny winter weather we could see the snow had loosened its grip on Fresno Dome from town. We hatched a plan that night to pack light, load up the snowmobiles and go get some climbing in before the next storm walloped the Sierra. A lifetime of mountain living has only left my partner Leo thirsty for more adventure and he’s always game for any crazy idea out in the mountains.
Leo in action from last years trip up the dome.
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Don’t forget your 9mm I told Leo over the phone. I don’t have one that small he said. Yes, you do I replied, but its not a rope!
So, we drove up the next morning and got a little target practice in before heading up to climb. In my city living days I used to think why would you ever want to own a gun? Something about living in the woods now and being so close to the outdoors makes it easy and fun to actually use them. I am no hunter but a little target practice outdoors was great. Of course we picked up our shells when we were done.
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Riding up on our snowmobiles I reflected on how climbing and snowmobiling are so similar. They both get you out to amazing natural areas and provide a thrill that makes your hands sweat. I pulled the throttle and felt the 170 horses come to life. The front end lifted up off the snow and shot for the trees. Quickly I had to decide left or right, what is the best line through the terrain? Same as climbing, quick decisions about the best sequence before you melt off those holds and plummet off the stone. With snowmobiles the punishment for choosing a bad line is getting stuck or crashing. It’s a pain in the butt to dig a 450 pound machine out of the snow.
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Snowmobiles can glide, carve, jump, drop and accelerate over snow like you wouldn’t believe. If you ever saw the land speeder bikes on the Ewoks Endor Moon and wanted to try one out, this is it!
But, I digress back to the rock climbing. The rock was warm and the holds generous on our 3 pitch route up the dome. It felt unreal to be able to ride right up to the stone and then climb on amazing Sierra knobs. The rock radiated the suns warmth and it felt more like spring then winter. No worries of waiting in line for a classic though.
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Once back on top we realized the evil shade was working its way around the dome. Brrrr. That was our queue to jump back on the snowmobiles and boondock through the trees out to Iron Mountain. Its amazing how quickly you can go from one mountain to another on a snowmobile. In about 15 minutes we were at Iron Mountain with its big faces. Just like looking up a big swath of steep stone the 1,000 foot snow covered faces are intimidating and can make you pucker. Once committed its all our nothing.
After a few hill climbs we stopped to drink in the view of pristine mountains and snow. The dead quite and sinking sun made me stop to appreciate what a magnificent playground we have right in our own backyard.
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Happy winter adventures everyone!
Click here for a 35 picture slideshow of the day.
http://s625.photobucket.com/albums/tt336/sierraclimber1/2-12-11%20Fresno%20Dome%20and%20Snomo/?albumview=slideshow
Heres a slide show link to our March Fresno Dome trip from last winter too: http://s625.photobucket.com/albums/tt336/sierraclimber1/3-17-09%20Fresno%20Dome%20-%20Snowmobile%20Climbing%20Trip/?albumview=slideshow[photoid=192494]
