The storm comes in the night. Wind, cold snow, rain, then snow again and we awake to a wonderland. What to do? I recall and old classic and sell Jenny on it. Angel’s landing in the snow!
Zion Canyon is full of cloud, flurries, sun and wind that blows the snow out of the trees, dropping cluumps on the unsuspecting. The sound and motion is constant. Cheeks are red, with effort and wind burn. The trail is deserted but for footprints heading up and then down. Refrigerator Canyon’s trees are coated in snow and the beauty is surreal.We follow 6, then 4, then 2 sets of tracks up, past the snowman and onto the narrow ridge. The sun is out and we are hot. Then the cloud and the wind descend and we cower. Then the flurries fall, as the broad view reduces to yards. Then the patterns repeats…over and over again. Silent, then howls from the wind. No sounds of man.
Up the ridge, probing in the snow, to find the cut steps. holding onto the railing, I slip. I realize, in relative safety, that without the railing, I would slide into the abyss. I would not continue without the railing. There are breaks were there is no railing. Easy places most of the time. Now? Now moments of ultimate concentration and care. The cost of error momentous. Drawn on further and further, digesting yards at a time, pushing the big picture of a 1/2 mile of danger out of our minds. The snow gets deeper. I lead, then remember that I have done this snow thing on this ridge twice before. I hand the lead to a smiling Jenny and she is off. I slip and bang a knee. I grimace in pain. I move on. Then the footprints we are following end. We smile widely at each other. The route ahead coated in only virgin snow.
It is slower going and full of caution but it feels cleaner. The smiles are plastered on our faces. Jenny hits the summit ridge and is gone from sight. I follow with caution. We enjoy a world of swirling clouds and solitude. After a time, I don’t know how long, we take off down the hill. Full focus is required. being in the moment and being vigilant at the same time. The a short bit down the ridge and we encounter a young couple. They are strong, fit and competent. Lord knows what they thought of us. Below the exposed sections, we linger, drawing out the experience, deeper into the afternoon of ever changing weather. We again see no one on this normally crowded trail, all the way to the car. Angels in the snow. A classic that always delivers. Ram
Pictures? https://picasaweb.google.com/aramv14/SnowOnAngelsLanding21412
Peyman Razeghi
It was really beautiful. Mix of snow, clouds, trees with a good angle of sun light make the pics dreamy.
On Thu, Mar 1, 2012 at 11:56 AM, RAM adkramoo@aol.com> wrote:
> The storm comes in the night. Wind, cold snow, rain, then snow again and > we awake to a wonderland. What to do? I recall and old classic and sell > Jenny on it. Angel’s landing in the snow!
Zion Canyon is full of cloud, flurries, sun and wind that blows the snow > out of the trees, dropping cluumps on the unsuspecting. The sound and > motion is constant. Cheeks are red, with effort and wind burn. The trail is > deserted but for footprints heading up and then down. Refrigerator Canyon’s > trees are coated in snow and the beauty is surreal.We follow 6, then 4, > then 2 sets of tracks up, past the snowman and onto the narrow ridge. The > sun is out and we are hot. Then the cloud and the wind descend and we > cower. Then the flurries fall, as the broad view reduces to yards. Then the > patterns repeats…over and over again. Silent, then howls from the wind. > No sounds of man.
Up the ridge, probing in the snow, to find the cut steps. holding onto > the railing, I slip. I realize, in relative safety, that without the > railing, I would slide into the abyss. I would not continue without the > railing. There are breaks were there is no railing. Easy places most of the > time. Now? Now moments of ultimate concentration and care. The cost of > error momentous. Drawn on further and further, digesting yards at a time, > pushing the big picture of a 1/2 mile of danger out of our minds. The snow > gets deeper. I lead, then remember that I have done this snow thing on this > ridge twice before. I hand the lead to a smiling Jenny and she is off. I > slip and bang a knee. I grimace in pain. I move on. Then the footprints we > are following end. We smile widely at each other. The route ahead coated in > only virgin snow.
It is slower going and full of caution but it feels cleaner. The smiles > are plastered on our faces. Jenny hits the summit ridge and is gone from > sight. I follow with caution. We enjoy a world of swirling clouds and > solitude. After a time, I don’t know how long, we take off down the hill. > Full focus is required. being in the moment and being vigilant at the same > time. The a short bit down the ridge and we encounter a young couple. They > are strong, fit and competent. Lord knows what they thought of us. Below > the exposed sections, we linger, drawing out the experience, deeper into > the afternoon of ever changing weather. We again see no one on this > normally crowded trail, all the way to the car. Angels in the snow. A > classic that always delivers. > Ram
Pictures? > https://picasaweb.google.com/aramv14/SnowOnAngelsLanding21412 —
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