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Sink Hollow Ski/Snowshoe,
January 22, 2012
Led by Dave P., a group of 11 Cache "Hikers" traveled up Sink
Hollow to the Idaho border. Dave P., Dave W., Jane,
Christine and Alicia were on skis, while Tim, Jeanie, Kathy,
Gustavo, Kyle, and Rich used
snowshoes.
After a disappointing snow season, the welcome storms of the past
few days had dumped several feet of light powder all over the
mountains. With extreme avalanche conditions on the slopes,
we were happy to stay in the gentle and safe terrain of Sink
Hollow, and our usual mid-morning start meant the hard work of
breaking trail through the deep show had already been accomplished
by others. After a couple of miles of pleasant travel, we
paused to ponder the sink before moving a short distance farther
to the Idaho border. We found a sunny spot for lunch, where
a few of us took off our skis and immediately sank to our waists
in the bottomless snow! The lower layers were so weak that,
even while wearing skis or snowshoes, the snow would collapse
under our weight with a perceptible drop and an audible
thump. The gentle slope on the way out provided an easy
cruise for the skiers, but we still kept the group together.
Fortunately, we had just enough people-power to push one of our
cars out when we got back to the unplowed parking area. The
other drivers were able to negotiate the deep snow at the Sink Hollow Winter Trailhead with
their their
high-clearance and 4-wheel drive vehicles.
GPS data showed our total distance was over 4 miles, with about
460 feet elevation gain. This was an enjoyable trip!
On the Sink Hollow trail.
The "sink" - notice the avalanche
tracks down on the far side.
All the way to Idaho!