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- May 31, 2015
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February 22-23, 2019
My friend Gavin had been wanting to do a winter summit of a higher mountain in the Wasatch, and he determined Provo Peak would be a fairly doable, safe option. After getting off of work and having dinner at his place, we headed to Rock Canyon, arriving by a bit before 6. We shouldered our packs and began the walk up the canyon to the campground.
It had been snowing on and off all day, with more falling up high than down in the valley. This was a glimpse into the snow showers we'd be in until we got to camp. The setting sun made it look especially interesting.
I tried to use the "night mode" setting on my Pixel. Not a great shot. Maybe would've been marginally better if I could hold my hand still.
Obviously, it got dark before we got to camp. So once we got to where the trail was less packed, we put on our snowshoes and headlamps. Shortly afterward, we reached the campground. There weren't any visible tracks beyond the campground, so it was all tough walking from there. We wanted to reduce the distance for the next day as much as we could, so we carried on in the dark. We reached the powder covered Squaw Peak Road after a bit, and we headed south. It was incredibly tiring breaking trail with heavy packs on, and we both began to realize that this trek was going to be more laborious than we anticipated. After 45 more minutes of walking, we reached a turn in the road where there was a decently large, flat spot to set up camp. We stomped the snow down with our snowshoes and pitched the tent. Didn't spend a whole lot of time lounging around camp. We kept getting snowed on, and the temperature had dropped probably into single digits.
I didn't sleep much that night. I hadn't been camping in true winter conditions since I was in middle school, and I had forgotten the struggle of finding a balance between keeping your face warm and trying to be able to breathe at the same time.
It took some motivation to get going in the morning. Our boots were frozen pretty stiff. The thermometer built into my watch couldn't read the temperature because it got too cold. I'd estimate it was down to low single digits though. We left a lot of our gear in the tent, and we headed up the road toward Provo Peak's west ridge. The lighting around us was very cool.
Cascade Mountain illuminated.
Gavin tromping his way up Squaw Peak Road.
The objective.
We hit a point where we realized there was no way our legs would be able to take us up the ridge to the peak. So we got to the base of the ridge and called it good. A bit disappointing, but now we know we need to do a bit more conditioning to be able to handle snowshoeing through that much powder. The experience was great (in retrospect) as well.
Looking back at our track.
Going down was far easier, of course. We were shocked at how quickly we made it back. Shortcutting some of the switchbacks the road takes helped as well.
Back at camp.
We packed up quickly and headed out.
Maybe next time.
The walk out was very nice!
I'm not itching to get back out on a winter mountain backpacking trip just yet, but I'm glad I did this one. Need to make sure my legs are better prepared next time.
Thanks for reading.
My friend Gavin had been wanting to do a winter summit of a higher mountain in the Wasatch, and he determined Provo Peak would be a fairly doable, safe option. After getting off of work and having dinner at his place, we headed to Rock Canyon, arriving by a bit before 6. We shouldered our packs and began the walk up the canyon to the campground.
It had been snowing on and off all day, with more falling up high than down in the valley. This was a glimpse into the snow showers we'd be in until we got to camp. The setting sun made it look especially interesting.
I tried to use the "night mode" setting on my Pixel. Not a great shot. Maybe would've been marginally better if I could hold my hand still.Obviously, it got dark before we got to camp. So once we got to where the trail was less packed, we put on our snowshoes and headlamps. Shortly afterward, we reached the campground. There weren't any visible tracks beyond the campground, so it was all tough walking from there. We wanted to reduce the distance for the next day as much as we could, so we carried on in the dark. We reached the powder covered Squaw Peak Road after a bit, and we headed south. It was incredibly tiring breaking trail with heavy packs on, and we both began to realize that this trek was going to be more laborious than we anticipated. After 45 more minutes of walking, we reached a turn in the road where there was a decently large, flat spot to set up camp. We stomped the snow down with our snowshoes and pitched the tent. Didn't spend a whole lot of time lounging around camp. We kept getting snowed on, and the temperature had dropped probably into single digits.
I didn't sleep much that night. I hadn't been camping in true winter conditions since I was in middle school, and I had forgotten the struggle of finding a balance between keeping your face warm and trying to be able to breathe at the same time.
It took some motivation to get going in the morning. Our boots were frozen pretty stiff. The thermometer built into my watch couldn't read the temperature because it got too cold. I'd estimate it was down to low single digits though. We left a lot of our gear in the tent, and we headed up the road toward Provo Peak's west ridge. The lighting around us was very cool.
Cascade Mountain illuminated.
Gavin tromping his way up Squaw Peak Road.
The objective.
We hit a point where we realized there was no way our legs would be able to take us up the ridge to the peak. So we got to the base of the ridge and called it good. A bit disappointing, but now we know we need to do a bit more conditioning to be able to handle snowshoeing through that much powder. The experience was great (in retrospect) as well.
Looking back at our track.
Going down was far easier, of course. We were shocked at how quickly we made it back. Shortcutting some of the switchbacks the road takes helped as well.
Back at camp.
We packed up quickly and headed out.
Maybe next time.
The walk out was very nice!
I'm not itching to get back out on a winter mountain backpacking trip just yet, but I'm glad I did this one. Need to make sure my legs are better prepared next time.
Thanks for reading.
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