Last weekend Eric and Paul hit Taos for a little BC action and winter camping. We were destined for Wheeler Basin at the foot of the states highest mountain, Wheeler Peak. However as we geared up at Dan's house the on-off switch on Dan's beacon BROKE! Rendering Eric beacon-less... Soooooooo, being the responsible mountain explorers we are (another AAS requirement) we changed plans and decided to head up to Bull of the Woods meadow and climb Gold Hill.
We hit the trail in Taos at about 10:30 PM in a snowstorm ;-) We climbed for about an hour and a half and made camp in a smaller meadow just short of Bull of the Woods. Here's home sweeeeet home.
Paul was a bit sick for the big day, so after lots of high-octane tea and asprin we made breakfeast of now mandatory AAS pre-cooked bacon and other treats, we hit the climb. Here's Eric trying to figure out how to eat bacon with mittens on.
During the climb up past Bull O' the Woods, Paul met a woman snow shoe'er and said she and her 40+ year old girlfriends were in a yert just up the trail and to stop by later for tea, we gladly accepted.
Here's Eric on the climb:
As we approached the summit we came across a fantastic cornice. Here's Paul on the way down it:
We bagged the peak in the company of some Rockey Mt. Sheep and high winds:
On the way down we had hard and variable snow that wasn't the best stuff to ski in, so we hiked through the steepest parts of the woods and made it back to the yert for tea after a 6 or 7 hour schlog! After about 10 hours recovering in the tent, we were ready to pack-out for home.
All in all a great little weekend adveture. Next up........ an AAS assult of Lake Fork Peak ! Here' the AAS reconnaissance photo with a possible route selection in red:
Another AAS Production...... NEXT !
Check out Eric's trip report here..
