We snowshoed in from the trailhead to the Yurt (4.5 miles) the first day; the weather was warm and sunny but the snow conditions were very poor for shoeing; soft and wet snow the whole way. We followed a trail well worn by snowmobiles. Even in a thin workout shirt, I was hot all the way to the Yurt. Jack started out skiing up with skins but switched to snowshoes due to boot problems.
Snorkeling Elk Yurt is the Marriot of winter camping. A large dome skylight enabled the sun to warm the Yurt to 72 degrees when we arrived. The Yurt has a good sized wood stove which we fired up to dry some wet clothing. Jack and I both got our skis out to take a spin a while after arriving at the Yurt. I was tired but needed practice for the trip down the next day. In the evening we cooked on the provided propane stove and had a quiet evening.
After turning in early, Jack and I took turns stoking the stove every couple of hours. The Yurt stayed fairly warm as long as the fire was going. I went outside at one point for a 'natural break' and the stars were amazing. In the morning we made hot drinks to have with breakfast and prepared for our summit attempt. The weather report had predicted strong winds in Beaver, UT so we were worried that the summit might be crazy.
It was fairly cold but sunny when we started out for the 1.7 mile climb to the summit the second day, the snow was very firm, great for snowshoeing. We were able to go up steep slopes with no worries about grip. The sun was out most of the way up, as we got about a half-mile from the summit the wind picked up quickly. About 300 yards we dropped our snowshoes to cross the tundra ridge blown clear of snow by 50+ MPH winds. At the 12,174 ft summit of Delano Peak there was hard snow and the wind was slightly less fierce. We only spent about 6 min at the peak taking a few photos and some video. Luna was franticly trying to find some shelter from the wind. We headed down quickly fighting the wind and blowing snow. We strapped our snowshoes back on and high tailed it to the shelter of the ridge. The transition to and from gale force wind to the pleasant weather behind the ridge was sudden and amazing, light night and day. On the way down, we glissaded a few sections to the delight of Luna who loved running down the steep slopes.
Unlike the day before, the snow was hard and crusty between the Yurt and the trailhead. It was very difficult skiing down with a heavy backpack on the snowmobile tracked trail.
Trailhead to Yurt: 4.75 miles 1700 vert ft - 2:45 up )snowshoes), 1:40 down (skis)
Yurt to Delano Summit: 1.7 miles 1800 vert feet – 1:45 up, 42 min down
Note: Jack could have skied down in under an hour if I hadn't been slowing him down.
Photos: FB
GPS Tracks: kml gpx
Google Maps: Terrain
