Obviously I wasn't the only on with the idea. If I wasn't solo I would go another route. But now I am too far into it, and the danger is high enough that there is some security in the fact that if I go down, someone will find me soon enough. When did the backcountry become so popular? It is a lot of work, enough that I think most people would be kept away. And the cold! Especially today! Wouldn't all of these people be more comfortable drinking cocoa at the Gold Miner's Daughter? I keep going. I pass many groups doing avalanche training. They dig pits that are two feet deep before hitting the ground. Choss-crust-pow. Every pit. Choss-crust-pow. At least I am moving. They have to be freezing just standing around listening to instruction.
As I get to Michigan City, I can see at least twenty people in the area. It is like a resort without the lifts. I skin quickly to the top of Patsy Marley and take my homerun to the car. Short tour today.
