Tronsen Ridge 1.27.09

Although this wasn't my intent for the day it made for an exciting and memorable day. I missed going last week so I wanted to stretch it out and try for a monster x-country ski day. I wanted to go over both Mount Lillian and Bentrim Hill using many of the myriad of roads that dot the area. I toyed with a couple of starting points and settled on the Tronsen Road which would shave a few miles off. I mangaged an early start and thankfully missed the lowland snow. I parked and was off at 0800. The weather was snowing and blowing forcing me to wear nearly everything I own. Things started off well as I made the end of the road much faster than I was expecting. This good luck didn't last long. I fell and when I finally was able to unpretzel myself I noticed that my ski boot had separated from the soul and was now useless. I was thankful that I had the foresight to at least bring my regular boots so I wasn't totally screwed. I had expected that snowshoes wouldn't be necessary which was entirely the case. I decided to just leave the trail all together and make my way up the steep but mostly open slopes. The snow on the steeps was thankfully crusty enough for easier travel. In fact in some places I wished for crampons. I made steady progress and was very thankful for good clothes as I was buffeted with some strong wind. Once I reached 5575' which I believe is the highpoint of Tronsen Ridge proper, I spied some tracks below me I followed along the ridge for another .75 miles before losing interest. I found a sheltered spot and had a quick lunch. I retraced my steps to 5575' and then was only able to follow my prints for a short time. I just descended in a more direct line back to the trailhead. I had some issues with the snow on the lower slopes but was able to negotiate the minefield of voids without too much of a problem. I thankfully reached the road and enjoyed the easy walk out enjoying the very substantial snow showers.




Approx 7 miles 2200' of climb 5:30 car to car