Welcome 2021 Ski/Snow Shoe Tour

Enough of 2020 already! Let's welcome the New Year with a day on the snow New Year's day. The plan is to head up to Cumbres Pass and ski or snow shoe one of a variety of routes that start up FR 116 toward the Neff Mountain Yurt. We will plan to depart the LANB parking lot at 08:00. White Rock participants can meet at the Y parking area at 08:15, and participants from the valley or Santa Fe can meet at the Northern New Mexico campus at 08:30. Presuming we will be doing a final meet up at Northern, we will hold a quick brief there before pushing on up the road. We should be at the TH around 10:30. We'll spend 4-5h in the woods departing the TH for home not later than 16:00 with the expectation to be back in Los Alamos around 18:00. 

The trip size will be limited to 15 and will be divided into 3 pods of no more than five, provided that two additional co-leaders can be identified. The groups will have slightly different objectives and appropriately stagger departure but be in the same general location and maintain contact by radios. Pod leaders will have final say on the composition of their teams and recommended equipment (i.e. Avy gear). I envision the 3 pods will break into the following activities:

1) Snow shoe group

2) Ski touring group and

3) Earn-your-turns group (avalanche kit required)

The order of departure will be agreed upon by the pod leaders but, I anticipate that the ski tourers will go out first, follwed after 10 min. by the earn-your-turn pod, and 5 mins. later by the snow shoers. It would be helpful if folks have their gear properly organized and stowed to facilitate the staggered departure.

COVID Considerations:

As much as I’m a major proponent of car pooling, the Covid situation warrants that we limit our close contacts to those in our ‘personal bubble’. Riding in a car is probably a perfect vehicle of transmission, and I don't mean getting from here to there. Who comprises your bubble is your decision. Please let me know your preferred activity and (from the locations listed on the trip announcement) where you would like to rendezvous. Also, please include your cell phone number with the above information. 

For all group (full or pod) everyone should have some type of face covering and maintain practical distancing. If you don’t own one, now would be a good time to buy a buff (a useful pc of gear and a great stocking stuffer), but any face mask will suffice.