The day is so warm and the sky so blue, it kind of feels like virtual reality. I join Mike and his sisters Callie and Carrie for a pleasant trip up Incline Peak. The white ground enables us to travel on skis, but today there is no inconvenient cold or wind – we just soak up some rays.

Departure Bluebird and Warm

There’s a nice view of the summit before we cross the lake.

Crossing Incline Lake

I dig a quick snow pit on the way up as a learning exercise. There is a frozen, crusty weak layer about 45 cm down with less dense snow underneath. This is probably the layer that has caused some slides in prior days in other areas, but today none of my column compression tests will move it.

At the summit we bask in the sun some more. It’s so warm that Mike has stripped down to his bling.

Captain Bacon Bares the Bling

On Incline Peak

Me On Incline Peak

Lake Tahoe

There is still some nice soft snow for our run down, but anywhere the sun has been hitting is wet and sticky, causing some of us to taste the slushee on our way down. It doesn’t take long before we’re headed back across the lake.

Return across the lake