Mount Dana

22-Apr-00

By: Tina Bowman

Doug Mantle, Barbara and Dave Sholle, and my husband Tom and I spent April 21-23 at the Tioga Pass Winter Resort, doing some backcountry skiing. On Saturday we trudged on our skis up into the bowl below the Dana Couloir. Although the wind was mostly unpleasant and the skies generally cloudy and menacing, Doug, Tom, and I went on without skis up the soft snow of the couloir, Doug doing the lion's share of the work of breaking trail. Doug and I went on to the summit, leaving an ammo box for the register. All that hard work paid off with excellent glissades down the couloir- the snow really was soft and stable. Unfortunately, the skiing back out wasn't the easy time I was expecting. One of Tom's telemark boots had half separated from the sole, making turns extra challenging. One of my randonnee bindings kept releasing when I turned, dumping me in the snow, though I also fell several times without the help of the binding. Doug patiently waited for us as we flailed about on the slopes, and then he steamed ahead when we got down to Tioga Lake and on to the road back down to the lodge.