March Ski to Mather Overlook, Great Basin National Park

The weather forecast was for calm and cold. So why not head out for a cross country ski, especially since the snow survey is coming up and I needed to acclimate better to the higher elevations. 

I went to the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive in Great Basin National Park and parked at the winter closure, at Upper Lehman Campground. There were a ton of tracks at the start of the road, but before too long, the tracks diminished, and then I was following a lovely ski track.

There had been a lot of looking around at the Osceola Ditch trailhead. I still had energy, so I decided to push on. The snow was deep enough to nearly cover the sign that said exhibit ahead, but the other signs were mostly above the snow.

At the big U-bend above 8500 feet elevation, I found a nice view of the North Snake Range and Mt. Moriah.

Around the curve, the snow had drifted on the road, making little hillocks.

On the last big hill going up to Mather Overlook, I realized I couldn't even see the road posts. That snow is deep!

I love this view of the mountain! In summer I like to photograph it with the flowers blooming on the side of the road. 

I checked out the mountain and saw that parts were very windblown.

At the Mather Overlook turnoff, I was breaking trail. Fresh tracks!

As I approached the overlook, I saw just the top of the outhouse. Was it really as buried as it looked?

Why, yes, it was! 

I was surprised to see some rabbit tracks. And in the background, Bald Mountain looked so nice and snowy.

I put my phone on the outhouse roof, put on the ten-second timer, and skied out for a photo.

Here's a view of the deck and telescopes. 

I was having a marvelous time. But the clouds were moving in and I hadn't packed a lunch, so I knew I'd have to head back down before too long. 

Wheeler Peak looks nice and imposing. There was a big rock (labeled monolith in the photo) that I don't really remember from before. Definitely suspicious. :)

More views of snowy Doso Doyabi.

View of the outhouse from the other side.

The nearby signs were windblown and exposed. The sign "An Icy Landscape" seems especially apropos in the winter.

This was my longest ski all winter, and it felt so good. It took about three hours to go up, with stops for photos and snacks. Going down was less than two hours, including several falls because the snow got super fast in places. There was good powder on the north facing slopes, but on the other places it was crusty and faster than I liked at times. The fastest section was Mather Overlook to Osceola Ditch, then it was much mellower and easier, and at times I even had to shuffle. 

If winter is going to last (seemingly) forever this winter, I figure I might as well get out and enjoy it. It's so much more fun when I can go play in it. 

p.s. Thanks so much to whomever made the nice tracks the day before, they helped a bunch.