Mount Parnassus (May 2008)

Starting at the trail we learned about on Bard a week earlier, Bob Portmann, Ellen Hollinshead, and I headed up to Parnassus (13574 feet) on May 24, 2008. Again, the bristlecone forest at tree line was outstanding. There are several options for skiing down the SW face. I'd like to call this area Debussy in honor of his famous piano piece Gradus Ad Parnassum: Steps to Parnassus.

Getting to the summits can involve tricky passages if one wants to keep one's skis on. We did get to the top with our skis on -- the summit had a very nice small plateau -- but did not ski down this slope! Below: Bob starts the main part of the descent with a nice little jump. The summit is just out of sight to the right, with another party visible at a saddle.

The bristlecones -- perhaps 1000 years old -- near tree line are outstanding.