New Year's Day Snowshoe

 After the annual New Year's Eve climb of Cervidae, Tamara and I met up the next morning with John, Michael, Dave (the super kind) and Bret for a New Year's Day snowshoe above Banner Summit.

It was a brisk -8 degrees when we started the short walk down Highway 21 to get past Cape Horn Creek.  Although it was below freezing, the creek was still flowing and no one wanted to take the risk.  Once past the creek, we put on our "slow" shoes and started up the gentle, forested ridge towards peak 8235 (aka Thatcher Peak).

It didn't take long to realize the snow wasn't supportive, and being the wiser (older!) folks, we allowed the youngster, Bret, to break trail for us.   

Freezing but smiling!

 As we made our way up the north side of the ridge, we had one thought on our minds - make it to the sunshine.   It wasn't long before we were basking in the windless sunshine, warming our frozen digits.

Cruising in the sunshine

 The heavily forested ridge undulated, but for the most part at least it was gentle.

The lodge poles were thick

Michael and John heading up a steeper section

The forest eventually opened up to the south, allowing us great views of the Sawtooth Range.

Dave eyeing a potential summer Sawtooth loop

We continued up at an unhurried pace, spread out into different groups, and chatting along the way.  After a final few undulations, we were standing on top of an indistinct flat summit.  We found a spot in the sunshine, out of the gentle breeze, and had a leisurely lunch.

Tamara

Enjoying the sunshine

 It wasn't long before the shadows of the trees infringed on our lunch spot, cooling it down considerably.  Time to pack up and head down.  With the powdery snow conditions, there wasn't a mention of making this hike a loop.  We just followed our path through the snow back to the vehicles.

Lunch spot Splattski

It was a great day to start off 2018!

John's trip report: http://www.splattski.com/2018/thatcher/index.html