Bay Area TR: Learning to Worship El Diablo - 12/17/08

**SchralphMacchio** · 12-18-2008, 03:42 AM

It is difficult to miss the haunting presence of the devil, or El Diablo, in the Bay Area. Though El Diablo beckons, few are worthy of his awesomeness.

I've been feeling like Robert Dreyfuss in Close Encounters ... something inside me could not release the image of the devil, and in late October I finally went to pay his gnarness some (training and new pack testing) respect ...

It was still a little early in the season and *just* a bit too warm for snow, but I was confident that Hell would freeze over soon ...

My patience was rewarded last night ...

My solo approach to El Diablo was 9 miles ...

... and the track on my sled was broken so I found other means of transport.

The gates of hell were breached.

2500' of vert later, I found this,

but I was looking for this.

The park rangers wouldn't let me take this on the chairlift, couldn't figure out why.

Teh groomers was already tracked out, dammit!

So I decided to go, ummm, "off-piste."

Hey, this is just like the Wasatch!

How many turns before a descent is legitimate? End of the line here ...

Oh yeah, fresh track! Look at that EXTREME carve!

I finally met El Diablo, and what happened?

He took my twenty dollars and vanished in the air ... so I set out runnin but I take my time ...

... A friend of the devil is a friend of mine, If I get home before daylight, I just might get some sleep tonight ...

And fucking eh, that was a cold descent. My toes were numb for the entire drive back to Berkeley and then some. I had goretex socks over wool socks, conduit pants over leg warmers, soft shell over monkey fur fleece ... and that was the coldest, sketchiest 9 mile bike descent I have ever done.

But. Fucking Eh. I met El Diablo.

**The Dad** · 12-18-2008, 08:26 AM

Awesome dedication.

**thefrush** · 12-18-2008, 11:00 AM

WOW ahaha El Diablo, classic. Way to get after it man. Kirkwood should be significantly better tomorrow.

Sick choice of song too, though that TR didn't even get me past the intro.

**cramer** · 12-18-2008, 12:11 PM

I was outside having a smoke at work tuesday looking at diablo and wondering to myself "i wonder if any mags ever go up there and get some turns". I heard it got like 10" or so. Nice work!

**madturtle** · 12-18-2008, 12:12 PM

Did you call the guidebook company to make sure they spell your name right for the 1st descent list?

Nice stuff, way to get after some good looking obscurities.

**SchralphMacchio** · 12-18-2008, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by madturtle

Did you call the guidebook company to make sure they spell your name right for the 1st descent list?

Hehe, I was joking around with SanFrantastico on sb.com/ttips of what exactly constitutes a first descent. 12 turns? 10 turns? I didn't even get that many, maybe about 6? It was pretty silly, I figured there was not really much beta and I live so close, so what the hell might as well go be a pioneer for once

Tuesday was the day to hit it, there was a lot more snow then. Just one day of melt is so fast when there's only a few inches on the ground ... next time, next time.

**BeanDip4All** · 12-18-2008, 01:54 PM

too funny

**FlyinGuitar08** · 12-18-2008, 02:26 PM

That lady in the background kind of undermines the impressiveness of your hike.

**GoAskAlice** · 12-18-2008, 03:07 PM

^^^^^^Bwaaaahahaha

gettin aaaaaaffter it!

**SchralphMacchio** · 12-18-2008, 03:15 PM

Originally Posted by FlyinGuitar08

That lady in the background kind of undermines the impressiveness of your hike.

At the summit that day, people were asking me, "where did you come from?"
And I pointed down the trail and said, "down there."
And they said, "oh yeah, me too, it took me half an hour!"
And then I pointed further out and said, "oh, I came from way down there" and pointed to the town of Clayton 3300 feet below.

"Oh ... are you going to board down the grass?"

**AKbruin** · 12-19-2008, 12:24 AM

Way to get after it, Alex.

**JakeCast** · 12-19-2008, 12:57 AM

fuck UT. I moving back to redwood city...

So you don't have the same amount of snow...at least you don't have to stab people with your poles to get down the cirque traverse...

**SchralphMacchio** · 12-19-2008, 01:05 AM

Doesn't look like my bowl is gonna go tomorrow

Man, it woulda been a lot more fun on Tuesday night ... hopefully I get another crack at 'er this season

**BambooShoot** · 12-19-2008, 02:11 AM

i love this TR. i grew up literally on a ranch on mt diablo (clayton side, down morgan territory). i remember the first time i ever saw snow was up top. props for gettin them turns!

**Dhelihiker** · 12-20-2008, 08:45 PM

Thats not bad I was thinking about skiing the Trans-America Building, nice consistent pitch.

**BeanDip4All** · 12-20-2008, 09:00 PM

we stopped to hike twin peaks today on the way home from furniture shopping (fuuun) today, and i was thinking of this TR and how if it ever snows in SF you should put that on the list

**khyber.pass** · 12-20-2008, 09:59 PM

That's some good base compared to what we have up here!

**SchralphMacchio** · 12-08-2009, 01:02 AM

1-year bump.

Was hoping for a repeat tonight, but I got skunked. Rode up the road about 3 miles and my back was complaining pretty good and my front tire was audibly breaking through the frost to bite into the road surface below ... so I did the smart thing and turned around went home and opened a beer. The last thing I wanted was another recovery setback to my back injury, or even better ... a fun descent down ... on skinny road tires ... with a bigass heavy wing snowboard on my back ... powersliding the corners ... with nobody around for miles to help in case I cracked my skull open.

For anyone hoping for beta ... GO GET IT! There were trace amounts of snow in the trees just a hundred yards up the road from the south gate fee area (~1600 feet). It was damn cold today and with snow that low on the south aspect, my guess is that the N-facing bowls from Moses Ridge to the Summit area will be decent (for snow-on grass skiing in the Bay Area of course).

edit: SF Chron reporting 18" at the Summit and super icy roads, so the gates might be closed for at least another day ... 18!!!

diablo summit today from the Chron

**DanKo** · 12-08-2009, 02:13 AM

^^^I <3 that pic.

Absolutely loved waking up to a snow covered Mt. Diablo...even though it was on my way to the Oakland airport for a trip to Portland and Seattle (where there is no new pow, only super-cold temps).

I was wondering if there'd be any mags up in them thar' Diablo hills this morning. Hope it stays good for tomorrow.

This storm is just what we needed! Game ON!

**nickwm21** · 12-08-2009, 02:28 AM

my parents live right at the base... in high school when it snowed the rangers would check cars for boards and skis. now i know you must hike/bike

**jondrums** · 12-08-2009, 02:32 AM

skins might be just the ticket...
wish i had the dedication to get my shit together and wake up early tomorrow morning to continue the story.

**Ottime** · 12-08-2009, 09:29 AM

That looks legit right now. 18"? And not the super blower stuff. Wished I was abit closer; could be a good early morning skin and ski before work.

My back yard had a solid freeze last night. I never covered my kale and chard - which may have been a mistake. Cold this morning. If this cycle continues, we could develop a corn cycle...

**SchralphMacchio** · 12-08-2009, 09:54 AM

glad I turned around ... reports this morning of ice closing highway lanes on 17, 280, and even the grapevine ... you bet that Diablo woulda been developing much of the same had I kept pushing on past the snowline. Might be still be pretty good to go on Thursday ...

**BeanDip4All** · 12-08-2009, 01:25 PM

We had a call down in Morgan Hill yesterday morning and it was actually SNOWING on our way up through Uvas Canyon! Never thought I'd have to drive one of the rigs in the snow.

The whole area around there is so gorgeous.

Anyways, Schralph I was actually thinking of this very TR while seeing the snow on the hills around where we were!