Table #5

I'm planning another ascent up Table Mtn this Saturday. My broken snowshoes have been sent in to MSR to get the bindings replaced so I'll be borrowing a pair from Jay again who has been gracious enough to allow me the use of his own until mine are repaired. This will mark the fifth consecutive month I've been up Table and, so far, the most difficult outing was, by far, the last trip in February. I've never even finished that trip report, but I can sum it up quickly: It was tough. I didn't feel particularly good physiologically. I felt sluggish... Exhausted... Lethargic. Snow conditions were great on the way up for being mid-winter as we hadn't received much snow in the preceeding weeks and there was a firm trench stamped out through the snow to walk in from all the traffic before me during that time, but that still didn't seem to help much. It still took almost as long as my mid-winter January ascent. I'd honestly say that my trip in January, when I left the parking lot at 5:30am and had to break trail all the way to the summit, was a more enjoyable experience. Go figure. Plowing a 2 foot deep trough up 4,000 ft for 3 1/2 hours through the lightest puff that typically settles on these Teton slopes didn't seem to phase me too much (except for some of my toes which didn't have feeling for a few weeks after). Sometimes, for whatever the reason, some days are just tougher/easier than others.

I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to get up there this month. I was hoping to have my shoes back by now, but Jay's great in letting me borrow his. I'll surely have mine back for the April excursion. And then, in May, the road will be open all the way to the trailhead and the lower half of the trail will be clear of snow, and maybe, just maybe, if I planned an early enough climb that month, the soft snow from the day before will firm up overnight and I won't even need the snowshoes. Microspikes??? Perhaps.