Ringing in the New Year on Rosedale

Rosedale Peak (11,825)
01/01/08
~10miles RT/~3,000 Vertical
From the “Not Camp Rosalie or Elk Creek” TH
Partners: Jeff and Jean Kunkle, Dave Hale, Dave “Hoot” Gibson, Sierra, Denali, Scooby, Shep

Indecision, combined with commonplace high wind weather reports, once again had me waffling on my plans for New Years day. After weighing my options, Jeff’s offer to join he and Jean for Rosedale quickly became the frontrunner on the Eve of the New Year. I of course invited Dave, and he invited Hoot. I had never even heard of Rosedale, but what the heck, sounds like fun. The day was set.We arrive at the trailhead under perfectly clear skies, no wind and a -9 temperature reading. It felt cold , but we were grateful that the wind has finally taken a break. We start off wandering a bit through the woods, but a few quick glances of the map and GPS gets us on the correct track. Speaking of tracks, we are fortunate to have a nice packed track all the way to the summit, compliments of the Bershaders, Dawson et al. Thanks again, your efforts made our day much easier .We follow the well packed trail along the hillside parallel to Elk Creek, up into a nice willowy valley. Soon the handiwork of the previous day’s winds becomes evident and the trail instantly vanishes. We wander a bit, trying to find it again or decide which of the many route options would be best. We ultimately decide to get out of the willows and do a bit of an ascending traverse.The snow becomes steep and deep and we are missing the nice track we had been following. Secretly, I was enjoying the added workout of wallowing, but fortunately/unfortunately, that quickly ended as we re-discovered the nice packed trail.From here on, it was an auto-pilot cruise to the ridge above tree line. From the ridge, the views finally opened up and we were treated to a picture perfect winter scene. The wind scoured ridge prompted some of us to remove our snowshoes for easier walking. Without the hinderance of the snowshoes, it was only a few minutes of the most enjoyable and easy cruising to the summit.This was a great vantage for viewing Rosalie, Evans and the surrounding area. It was surprisingly calm and relatively warm compared to the recent spell of challenging weather and we were all reveling in the scene. We lingered here for a bit, eating, laughing and taking pictures.The trip out was especially easy and took about half of our ascent time. It got quite warm as the day progressed and I was now itching for something cold to drink, as opposed to my scalding hot chocolate.What a great way to welcome the New Year. Great friends, great weather, great outing. The day could not have been better (OK, it would have been better if Allison were not working and had joined). If this trip was a harbinger of things to come, 2008 is going to be a great year!Pictures:http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r...iere/Rosedale/