Journeys: Beehive Basin Chapter II

My friend Tanner and I had been wanting to do some hiking this winter and we finally had our chance. I wiggled my way out of work and Tanner and I hit Beehive Basin intending to the get as close to or as high up Beehive Peak as possible. It was a gray blustery day and the snow showered down around us. We set off from the trailhead, Tanner on his skis with skins, me on snowshoes. A half mile later we were both shedding layers despite the storm. After cresting the first small hill on the skin track, we turned left off of the beaten path and blazed our own. Even with snowshoes on I was postholing in thigh deep snow. We made our way south-ish to what I am calling the south ridge of Beehive Basin (because it is somewhat to the south, but also to the west). We continued up a drainage before climbing a spur and finally ascended a steep wooded slope to gain the south ridge. Everything was going according to plan. We intended to hike this south ridge to the snowfield that guards the rocky peak above the basin. We were cruising along on top of the ridge, trying to catch glimpses of Lone Peak through the tapering storm. We broke free of the trees and found a huge rock cairn. We stopped to check things out since some of the storm had lifted. We could finally see Beehive Peak and also could see that the ridge we were on cliffed out in between us and the snowfield below the peak. We could traverse lower on the ridge on the side facing Lone Peak (west), but it was already 2 p.m. so we decided to ride off the ridge back into the basin. We dug a snow pit to test the conditions and once satisfied dropped into the knee deep powder.

Beehive Basin collage.
Photographs by Chas B.

The run did not last very long and we were soon trudging back to the trailhead. Tanner was able to push ahead on his skis, but I was forced to snowshoe up and hike out. For a second time this winter I had been turned back short of Beehive Peak.