New Year's Eve Tradition

Every New Year's for the past few years, we've been getting together with a group of friends to stand on a summit.  The same characters keep coming and I rather like the tradition.  Fortunately, it reminds me of most other days during the winter.

With the still great snow and a stabilizing snow pack, we shot down to Box Elder Peak.  Some years ago on one of my very first tours, skinning to the summit of this peak wrecked me.   I remember starting with Bart Gillespie, Jared and Sam Inouye.  By the time I made it to the summit, utterly blown, Bart and Jared had already skied down, climbed the Pfeifferhorn, and were on their way into Little Cottonwood Canyon for more.  Sam was waiting patiently along the way but was probably steaming with frustration on the inside from my ineptitude.

Anyway, with Bart and Jared joining along with Jason, Matt, and Tom, it felt good to be able to keep up now.  The skiing and the group rally out the exit were pretty fun too.