Secret stashes, exploration, solitude, and more

Dave,<br><br>I take your point about a sense of exploration in an area so well mapped, but I think Lowell makes a good point that there is more to explore than the lay of the land.<br><br>Last year I started out on a trip to Cutthroat pass from the west side of Rainy pass and decided first to bag the guide book start (it seemed silly to park at the PCT trailhead when there was six feet of snow on the ground just to start at a trailhead. I also prefer to bushwack on snow and use my navigating skills. The other thing I did en route was to forgo going to the pass (which I later did several times on later trips) and headed up a cool looking bowl on the side of Cutthroat itself. I did have, and used, a map, but somehow I felt like I was still uncovering something new. Faint tracks suggested that Cutthroat pass was the destination for the hoards (probably several skiers on the weekends), but none up to this other destination. The whole area is riddled with these bowls. Many are plainly obvious from the highway. It is hard to imagine that they would or could ever get crowded. But since they are so obvious, I could never expect any of them to be considered a stash.<br><br>I guess you could say that there are real stashes and percieved stashes. Heck if you go to a place and are lucky enough to never bump into another person (even if the place is frequented) then I guess its still a stash.<br><br>I think that Fred Becky was mentioned once in this thread, but if we look at the huge amount of climbing route information divulged in his volumes I wonder if there isn't a lesson to be learned there? These are very comprehensive, even noting possible ski descents. Did the climbing community feel cheated by the publication of these guides when they first came out? If something of this sort were published for ski touring and ski descents what would happen? It seems possible that such a book might actually cause the masses to spread out a bit over this area rather than concentrate on the few hot spots. I certainly do not pretend to have any answers here.<br><br>I do like to use the guides. They do yield specific routes, but more importantly I view them as a means to start the process of finding a route. Same for the trips discussed in this forum. In '93 when I first moved out here I mostly found my routes by spending lots of time studying the maps, exploring on foot in the summer and marking notes to return in the snow. I do like the thrill of a descent, but mostly I go to see and experience places and learn still more about the terrain.<br><br><br>Alan