Basic Hot Sun Skiing Strategies

^^^^^^^Somebody should paste in Lowell's excellent " how to" slush ski cutting post from another recent thread.

WAX!! that was my next question. Thanks. Yes, and was wondering about pack logistics. Was even thinking of towing a sled to lower camp? Bad idea? Might be easier on the body.... It's just that it seems like I will need both my full pack AND my day pack. A lot of stuff... Am thinking no tent in moderate weather should be fine. I can always dig in. The light colored clothing is a great idea too. Been brushing up on my wet slide knowledge, but have little 1st hand experience with this type of snow. From my understanding, it doesn't seem as tricky to predict as dry slides. Famous last words?

Also, just to put in my own contribution. I highly recommend using electrolyte mix in your water. I always cramp up without it. Electromix is a good sugar free one. Very small packets. And I carry one dry shirt to change out of the soaked with sweat shirt before descending. It's a wonderful luxury - dry and warm.

a cheap $10 pair of sunglasses are worth carrying if one lost or broke the ones they were wearing. I've never lost mine (on a mountain) but a ski friend gave me the idea when talking about snow blindness on glaciers.


My experiences watching others tow in sleds to a basecamp has been negative on anything other than flat ground, I will not do it. In one event I watched the sled overtake the puller going downhill and the result was a blown knee. It could be done, but I don't see a need for that much gear for a typical over-nighter.

Lowell's cookbook directions (with embellishment by JoedaBaker) "how to do ski cuts in spring snow" is in this post:

www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboardi...ex.php?topic=21046.0

I admit that, I thought of making a copy to laminate to the back of my slope-angle-o-meter card.

I wish I was out skiing...

Thankfully used the spring ski cutting technique yesterday on the east face of Plummer Peak late in the day.  About three inches broke lose and quickly gained size and speed.  The slide hit a set of trees with tremendous force, certainly enough to injure if you had been caught up in it.  We elected to not even ski the bed for fear of catching the hangfire and made several more cuts to a less steeper section that was easily managed.  Thanks to Lowell for the reminder!

As an aside, the Tatoosh is priming up.  Good consolidation on Plummer, Denman and Pinnacle.  The North Face of Plummer to Cliff Lake was particularly sweet!

It would also be a good idea to reiterate khyak's note (from the thread mentioned above) here...when cutting sloughs it is important to be aware of the potential for other parties below. As many have noted, these heavy snow sloughs travel into the trees far below with force. Many ski runs descend popular ascent routes through the woods- hiding potential victims of a slide.

Bill G