Feb 5-6, 2009, Baker backcountry
2/5/09
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
2432
4
I spent the last 2 days skiing Baker backcountry with The Niece and The Gimp. Conditions are far better than I had hoped. There is almost none of the Snoqualmie death crust up north. With the 3-5" fresh overnight we found ski penetration 3-8" on the uptrack, pole penetration occasionally up to the handle. The new is heavy and dense down low but suprisingly light at 5000'. The new snow is bonding poorly in places to the surface and we saw numerous natural sluffs on the north facing steeps. We triggered the same sluffs occasionally while skiing but the volume of sliding snow is small. With clearing skies and colder temps around noon the snow seemed to be drying out some. It's starting to feel like winter...
Can't get photos to upload. will try later.
Can't get photos to upload. will try later.
The most encouraging report I've seen in awhile. Glad to hear you had a good trip with The Gimp.
Fog and drizzle at Snoqualmie today for my grandsons lessons.
Fog and drizzle at Snoqualmie today for my grandsons lessons.
Thanks for the report Clem,
Maybe Jane and I will be lucky too this week. That is, if get over this labyrinthitis, brain tumor or whatever it is. :-)
Larry
Maybe Jane and I will be lucky too this week. That is, if get over this labyrinthitis, brain tumor or whatever it is. :-)
Larry
author=Larry_R link=topic=12189.msg51010#msg51010 date=1234144461]
Thanks for the report Clem,
Maybe Jane and I will be lucky too this week. That is, if get over this labyrinthitis, brain tumor or whatever it is. :-)
Larry
Lar,
If it's a brain tumor, I have a swiss army knife. I could meet you at the clinic and you could coach me on what to do! Some of that north run on Dawg just might have some light snow in it, hopefully!
Hey, Clem, I'd love to see some pics. Gotta tempt some of us to make that long drive up the Mt. Baker Hwy. sometime soon. Sounds like you hit it right!
J
Here's some photos, John. We toured around Table Mt. on Saturday and found plenty of crust on south facing slopes. North facing slopes were still soft.
Reply to this TR
Please login first: