Feb 7 - A Super Bowl Day on Heather Ridge
2/15/10
WA Stevens Pass
1287
0
Weaver (Paul), Big Smooth (Joe) and I weren't expecting too much from the day. We all wanted an excuse to get some exercise on a day that most Americans typically devote to sitting, eating and watching other people sweat. Destination: Heather Ridge and Skyline Lake. I also wanted to reconnoiter the snowpack there since our Boy Scout troop is going up there next weekend. I'll have my skis, so feel free to stop by and grab me for a few laps!
We left north Seattle by 6:15, and were skins on the ground by about 8:30. As we climbed, we grew more hopeful - the south slope seemed to have a slight dust on a firm crust, and skiable. We stopped just past the second cell tower and did a short lap down to the trees to test the snow, and found that East slope pretty good. But we opted to go on up to the top of the ridge. Light snow fell off and on through the day, with no wind, and fairly warm temps.
We had lunch at the top, then we and a couple of other people* (see below) dropped into the NW slope and followed yesterday's tracks down to the bottom. The powder was very good, except when we scraped over tree bombs near the big trees. As long as we were able to avoid those, it was very nice! There was a solid skin track already in, so it was just a quick escalator ride back to the saddle. That was so good, we did several more laps down that gentle North facing bowl. It's pretty tracked out from yesterday and today, but still fun.
The trip through the trees to the lake was survival skiing on tree bombs and crust. A probe test showed 12" light snow, HARD crust layer, then about 12" more, another crust, then uniform snow to the ground. Approx 4 1/2 feet total depth.
The big surprise was the south slope below the Cell Tower - we had very nice turns all the way to the trees, since the crust had softened and virtually disappeared. As Daffy Duck says..."WooHoo! WooHoo!
*One of the other guys we met was a pretty big time climber from Uzbekistan - he said he's summited Denali 5 times, made it to the top of Everest in '98, and guided and climbed on other Himalayan peaks. Didn't get his name, but we felt like we were in the presence of Royalty.
We left north Seattle by 6:15, and were skins on the ground by about 8:30. As we climbed, we grew more hopeful - the south slope seemed to have a slight dust on a firm crust, and skiable. We stopped just past the second cell tower and did a short lap down to the trees to test the snow, and found that East slope pretty good. But we opted to go on up to the top of the ridge. Light snow fell off and on through the day, with no wind, and fairly warm temps.
We had lunch at the top, then we and a couple of other people* (see below) dropped into the NW slope and followed yesterday's tracks down to the bottom. The powder was very good, except when we scraped over tree bombs near the big trees. As long as we were able to avoid those, it was very nice! There was a solid skin track already in, so it was just a quick escalator ride back to the saddle. That was so good, we did several more laps down that gentle North facing bowl. It's pretty tracked out from yesterday and today, but still fun.
The trip through the trees to the lake was survival skiing on tree bombs and crust. A probe test showed 12" light snow, HARD crust layer, then about 12" more, another crust, then uniform snow to the ground. Approx 4 1/2 feet total depth.
The big surprise was the south slope below the Cell Tower - we had very nice turns all the way to the trees, since the crust had softened and virtually disappeared. As Daffy Duck says..."WooHoo! WooHoo!
*One of the other guys we met was a pretty big time climber from Uzbekistan - he said he's summited Denali 5 times, made it to the top of Everest in '98, and guided and climbed on other Himalayan peaks. Didn't get his name, but we felt like we were in the presence of Royalty.
Reply to this TR
Please login first: