June 4, 2011, High Esmeralda birthday tour
6/4/11
WA Cascades East Slopes North
1975
4
After a great tour last Sunday on Big Snow followed by a crappy week, Anastasia and I had a powerful need for some sun and good times. What better solution than a birthday tour in the Teanaway?
We met up with Becky, Pete, Murray and Kirsten and migrated east to De Roux campground. Pete thought it would be clever to put a car up at the Ingalls trailhead for an end of the day shuttle, if we ended up looping around Esmeralda -- excellent call, it turns out.
We made pretty quick work of the first snowless 700 feet and quickly got to consistent snow in the shade of the draw north of De Roux canyon. The sun was blazing, but there was a delightful breeze the entire day that kept the sweat down.
Skinning was a little slick, so we bootpacked the steepest portion of the climb before switching back to skis for the last few hundred feet to the High Esmeralda col. Birthday presents were shared and views were ogled.
In honor of the late, great Macho Man
The north facing chutes were pretty mushy, with 3-4 inches of new from the previous week that ski-cut easily. They developed some pretty terrifying speed on the steeper slopes -- I can imagine the energy involved for the lucky skier on Ellinor that andybrnr reported. Cool to watch, in a way, but also pretty spooky.
Q mush surfing
Rock/water skis
We managed to piece together mostly continuous snow almost all the way back to the Ingalls trailhead, with one sporty log-crossing and a lot of skis on stream-wading. Good times, as always, capped off by beers and sausage sandwiches in the sun -- thanks for coming out for my birthday y'all!
Bbq guard puppy
We met up with Becky, Pete, Murray and Kirsten and migrated east to De Roux campground. Pete thought it would be clever to put a car up at the Ingalls trailhead for an end of the day shuttle, if we ended up looping around Esmeralda -- excellent call, it turns out.
We made pretty quick work of the first snowless 700 feet and quickly got to consistent snow in the shade of the draw north of De Roux canyon. The sun was blazing, but there was a delightful breeze the entire day that kept the sweat down.
Skinning was a little slick, so we bootpacked the steepest portion of the climb before switching back to skis for the last few hundred feet to the High Esmeralda col. Birthday presents were shared and views were ogled.
In honor of the late, great Macho Man
The north facing chutes were pretty mushy, with 3-4 inches of new from the previous week that ski-cut easily. They developed some pretty terrifying speed on the steeper slopes -- I can imagine the energy involved for the lucky skier on Ellinor that andybrnr reported. Cool to watch, in a way, but also pretty spooky.
Q mush surfing
Rock/water skis
We managed to piece together mostly continuous snow almost all the way back to the Ingalls trailhead, with one sporty log-crossing and a lot of skis on stream-wading. Good times, as always, capped off by beers and sausage sandwiches in the sun -- thanks for coming out for my birthday y'all!
Bbq guard puppy
Macho Man said:
Snap into a Slim Jim! Oooooh yeeeah!
The creek crossing shot is quintessential northwest! Sounds like a fun day.
Heh... that was one of many. Good times and credit to Kirsten for the brilliant, Macho Man-inspired gift.
I swear, the teanaway never fails to deliever.
Thursday, pouring rain at alpental. Drive east, sunshine and snowflurries up at the end Bean Creek.
Thursday, pouring rain at alpental. Drive east, sunshine and snowflurries up at the end Bean Creek.
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