November 30 face shots/Stevens Pass bc
11/15/05
WA Stevens Pass
3771
5
No exaggeration, the fluff was hitting my goggles today while turning in the deep pow.
Yesterday afternoon I skinned up the slope on Skyline Ridge just north above Hwy 2/ Stevens Pass and had some nice pow turns. Today, three of us went and put the first track in. My tracks from yesterday were mostly covered. While breaking trail on my FR 10s on the (ungroomed) snowcat road the fluff was hitting my kneecaps in some places. The next climb up on the track was like flying, in comparison. Four or five others were on it too behind us. We took an easy day since my friend and wife have have not been out yet.
My 68 yo German friend, who has randonnee skied since the 1940's came along on his Karhu Jaks, and my wife also came along for randonnee pow turns. My 13 yr old avy dog is back on form and did great. Going up, she is smart enough to get in the very back.
Today we had nice short tour. November face shots!
Yesterday afternoon I skinned up the slope on Skyline Ridge just north above Hwy 2/ Stevens Pass and had some nice pow turns. Today, three of us went and put the first track in. My tracks from yesterday were mostly covered. While breaking trail on my FR 10s on the (ungroomed) snowcat road the fluff was hitting my kneecaps in some places. The next climb up on the track was like flying, in comparison. Four or five others were on it too behind us. We took an easy day since my friend and wife have have not been out yet.
My 68 yo German friend, who has randonnee skied since the 1940's came along on his Karhu Jaks, and my wife also came along for randonnee pow turns. My 13 yr old avy dog is back on form and did great. Going up, she is smart enough to get in the very back.
Today we had nice short tour. November face shots!
Jealous!
Good job on getting some! :D
What was avy conditions up there like?. I was thinking of hitting the same place on Saturday but am keeping an eye on avy conditions and with snow today & Friday it might be too raunchy.
Good job on getting some! :D
What was avy conditions up there like?. I was thinking of hitting the same place on Saturday but am keeping an eye on avy conditions and with snow today & Friday it might be too raunchy.
Pretty stable conditions- set off 1 8" slab while skiing a face shot deep bowl back by the power lines, but that was it for a full day of steep pow turns.
Yea, it was unexpected. And I enjoy and envy many of the days posted around Paradise!
In regard to hazard, the snow is deep, it is too dangerous, please stay away. Really, just wait until it gets rain soaked and refrozen then it is easier to determine the hazard...
We ascended only 800+ vf above the parking lot (**please note, we were not on a ridge or anywhere that there is {much} orographic deceleration or eddying that builds a slab**) (this stuff is just so multifactorial that definite statements are not so easy...). As I said, we had an easy day. It was snowing heavily, there was a warmup during the first ascent with larger flakes falling, and cooler on the second with smaller flakes falling. There was no wind. On the surface was no real evidence of recent previous wind effect. Over on the western edge where there are always wind packed firm areas, one could only poke down to old hard layers. I ski cut and isolated blocks (nothing moved cohesively) on the buried crust on a steep cutbank, I found nothing like slab or anything cohesive. Just a lot of fluff.
Skiing down that side there is just a short breakover of 250 vf (?) that is 37 to 38 degrees or so (guess). I have rarely seen that slope go in the past 26 years, which infers possible big potential when it finally gets bad enough to go. There is a definite runout zone into the timber below that belies the potential.
We took turns, I stayed back and held the dog and let my friend get first tracks (= live human avalanche slope testing). It seemed to be tight on the slope and fluffy and no cohesion in the fluff layer, nothing sluffed.
We had transceivers, my wife and I had Avalungs, and I have an ABS. I ski lots of bc powder, and tell myself constantly to be afraid, be very afraid. If one has experienced the sensation of being a cartwheeling cork in a sea of white, and walks away, then all of my gear might make sense.
In regard to hazard, the snow is deep, it is too dangerous, please stay away. Really, just wait until it gets rain soaked and refrozen then it is easier to determine the hazard...
We ascended only 800+ vf above the parking lot (**please note, we were not on a ridge or anywhere that there is {much} orographic deceleration or eddying that builds a slab**) (this stuff is just so multifactorial that definite statements are not so easy...). As I said, we had an easy day. It was snowing heavily, there was a warmup during the first ascent with larger flakes falling, and cooler on the second with smaller flakes falling. There was no wind. On the surface was no real evidence of recent previous wind effect. Over on the western edge where there are always wind packed firm areas, one could only poke down to old hard layers. I ski cut and isolated blocks (nothing moved cohesively) on the buried crust on a steep cutbank, I found nothing like slab or anything cohesive. Just a lot of fluff.
Skiing down that side there is just a short breakover of 250 vf (?) that is 37 to 38 degrees or so (guess). I have rarely seen that slope go in the past 26 years, which infers possible big potential when it finally gets bad enough to go. There is a definite runout zone into the timber below that belies the potential.
We took turns, I stayed back and held the dog and let my friend get first tracks (= live human avalanche slope testing). It seemed to be tight on the slope and fluffy and no cohesion in the fluff layer, nothing sluffed.
We had transceivers, my wife and I had Avalungs, and I have an ABS. I ski lots of bc powder, and tell myself constantly to be afraid, be very afraid. If one has experienced the sensation of being a cartwheeling cork in a sea of white, and walks away, then all of my gear might make sense.
Lots of deep slabs forming near top of Heather ridge. Pits in wind-protected areas showed 2-3 feet of recent snow on top of 2 inches of very low density snow over the crust. In exposed areas, pits showed 3-5 feet of varied density cold snow, over the same low density snow and crust. Loading on the north side of the ridge could be higher (I didn't dare go over the lip, but watched extensive wind-driven deposition during lunch). Gusty, shifting winds were eroding old slab areas and creating new ones on most aspects of the exposed (south-facing) ridge above the highway. Vegetation seems to be anchoring this south face, although I set off some large sloughs on the eastern edge (no slabs, but I was playing very conservative). The previous day's uptracks were obliterated, with new drifts up to 6 feet deep. Skiing in the trees was awesome -- deep, cold and light.
Thanks for the update WOZ and Randonee.
I don't think anybody should go to Stevens, Skyline Ridge this weekend as a result.( except me) ;)
I don't think anybody should go to Stevens, Skyline Ridge this weekend as a result.( except me) ;)
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