TR Replies
Everybody had a great day. I started late so that was probably me late! Today was just as good
Think we saw you (original poster) exiting Hairpin Valley in the late afternoon. What a day! All aspects were good aside from just a couple of firm spots and even those weren't bad.
@james-little there is always a way. In this case the way involves lots of walking followed by lots of skinning. Or lots of waiting if you don't like walking and skinning.
We were up in Bean Basin yesterday and had fun - still plenty of snow, but the trail is melting fast so we booted a ways. East faces were smoother. Earl was looking boney.
Looked at your turns from Maple pass on Monday. Impressed! Puckering!
I had a late start. I headed down at 3:00. Since it will be a bit warmer I'd suggest 1:30 - 2:00 for heading down.
Nice. What time did you head back down? Thinking of the same route tomorrow. With temps, looks like may bit a bit more slush down low.
Nice! definitely stared at this many times and wondered...stoked to see it goes in the right conditions. Way to go get it. I also wondered about that couloir climbers right of the notch; how wide is that thing?
Nice to see reports coming in again about skiing lines that most just daydream about.
Woah, that's a lot of tracks. But it looks like a fine time. Thanks for the report!
Hello, nice trip report, looks like a huge day/effort. Curious about the snow level on the road? Anyway to get up to the Lake Ingalls trailhead?
do you have gpx for this chute ? Not sure if I have the exact line and I'm trying to ski it this weekend.
Wow! What an adventure! It has been good weather. Gotta go out now and take a look south of there...Thanks for the inspiration!
I saw a sign 2 days ago that said no sledding. They can only ban for so long...It’s National Forest Land and once they are torn down, we should be able to use it. I guess unless they say they are getting ready for biking...
I thought that Vail was banning all uphill traffic, even when the resort is closed?
I would ask how how far back the snow is on the road, but it looks like you skinned up to the top of Hyak, and dropped down the backside? I usually try to wait for this one until I can park to the switchback on FS 9070 at least, but not sure when that will be. Nice work!
“My Kingdom for an Ax - or even a Whippet”😄
Thanks! Good to hear. I too have been beaten by that creek. It will kill somebody too eager some day.
Hey more of the same on Tuesday 5/5/2021 plus a dusting! Main slope was close to perfect.
Coverage is fat and I didn't detect any sign of the main crevasse unzipping as yet,
Paradise valley floor was sloppy boot deep at 1pm but the glide out went quick.
We skipped our usual Golden Gate exit in favor of the of the Mazama ridge exit
and were happy with the quality of snow there due to aspect.
Surprisingly the valley rd up from 4th crossing sti...
@fuzz,
Glad to hear your buddy is ok. I'm a helmet-on the whole descent kind of guy, for exactly that reason. Sounds like better coverage than when I skied it in 2018, good to hear. 500 feet of careful ski exit isn't so bad.
It will be a lot busier once hwy 20 is open...
Great to see a Whitehorse TR. The one time in 4 or 5 attempts that I was successful in skiing that beast was May 1, 2008. The key was having the aptly named Snow Gulch filled with avy debris. This allowed us to ascend a side gulley (climber's right) from the main basin to about 3200' where we could traverse over to the "whitehorse glacier". I was thinking that with the big snowpack this winter and the mega avy cycles we had earlier this year it might be worth another try, but I guess not.&nbs...
@eatskisleep, there was decent snow for skinning right off the road...had to skin across a few bits of dirt at the very bottom but otherwise put the skis on at the edge of the road and didn't take them off til the high point. It was cool overnight and looks to stay that way this week and so I guess the snow will probably hang in there for a bit.
However, conditions were marginal in the bottom 500 vertical feet and this was more of a prob on the way down, when we had to pick our way t...
Nice work! how long until you found consistent snow for skinning?
Yeah! Got around to watching the vid, really nice. The sense of humor towards adverse conditions and enjoying it was palpable, gotta have that!
btw Katwalk exposure can be avoided with a short scramble (claw up) just West of it--Red side
"After this outing the ski crampons are definitely going in the bag for every trip. They made the last section we ascended fun instead of barely doable and terrifying."
I, too, came to this conclusion years back. They are the most absolutely stupid piece of gear to leave behind for weight in retrospect. Literally 100 feet of using them makes up for t...
Oh damn! Glad we turned around then! Were you all stuck or fighting it out? It definitely was a battle between the ego and wanting a good story vs fun/safety. I feel like the failed attempts are good for keeping the desire going.
I wish I had read this before we went in and out Long's for West Notch Couloir.
Awesome Trip!! I've always thought that last leg to stevens looked no fun and that it would be mellower to just come out the Surprise lake trail but having a cabin at the end is good motivation to do it properly to the pass. Kendall Catwalk looked spicy!
Very cool trip. The ski from Hinman down into that hole then the Pea Soup - Lynch glacier - back down to Marmot/Jade link up is really fun travel as you say.
I’ve often thought of departing Stevens and heading in the direction of Daniel but the initial terrain on the PCT south has always deterred me.. Seems like it was as unpleasant as one would imagine.
My first real trip upon moving to the North Cascades in June 1999 was 4 days of blowing snain on the Sulphide. Came away with blisters so deep I got septic. Still remember shivering in the tent.
You must have been just ahead of me today. Remarkably good skiing down to 7000', then just a little slushy-grabby. With so many people up there today I can only speculate as to why so few go down the Paradise Glacier route. The snow totally exceeded expectations.
You don't know untill you go - so, good on you for trying. Based on your description, sounds like pulling the plug was the right thing to do.
@andyrew Yeah!? Looking back at van trump from the Tattoosh, I kept wondering if you could have booted straight out of the drainage. Glad to hear it is doable! What did you all do for the return? We kept asking ourselves "this is soft at 6am, whats 3pm going to look like?"
Amazing feat, especially, given the conditions, guys. Strong skiing with those heavy packs, too.
Killer shot at 1:58 in the vid.
I bet the sauna felt super good after all that.
Cool, been thinking about this but last few outings, finding same mush down low. Hoping next week after melt freezing levels it will mean rage on!
This traverse/tour/run/hike is humbly done in both directions and in all seasons most years.
Stay thirsty, my friends.
A nice video of part of the route plus the photo of the "route".😀