TR Replies
Was this inspired by the movie, by chance?
@danthemtn-man it's a technique so cutting-edge that even the guides don't know about it! In all seriousness though, if you have holes in the tips of your skis give it a shot, you'll never want to make an A-frame again.
Yeah looking at their site the tracks definitely match up with their converted SUVs they use for transport to the base. Maybe they had to launch a rescue for their guests or something like that? I'll hold out hope that they weren't blatantly disregarding wilderness regulations... 😒
Nice report, always wanted to check out that cirque.
We saw tracks similar to those near the top of the Swath earlier this spring. For the record, this is deep in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness so motorized vehicles are not allowed here. I assumed they came up from the east, from somewhere near the Scottish Lakes camp (https://www.alpinelakeshighcamp.com/) as accessing via the west, south, or no...
Nice! Did this one a few years back and a LOT of ski yoga was involved on the climbers' trail. Glad to hear the flagging is still up
So rad! And a good reminder that there is solitude to be found still.
What's going on with the skis tethered in the bootpack?
With the warm weather we bailed a little over an hour in after crossing across one to many steep slopes with already soft snow below avalanche chutes down low for our comfort level
Indeed, I found all the traversing the summer trail does above the creek (terrain trap extraordinaire!) to be spooky in the spring. Once upon a time, I had reasonable success heading due north after the...
Thanks for the report! Was wondering how the trail to Bedal was holding up as some past reports had suggested it was in worse condition.
Nice to see a good, long traverse. Way to dream it and then make it true.
Cool trip and nice photos, especially like the cloud shot!
That's Snowgrass from the East in the third pict. Maybe taken from the climb up towards Big Jim.
Looks really fun you guys. Thanks for the pics, too. Is the 3rd as you're approaching Snowgrass from the W?
Glad to hear there was corn somewhere! I want to see the wieners.
Gorgeous pictures!
At the risk of sounding like a total boomer/dad, please oh please if you go back there just drop down and cross the stream and ascend the far bank rather than use a rotting bridge for a photo op. It's faster and way safer.
Funny, I was about to post this. It was really a satisfying walk. Highlights for me included: departing directly from my house, pondering and wandering past descents from recent winters in the area, crawling through mind blowing jack straws from the mid feb cycle, picking up friends (and dog friends) on the Icicle Ridge, and of course the hot dog finish as well as great partners.
While the high peaks further afield often seem pressing, this tour solidified how great (and often empty)...
Yea, I don't care about route options, how many corn dogs were consumed?
Lowell, would be great to see that photo if you can find a chance to re-upload it. Expect that the road was in much better shape way back when.
Thanks Jason! Sorry to say yes, phone photos for this weight weenie -- but the light and the scenery made it hard to take a bad picture back there, much as I tried.
For future reference: With snow on that abandoned road, the approach we took could serve as a reasonable entry to some interesting traverses...
Cool idea; glad to hear the corn cycle is happening east of the crest.
Not that I know of but the Bavarians sure get after it in the surrounding mountains and rarely talk so it's hard to imagine that it has not been done.
That sounds like a nice route. Are you aware of previous ski parties doing it?
Next time save the hours of driving and just come on up to ANC 😉. Nice to hear the synopsis!
Hell yeah that’s quite a tour of the west!
Thanks for posting. Very inspirational. (Like, I'm questioning my life choices now...)
Looks like a great trip Ted and of course beautiful weather which makes for a very scenic day. too bad you didn't get to summit but it surely sounds like the right call.
@dakota-jensen Road is plowed slightly past reflection lakes, but was closed when we were up there. Snow machines were still doing work past reflection.
@tooslim Haha thanks, every day out cant be epic, but it can be fun!
Nice photos - I really appreciate some good quality photography.
DAMN!!! So impressive, that descent and country, in all that heat. Way to thread the needle and avoid slurpee death.
The light in some of those shots is pretty impressive, please don't tell me that those are your phone photos Hedonaut?
I saw the road was partly plowed at the fork. Is there snow on the road above Narada Falls?
@cumulus if this is what New England skiing is like, then I'm sorta jealous...
Honestly this is the most easy, fun terrain I have ever skied in the Snoqualmie area. Just pure, type 1 fun. Maybe it isn't steep or rad, but it sure is a hoot.
"It aint much, but its honest work"
Haha, I like that. It describes much of spring skiing in the Cascades, especially Plan B fall-backs.
What a difference 35 years makes.
This is what the Damnation Creek road looked like in March 1986, when Mark Bebie, Brian Sullivan and I went that way to make the first winter ascents of Triumph and Despair.
Here Brian shows off his 'stream skiing skills.
Nice to hear a good word for Humpback. I've tried to get others to go there who have maligned it as "not worth driving up there for" and "reminds me of New England." Humpbacks got a lot of aspects and some interesting adventure zones...
thought you might be winding up for a TR... mixed bag out there for sure requiring extra effort for minimal ski quality but damn, those views! Full fledged adventure, looks like you made the most of it. I want to see some ski tracks!
and yeah those chipped elbows are painful when the nerves get activated. After a while you get used to knowing where not to move/pressurize it... mines better now but it took a couple of years.
This person will call it what it was... bad snow! Bad in the breakable crust sense, at times, but mostly bad in the ready-to-avalanche mush sense.
We got to camp around 10:30 am on Friday and caught sight of a pretty smooth S face. As the day heated up, we watched the face fall apart in wet loose and wet loose-triggered wet slabs. Other avalanches were shedding off of Triumph and slopes near our camp.
I pretty much wrote off the objective for me at that point, given the superf...
@galenweld we started around 6:30 am I think? Just as it was getting light. We needed headlamps on neither end of the day.
Great pictures! Love the winter scene of Mt Triumph.
Tbashor,
Looking over my report our Crossing Of Whitman GL. to Fryingpan Gl. was on June 4 2011.
We also wore harnesses and carried a rope but never felt the need to uncoil rope,
My Question- you said you started up Edith Basin at 730am from parking lot,
Did you camp overnight or is the gate at Longmire open all night now?
Thanks
Robie
Nice nice. Out of curiosity, what time did y'all get started in the morning?
Good work ! Yes great views and a great tour with or without a ascent of Lil Tahoma.
We passed thru there years ago to a White river exit down the frying pan but im convinced the ski backdown the whitman is the better ski.
Even with the climb back up to Cowlitz saddle,
Thanks for the report and pics
Wow, able to ski all the way down to Pyramid Lake?! In summer that approach up to Snowfield peak proved to be one of the more arduous that I've done (with a pack), hard to imagine what it would look like under snow.