TR Replies
Thanks for the report! So great to be able to get “turns” in the back yard, always makes a smile.
Thanks for the report, lemons into lemonade, perfect!
Nice going! Nothing better than setting the unique bar high. I’m not a big Hawaii fan, but I would love to ski the tallest mountain over its base in the world.
@grant @stefan It was a really fun day! We were the only skiers on the mountain that day and people were cheering us on! A park ranger drove by and did a double-take before giving us a 🤙
@telemack Hiked it in 2017! Definitely requires a 4wd vehicle, the rangers won’t let you beyond the visitors center without one. Road conditions are updated here:
@seedy A Covid-negative test prior to flying, plus a second Covid-negative test immediately after deplaning. Did everything by the book to travel safely as required by the State of Hawaii. And got another Covid test upon returning. If you choose not to travel, that’s up to you.
Looks like great fun. When snow hits Bham the trails are something special. The "Ski Bellingham" poster needs to be taken uphill of the Alabama St. bridge with skiers striding across and the bay and downtown in the background. I've moved back East but those snowy days in the City of Subdued Excitement are memorable.
Great smiles!
The pure novelty of skiing right from our house just a few feet above sea level was something we couldn't miss! Good to hear that "turns" were had in Bellevue.
So I guess there are numerous ways to add pictures now - I can add a picture in the body of the message or I can go to the tab "media". And then I can either upload a picture or embed a link. Let me see if I can add a picture via a link.
Hey Radka, good to see a TR from the weekend from the Eastside - most of what I saw on FB was from the Seattle area. When I saw your title, I was thinking "skiing where at Grass Lawn?" - haha, "5 feet down to the tennis courts" about sums it up.
On Saturday, I went to visit a friend of mine on skis for the first time in my 15 years in Bellevue, and it was fun just for the heck of it.
Looking forward to more TR's from you.
Sounds like fun.
I haven't done much skiing in Kitsap County but I did ski down the road to the beach at Illahee State Park a couple times years ago.
I am really missing the ski bus to Crystal this year.
Where are the pictures. 😉
It will warm up and get heavier, but may stay preserved on north facing aspects for a while. At least there is a base now!
Nice - I hit the Othello headwall just behind where this picture was taken as well as BEHI classics McClellan col and Dawson face. I was thinking fish scales would have been the optimal tool for the day - there's rarely a slope worth ripping skins for.
Thanks for the continued reports out there. May get out there for some mellow terrain/tree skiing in between work days this week. Looks fun. Cheers.
Nice! I hiked it in 2016 and it's on my list too.
Did you rent a 4WD vehicle? Is there a way to check road conditions?
Ha! wasn't much to see most of the way, except fog, snow-laden branches and, increasingly, our ski tips.
Any snowfall onto an existing base on Green should make Gold Creek and the other trails skiable. Too bad we did not get that this time?
That happened in 1997, I think, when a double snowstorm collapsed the roofs of the OC Library, an Albertson's, and my in-laws' skylight. A day later I got to ski the Gold Creek trail :-)
Way to not let a global pandemic get in the way of your pleasure travel plans!
I knew there were some other hardy souls over here. Way to enjoy the novelty of seeing the surroundings on ski's!
Yeah, skiing 2 out of 3 years isn't bad for Kitsap. An 8 hour trimming & general improvements session may keep it from becoming another lost ski area?
Perfect trip report if you replace the Drinks with “Snowshoes” Yukon Jack with a float of Schnapps...🤪
Thanks -- I wasn't suggesting to go blindly anywhere. As usual, take the typical precautions. Geesh.
Both sides of the Cascade Crest in this area are steep enough to avalanche and kill you, and it has happened in the past here. Folks should not consider this a low-hazard area, especially given current conditions.
Nice. Looks like a low key place to check out when the avy warning is up -- like the next week!
Looks like good skiing but I'd poop my pants out there alone in these conditions.
Deep slab problems are the classic situation that catches not the first skier, but the third or even the hundredth on a given slope. The only mitigation strategy is avoidance.
Hi Kyle,
Cool TR and photos! Stoked you found all time conditions!
Just curious your thought process in deciding this tour was safe last night? This is also an open question to "The Troll of North Bend" and your other partners (and the others who were skiing the steep and deep the last few days at the pass).
What sort of evidence did you find to dismiss the avalanche professionals' opinion that conditions were dangerous? Here is the avalanche forecast for F...
Good looking line. Thanks for the conditions update and photos!
We felt happy with the route we took; it minimized exposure to avy hazard, but did not eliminate it. The trees are spaced pretty wide in this zone, primarily we stuck to lower angle slopes in the trees.
This is cool. Chops to the Focus + chains. I always had the impression that the approach to Hidden Lake had some overhead hazard, but obviously I know nothing. Happy with the decision you made to go up there in retrospect? Did you travel in trees rather than the summer trail to mitigate? Thanks for any tips
Yeehaw, The Snow Troopers is back! Cool footage, as usual : )
I enjoyed some turns at Hyak on Sunday night (after the lifts closed, and the crowds were battling in the parking lot, but no longer on the slopes : ) and it was pretty fun. About 6" of fresh on groomers with refills coming in hot from the skies and thanks to side winds.
I, too, am hopeful Feb has more in store for us.
Looked great. Way to find something fun and powdery, but still on the low angle side.
Looked like a really fun filled run...Jumping for joy!
Nicely done! Rainier in winter is a true Pacific Northwest mountaineering accomplishment.
For others...one can reverse the climbing route from the the top of Gib Rock (Camp Comfort), then traverse north across the top of the Ingraham to find a place to drop into it. Though less adventurous, it has the advantage of skiing a known line...and in my experience, there is usually plenty of adventure trying to pick a route through the Ingraham Icefall just above Cadaver Gap.
Wow! My experience with Diamond Peak has been late summer only at the Rockpile TH. What I keenly remember is the very long road travel from Oakridge. The places where road 2149 gets close to the mountain is over 4K ft elevation. That elevation is well above the elevation I'd expect the road to be drivable. Snow covered roads start at about 2500 ft in the Mt Hood area.
First, where does one find the cahones to confidently plow a road with a car? Was it really a 4WD truck with a plow bl...
@avajane it’s Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes Washington by Martin Volken & The Guides of Pro Guiding Service. It was really helpful for me in getting oriented to different objective options around the state.
@swartzie appreciate the positive feedback!
Thanks for the good report and pictures. By the look of your track we skied the same run off or Windy Knob the week before. I will follow your track up to Diamond Head soon...What is the “Orange Book” you speak of? I want one!
Thanks for the report!
How to post pics: below the TR there are some tabs. The one that is selected while you are entering the TR text is called 'Body'. A different one is named 'Media'. Selecting that one should bring you to a place you can select 'Img Upload' (likely already selected). The browse button will let you point to the picture in your local file system.
Love seeing the routes, I'm not too familiar with the locations/slang of the skiing spots around here and I'm a visual learner. Great intel.
Thanks for the beta, snowdog1. What a strange season at the Pass this year... so much snowfall, but also getting rained on, and the woods are getting tree-bombed - I'm still hoping for a nice top-to-bottom Kendall run in soft snow (one can dream, right?).
Like your style - every proper Snoqualmie Pass tour ends in DruBru (or other local brew house) 😎
We were out there about 6 hours give or take. We also took our time and my partner was on snowshoes, so could def be done quicker.