TR Replies
Thanks for the report and track. How long might that tour normally take?
Rad. hope that puppers got a good victory bone for that one...I have done some big days with my doggo and the bond that forms on days like that is indescribable for me. Id love to know what is going on in my dogs head when we go on big mountain missions. Thats a good boy Charlie
also..."ski mountaineering is most enjoyable when it´s more art than science" good to...
@gerryh it would actually be pretty good with the right snow. I think an ideal day would be to ski the South-West face from the top and traverse skiers left back to the trees, where you could meet the up-track. Otherwise skiing the ridge back down to the up-track would still be enjoyable.
Great report, adventure. Since I'm looking for a new furry buddy, Charley & Marly have put a yellow lab at the front of the list. For less spicy adventure, would descending in the vicinity of your up track be as fun? Cheers!
Cool TR, ,Looked at north and west aspects for a while, great job, Video with charlie getting ear shots is great!
@joa: Charlie is a yellow lab, but people always think he´s mixed due to his unusual color and huge paws!
@kamtron: Sorry, no GPS track, I´m old school. Our route definitely seems preferable to going up Rampart and traversing the whole ridgeline, although that could be nice on a clear day.
@ski_photomatt: That´s the one! Thanks for the stoke. I would agree that ski mountaineering is most enjoyable when it´s more art than science.
Fantastic effort and adventure! Brings back memories. Before posting a GPS track, I'd ask you to reflect on how your overall experience on this trip would have changed if you had a detailed route description (or skin track) to follow. My experience 12 years ago was certainly enhanced by the complete lack of knowledge about a viable ski route, as I'd guess yours was too, based on your report.
Nice trip report and dog. Is that a Goldador? Ours (5 years) looks just like Charlie and she loves to go on ski tours. Maybe they are siblings?
Very cool, @pete-a! We appreciated that report for sure. And yes, next time we'd probably spend more days back there - there's a lot to ski!
Gnarly gnar bar doggie dar! Good thing his pawz didn't get too frozen in all those creek crossings.
I've wanted to check that out in winter, maybe do a big horseshoe loop back through Alaska & Kendall... probably not as a day trip, though!
It would be cool to see a track of how you gained Alta from Gold creek, I was contemplating going over Rampart ridge but it sounds like you found a direct way?
Awesome trip! Sounds like fun :) Way to get after it.
yup, that was me and my wife and a few of our buddies - hopefully the TR helped. Unfortunately it looks like my old TR was a victim of losing some info when TAY upgraded to thew new platform - a chunk of the report text disappeared (it was about the second chute we skied), and just about all the photo links are now broke. At least some of the trip report survived making it onto the new TAY platform.
@pete-a - We read a trip report from '07, maybe that was you?
@eatskisleep, yes, I believe the first creek crossing photo is the one from 3700´ on the SW face, although there were a couple others like it on the way out Gold Creek! Not sure what elevation we started contouring, but it´s a pretty clean break between a big, wide-open slope with a moderate...
Hell yeah! Looks like a great adventure and some sick pow 😍 Nice work!!
Dang! Super solid effort, especially for Charlie! That first creek crossing photo looks spicy, is that the one at 3700 you mention? Also, do you know what elevation you started contouring north, above the west couloir?
Beautiful couloir!
@kamtron - Purple would look good on you.
Really neat trip and photos. I like the purple color scheme you've got going on! 💜
Preacher as a day trip! wow! strong work. This TR makes me feel old :) its been fourteen years since i was back there - we did it as a three-day trip, one day just to get to Lake Caroline and camp, then a full day to hit two of the chutes back there, and then the ski back out on day three.
Sick!!! Wanted to ski that one for a long time but I could never motivate for the day trip! Strong work.
That's one heck of a long day, and quite the adventure to ski what was probably terrible snow back to Source Lake, especially in darkness. Thanks for sharing.
We followed your booter up later in the day, but came over via bryant. So much fun. Corn!
Amazing amazing feat, guys! This has been on my bucket list for far too long... bookmarking this TR, and who knows, maybe one day : )
Thanks for the inspiration - keep the amazing TR's coming.
There is a facebook group Im a member of called the Tronson Trails ski team - or something like that. Work groups get formed. Ski posts made...
I know this as the Upper Tronson Road. I’ll attach a map.
@moco - You got it. Here's our track. I recorded the start of the ski, all the way back to the Nordic Center
Well-done. I'm trying to figure out exactly how you returned to the Nordic Center... are you saying you traversed west above the whitepine drainage, and then climbed 2k feet or so to the notch / col due south of Lanham, and then skied down to the lake and out?
tech crampons both AT boot toes?
Seriously? A saw strapped on your ski pack? Photos please, that would be a PNW classic.
@timgibson11 - No - it's a trek going that way. Rather, a fun alternative would be to leave a car at Stevens Pass and skin/ski to the backside chairlifts! You just have to make sure you get there by last chair.
If you were to do it again would you recommend leaving a car at Cascade Meadows and exiting that way?
Enjoyed your descent narrative. That's a surprisingly sweet run.
Lane, that is indeed Chair! It sure is a badass mountain.
r1de, yup we had a car at exit 47
omg that is a long pull; it's long enough from the parking lot to the lake in the summer, let alone adding however many miles of road you had to add into the mix. And having miserable skiing conditions I guess is the cherry on the cake.
Great photos! Way to make something out of what you had that day! Obviously well prepared for everything encountered...
Great to see you getting after it. Nice to have the young,fast guys, check out places like that. Ive never been to Colchuck in the winter, and have seldom heard good reports about the trudge. I would like to do it sometime, with a fat base and new snow. SP was good today!
The long slog up the road. I am but a simple peasant without a snowmobile.
Had considered the traverse given avalanche conditions, but we opted not to due to high probability of terrible ski conditions. Definitely made the right call. Both aasgard and Colchuck had massive slides that ran almost the entirety of the slopes.
Road and parking lot were completely snow/ice free. the road had a few big potholes, but nothing to slow down about.
Outstanding description, photos and superb illustrations. Congratulations on your accomplishment!
Tell me you left a car at exit 47 to do this loop. 😂