TR Replies

Hey Jacob! Thanks dude, I'm fired up from doing that link but I might be done for the year now 😅 . Gonna stick to sport climbing haha. There is less moving snow to worry about, generally.

I agree there are no right answers and everyone is allowed to have their own opinions.

Does anyone want to buy some skis?

Sweet! Looked at your site. That Nason ridge looks tasty, eh?

Nice work Jack!!! I appreciated your snow safety insights, I think you made solid choices given the day. Snow safety is hard because everyone has different risk tolerance and perspectives. There is no signal "right" answer I think..

Kam, I think you make a good point, I was totally shaken by Mikes ride. We went back today to have another look,I guess what I would say as an after action review, is make sure you fully understand the terrain you are about to descend into. We had skied that line a few days before. We gave it a cursory look, and had a great run, no problems. We definitely failed to carefully evaluate the hazards, there are many! We stole the apple that day, two days later Mike narrowly escaped a very dangerou...

It is dangerous to assume with certainty that nobody is below. There are some *very* fast dawn-patrollers who ski routes like the Slot and people on clever routes can appear from anywhere.

My sentiment has changed significantly in the past couple of years, particularly at Snoqualmie Pass. I am no longer certain that nobody is above me or below me, even in the loneliest places. I have been surprised to find tracks appear above me when I'm breaking trail into apparently-empty cirques. W...

Glad you are ok Mike!!

 "The last time I was involved in an avalanche accident was in 1997, roughly 1650 ski days ago."

To me, this says a lot. I've had close calls with avalanches over the years. While I'm not proud of that by any means it's the product of a life spent in the mountains. It's the exposure factor. Stay vigilant and keep doing your thing. You are as safe and solid as they c...

I appreciate the reflection Mike and aliwill. Makes me consider wearing a helmet for 100%. Glad you both and those hot pink skis made it out unscathed. 

Obviously I was shaken by this as well—though considerably less so, as I was tucked into a safe location during the whole thing and quick communication within our team allowed me to know you were upright and uninjured right away. But I also learned more this weekend than I have in my last two or three years of ski touring combined. I treasure the opportunity to ski with people who are thorough and thoughtful in their ski choices, with the skills to address and then learn from most situations....

@Kam, I can see how the advice that I was giving could be interpreted wrong, sorry! Yeah it is definitely a ski run and can 100% be skied safely, granted there is no one below you. I think the runs/ chutes to the left are fun so that's why I suggested them as an alternative.

The group of four above us were standing on top of a cornice and breaking off pieces of it when I yelled up at them to stop. I agree with you, messing around with cornices when there is a chance for people to be b...

@Daniel, the slope you are standing above is the way I've skied in. It is above an icy spine area that you traverse above and requires excellent stability and coverage. The other stuff you see is very narrow.

@Jack, having people drop in on you while you're at the top of that exit slope is terrible form from the group. Still, I do think it's fine to ski down that way so long as nobody is below you. I really don't think people should be messing with the cornices there unless they are d...

Appreciate you, Mike. And don’t get it twisted, people that have the privilege to travel with you in the mountains are both safer and having a better time because of you!!!

Thanks Pavel, it feels to me like a duty to community to share this. Took awhile to settle enough to write it, but I didn't have any issue doing so. Although my pride is completely shattered. Until Saturday, in my mind you are safer if you ski with me, but it turns out I can get you killed. Man that is a hard reality.

Thanks Kam, Yeah, totally. If this was the first time I'd skied this spot, maybe I would have thought through the problem better, but I've been here many...

Big day of hard work and (sounds like) some great turns - well done. Bookmarking this one for sure as I am yet to brave the Crystal traffic this season ... perhaps will snatch a good-weather mid-week day a bit later when we get more daylight. Thanks for the inspiro.

Thanks for the continued updates.  Looks fun after sniffing out where were the goods.

Great trip report.  Sounds like a big day.  With the exception of Pickhandle I’ve skied all those spots, putting them together in a larger traverse is cool.

I can’t wait for it to really get good. We need more base, and then we need a cold storm to make that Wenatchee Mountain Powder. The terrain and properly spaced trees are already there.

Thanks for the extra info - would love to make it over there this season.

Fresh snow the last couple of days, made for nice turns from 4,000’ to 4,800’ all across the Basin. Deep enough for touring lower angled meadows with small rock and dirt base. It was still soft at the end of the day, but it was warming. My guess is that spots that haven't seen any sun will still be good tomorrow morning. If there isn't a snow refresh Friday night, soft conditions will not last for long.

Nice Tim. Liked the decisive weasel/marten encounter!

Just want to add that we were in the trees below Guye on Sunday (no log crossing btw...) and I felt rather uncomfortable and kept a watchful eye above us... lots of steep, often hidden overhead avi potential there--somewhat akin to the ridge above the Kendall glades.
Because of that I would not recommend it as an alternative to the Kendall trees...especially not on high avi days which is when a lot of skiers go to Kendall tre...

Gnarly route to solo

I skied that once, in waist-deep but stable conditions. I dropped in after a few others had skied and tucked away right. It was so deep that my Dynafit radicals prereleased with my ski buried in the snow. I came to a stop and had to tunnel uphill and probe for the missing ski using my ski pole. Fun times.

Dang, great workout. Can you share any stability observations? Curious what the snowpack is doing as it keeps getting added onto. Thank you!

Tim Helmstadter!

I just chickened out today. NW Avy forecast spoke too directly to me this morning.  

Avy Danger High

Large avalanches as low as 4500’

Potential wind issues creating slabs

Lots more snow load

Potential for overhead danger from dry point avalanches on steeper terrain 

Also alone, instead of with a Avy Pro with a really good kick turn😄

The pickles make the trip! And next time I definitely need to bring more beer, some group members forgot their 11 essentials 🤦 😜

Tomorrow I come back with the Hellbents! We just had the wrong skis. It was frustrating to have that much good snow be almost unskiable because of depth, but it was beautiful up high.