TR Replies

Cooler than a moose & twice as hairy! Thanks for a TR in the old school style with a series of great photos.

3/19/13 10:55pm

ski_photomatt

3/19/13 2:43pm

glenn_b

author=jhamaker link=topic=27875.msg117712#msg117712 date=1363751411]
Do you think you could shave off a day by going the other direction, or would skinning the steep pitches (instead of skiing them) just involve too many swithcbacks and, as a result, loose too much time?

A buddy and I skied this from east to west in Spring 1982 with 3 nights out, a bivy on the pavement at the Hwy 123/Sunrise Rd junction, NPS lodgings above the Sunrise visito...

3/19/13 1:38pm

jhamaker

Do you think you could shave off a day by going the other direction, or would skinning the steep pitches (instead of skiing them) just involve too many swithcbacks and, as a result, loose too much time?

3/19/13 12:50pm

JibberD

Super cool, Kam.

Hadn't seen a report from you in some time and was wondering if you're still around.

Great to see this... wherever it is.

3/19/13 12:27pm

silaswild

Nice weather. Thought of you as I tested the latest iteration of KWild skis, hope yours caught up with you and are sharing the fun.

3/19/13 11:35am

Marcus

I think I see your house.

3/19/13 10:06am

wolfs

Even DURING Sunday the skin tracks were disappearing partially in spots that were particularly windy -- filling to the 8" deep brim in the less than 45 minutes it took between laps. Was a good illustration of the rate of wind transport vs falling snow.

I never made it over to the typical clearcut/oldgrowth side and was lapping some of the western runs that people typically use as the exit shots. The best run in fact was the straightshot from just below the basin with the old chai...

3/19/13 5:54am

GregLange

Are you sure that's not Mt. Rose behind you? NICE TOUR, Kam!!

3/19/13 5:50am

Scotsman

Svalbard or Lofoten/Norway?

3/19/13 5:17am

AlpineRose

No sign of the trail broken by Sunday's skiers. Too much new, plus wind deposition. Trail breaking was quite arduous for our party of 5, until one of our party's skins fell off and got completely lost in the snow. He had to dig around quite a while before he found it. That tells you how deeeeep it was. While we were searching, a strong party of 7(!) from Leavenworth caught up. Then our trailbreaking chores were over for the day.

3/19/13 5:10am

freeskier

March 17, 2013, Jove environs, Stevens Pass powder

Gotta say, trips and reports like this is what made me want to get into this activity. Thanks for the fantastic write-up, the stunning photography and the inspiration.

3/19/13 1:23am

alpenho

Snoqualmie Pass 03.17.13

Great to meet you guys, was a superb day... We did also encounter some temporal-spacial variegation in snowpack stability on our outing, notably ripped a similar sized slab (as in your photo) on a S-facing roll-over where the wind was pouring out of Gem Lake and noticed some smaller crowns on our last descent down to Snow Lk. In contrast to what seemed pretty bomber stability the rest of the day in different locales...

funny that:

3/18/13 12:52pm

Gregg_C

Maybe Greg will post some pics..........

Ann shows the boys how to get to work with the long first pull up the road

Ann back in the pace line

Our inspired leader consults his trip...

3/18/13 12:17pm

DCM

Well, now I know why it took so long for people to catch us! :) Quite the good day. I've never seen so much wind affected snow up there. The south facing stuff was quite nice though, especially since I didn't have to break that trail back up.

3/18/13 4:33am

cchapin

LOL!!! Hahahah, that's awesome, thanks for sharing.

This post would not have been possible without the guidance from 'ron j' :)

3/18/13 4:02am

jwplotz

Quite the vigorous trip with cool photos. Too bad you weren't able to ski Colchuck's NE Couloir in its entirety. The upper headwall above that small cliffband is some exhilarating skiing.

3/18/13 3:40am

patrick

Wow - that's some advanced skinning technique. We were the second party on the skin track, and we wondered what kind of person drops a layer 15 feet from the parking lot. A smarter person than me, apparently. In a credit to our own cleverness and underhandedness, a well-timed water break kept us from catching the first party before the summit.
We found incredibly light powder for our first couple laps, after which about 15 minutes of sunlight noticeably dampene...

3/18/13 3:19am

trees4me

bikes or no bikes, it's always a crazy day when you have skis on the middle fork! Nice job actually getting some fun turns in, that's not easy.

Snow level at 2500' is good to know, thanks

3/18/13 3:11am

chmnyboy

I'm so happy I had to be at work so that you could use my sleeping bag. That really worked out for one of us...

Sweet trip though!

3/18/13 2:21am

radka

Sorry, I don't have a picture of Chris digging out the crapper, but I have a picture of Chris fumbelin' with the wind on the ridge

and fumbelin' with the snow:

3/18/13 2:11am

Vince Lamphier

The Stuart Range has got to the most dramatic mountains in the Cascades. Very cool guys! I love the photography! It's now in my crosshairs. Thanks!!

3/17/13 11:35pm

Oyvind_Henningsen

Mar 9, 2013, The Triad, Kumquat + NW face attempt

awesome you guys !!

3/17/13 11:24pm

JoshK

Awesome. That area is so so sweet!

3/17/13 6:15pm

bencgreg

Very inspiring TR and photos! Thats a dream trip for sure, you guys nailed it!

3/17/13 2:35pm

Gregg_C

Great pictures of a wonderful trip. I really enjoyed these. Clap, Clap, Bravo, Clap, Clap

3/17/13 1:25pm

Forest McBrian

Adventure! Thanks for the report, guys. Fine work as usual.

3/17/13 1:00pm

lrudholm

I'm using this as my dream trip guide.

3/17/13 12:53pm

hefeweizen

Brilliant work nailing some premium lines in Das Enchantments! Nice photos too.

3/17/13 12:37pm

andyski

March 9and10, 2013, Suprise lake

AWESOME. Excellent TR and photos.

3/17/13 9:20am

alecapone

Nice back to back trips! Love that area.

Think we seen you at the car one eve when it was raining. Thought the exit must have been a bit moist.

3/16/13 11:30pm

alecapone

Yeah buddy!

Thats rockin trip!

3/16/13 11:15pm

Rowan Stewart

Wow, looks like the conditions were just about as good as you could ask for. Nice work slaying so many sick lines in one trip. Truly inspiring.

3/16/13 3:43pm

freeskier

author=RonL link=topic=27926.msg117503#msg117503 date=1363465601]
Great! I love it when the mid fork gets some attention. Believe it or not, Bessemer even appears in a handful of guide books for skiing (usually old ones). It was probably more popular with the skinny skis. If that only got you interested in the peculiarities of this terrain then look into the green ridge lake trail or Dingford. Plenty of miserable approaches for marginal gains but also some uni...

3/16/13 2:56pm

Jason_H.

May as well add my version of events. Enjoy! http://cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/rainier/osceolatraverse/osceolatraverse2013/OT2013.htm

3/16/13 11:14am

GregLange

Also appreciated your portend-of-summer-to-come approach transpo with the bikes! Multi-tasking on the fitness front! Nice bag, gents!!

3/16/13 9:34am

chrism

Wow, way to nail a bunch of great lines in one go. Inspiring.

3/16/13 8:47am

kevino

March 15, 2013, Crystal Backcountry

Killer trip in one of my favorite areas.

Where is the snowline on the road?

3/16/13 6:35am

all mtn

- excellent pics

3/16/13 6:26am

RonL

March 8-10, Hurricane Ridge to Deer Park Traverse

Great! I love it when the mid fork gets some attention. Believe it or not, Bessemer even appears in a handful of guide books for skiing (usually old ones). It was probably more popular with the skinny skis. If that only got you interested in the peculiarities of this terrain then look into the green ridge lake trail or Dingford. Plenty of miserable approaches for marginal gains but also some unique experiences like skiing thru hemlock groves and some fun cols hide in there.

3/16/13 5:26am

jhamaker

I *love* that traverse!

3/16/13 5:23am

Andrew Carey

... and what are those tracks (prints) in the summit photo? Look big.

3/16/13 4:34am

Marcus

What a trip! Nice work -- that picture of Stuart's north side has me drooling for warm summer granite...

3/16/13 3:41am

Fall City Brian

What?? No invite? Great report bro and well written. My Santa Cruz would have loved it!

3/16/13 3:28am

John Morrow

Long Live the Common Man!
Sweet,
Now I know who to call for partnering up on a sufferfest!
Well done

3/16/13 2:48am

cumulus

March 15, 2013, Crystal Backcountry

What next? Mt. Si? I don't think it's been skied... ;)

nice one! good mix of self propelled motion. could prob skip the car altogether and just do this straight out of North Bend...

3/16/13 2:08am

cumulus

Megan looks like a ripper--great form!

Sunday's looking good again...

3/16/13 2:05am

Marcus

Awesome -- nice work! The Middle Fork always delivers, as someone said to me. Sometimes it just delivers suffering.

3/16/13 1:56am

freeskier