TR Replies
Strong work and beautiful photos. Bummer the weather didn't hold out, but never is a bad on the Isolation!
Wow. Let's hope this was a perfect storm and not the new normal.
Some other valley-like glaciers that have diminished a lot in my memory:
Silver Glacier on Mt Spickard
Banded Glacier on Mt Logan
South Cascade Glacier below Sentinel Peak
Lyman Glacier on Chiwawa Mtn
Honeycomb Glacier near Glacier Peak
yes, that was our bikes! We had 2 boot-packing to manage in order to get to Meany Crest, it is steep but the snow was in good conditions.
Definitively enjoyed the day!
Nice report! Did you used the “Coop” series to carve the hard snow? I’ve always wondered how those feather-like skis handle PNW snow. Still mystery to me.🤔
Fun vibe up there - always a good place to have a couple beers and chat. Impressive with the low clearance!
Bummer! We had it almost all to ourselves Tuesday (maybe a dozen hikers, and 1 solo skier). Booted to the top without ‘pons, and had nice, creamy top to (almost) bottom corn. Only some small sun cups at the bottom, which were a minor annoyance. Mid-week is the way to go!
That will be a sad day. I had no idea that the east side was continuous so recently. Do you know of other glaciers in the Cascades that flow into the valley below like this one? Maybe the Chickamin and Middle Cascade? Those are the only ones I can think of outside of the volcanoes.
Some nice moody shots there.
I'm interested to see the continued decline of the McAllister Glacier. The east side of the glacier flowed continuously to the valley below 5200ft in 2005, when I walked the Isolation Traverse. By 2012, the glacier was discontinuous, with a big ice cliff and an avalanche fan below. The gap between the ice cliff and fan has grown since my 2012 ski trip through the area.
When the western side becomes discontinuous it will be a sad day.
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Thanks Mike, another good, entertaining and informative report! Re the ridiculous crowds, I'd guess there was a large amount of overflow from the Teanaway - Blewett Pass shut down due to the ongoing manhunt underway. Check out the Kittitas County Sheriff's website, they've posted a map of the search/closed area.
Maybe it was you guys were passed booting up when we skied the west face that day? It was late, like 7:30 pm however. Fun turns
Rad! We must have just missed you, last week.
@ CarbonJ "More beer, less avy gear!" - ZJ (Summer 2015) 😂
I dig the fanny skimo pack carry !,I generally need a sixer in mine to balance out the light skis.
Thanks for this awesome and unique report. We are very lucky to be skiing right now, Snoqualmie is a special place. Maybe I'll see you up there this week enjoying the rain corn.
Fun to see a bit of a community out there. I ran into pipedream twice and a couple of other Alpental locals that I recognized. There's still a spring season to be had!
Lololol this is hilarious and awful. Were the cars along the road being ticketed?
Hi I think I saw your bikes? Two bikes locked up at the upper end of the parking lot with one set of bike shoes. I was jealous. Biked up from the 'Claw. I never quite know how to ascend to the Fryingpan, to what I think is Meany Crest: the crux is kinds steep n gripping, but traversing looker's right is not a sure thing. Anyhow perfect day!
I think I’m with you on that one. Don’t like that unhappy feeling. Person in front of me slipped and lost both skis even with cramps on. Then I slipped and kept my skis straight which just gave me a longer backwards ride...😳Next time Boot and Ax!
Fun looking turns there, smooth and fast.
Lots of people standing up for their right to *LIVE* at this time. I appreciate the tunes.
As of yesterday the run towards Annette is still worthy, although some rocks are poking out and it's pretty thin.
I've tried that couloir in late season conditions like this, and had a bad time. A big chunk of snowpack (like 40' long) collapsed in one of the constrictions when we stepped on it. If it'd been steeper, it could have been a full-depth glide avalanche. I'm more cautious about melted out features with water running under them now.
No problem! I figured someone would be interested in what the conditions were like up there. I had low expectations and was also just going for the leg workout, but was happy to find a good amount of snow.
Thanks for posting this!
Was trying to figure out the coverage - was hoping to pop up this and call it a great leg workout with some skiing. Course that seems to be the theme of most of my summer ski trips.
Man, I wouldn't have expected anyone going after the Zipper this late, but you never know unless you go, plus I've never done it so who am I to say ... kudos for trying!!
Good on you to salvage the day with Silver - it's been skiing great this spring, for sure, though the Annette Lake side seems to be going quick now, and will prob continue to do so with the upcoming rain. I'm thinking there will be turns to be had on Summer Solstice so hoping to see many friends up there.
Wow, sounds like a hard but fun way to get some turns. Thanks for sharing what things look like at Alpy - been wondering.
Still good out there. I made it up with my Accord no problem although care is needed on the washed out corner. It won't be as good soon. Backside still goes and is worth it. See you all up there.
I have used the Voile Ski Crampons for years. I have learned that on steep terrain- I stop and attach them at the base of a steep climb. We all have learned that putting them on along a deep slope that you are "slipping" is rather unhappy. Some folks say it "slows you down" but I always get there. 😀
Thanks for thoughts/info. I’d like to sometimes be able to use the high step like I do in normal snow all the time as I can climb easier and more efficiently. I’ll think about it more...Making a turn from a low angle track on steep terrain is difficult for me...Not that flexible😳
With ski crampons I generally use the flat or the mid riser and set a low angle track, since that is where the crampons are most effective.
Some crampons like the Fritschi actually have risers on the ski crampon, which I think is pretty cool. On the basic Dynafit ones I have seen people use the two holes in the crampons to attach a thin piece of foam with a zip tie. I always thought this would be annoying on traverses and never tried it, but something to look into.
For me, about a week ago, N and NE was great. If you go early on a hard freeze, prepare like a mountain climber and have lots of pointy things with you, and be prepared to wait for best conditions. Yesterday I did neither...I think, I also need to figure out how to make my ski crampons go deep enough. With me and another group member our pons weren’t engaging at all on high step, and only partially on mid step...Basically I’m still mostly an alpine skier and I don’t have every aspect of this...
Any info on which aspects are still holding good vs bad snow? Thanks hoping to head up there soon
Way to get creative! Parked next to you guys at the hairpin that morning. Hope to see you in the mountains again soon
Hedonaut, very cool to see others have gotten after that line. I researched before hand but could not find any other reports, so I guess I didn't research well enough. We were pretty intimidated, knowing that Sky has skied some gnarly lines. But it's really not too bad, and a sweet line. Hopefully it opens the door to others!
Heck yes that is a neat tour. Well done fellas. Yeah that codger Doug gets around.
re: your blog post and the Kumquat, i expect that gets skied most seasons, probably seen a dozen (or two) descents. i've been down it twice, one of which after nearly getting up the NW face (someone still needs to tag this completely): trip link. It is a prime line, kudos to Sky for the vision.
You've been getting some really cool trips in. Thanks for sharing
Went that way yesterday and we had the whole side of the mountain to ourselves. Easy travel on the glacier, smooth snow. No corn on the Roman wall even at 2 pm, but there was windblown patches of powder and scoured snow that skied fine. Once down the saddle onto the Coleman, the snow turned into great corn. This became a tad sticky at the base of the football field but still skied really great on our run out.
Thanks again, Zap. We had two fun Sunday runs on Tye Mill thanks to you! and parking lot social hour too! Thanks Zap!
Amazing feat, and truly inspiring. Appreciate having this TR here for the future as a potential bucket list item.
Beautiful pix!
That is a sweet route! Very imaginative. I think you can call yourself a skier.