TR Replies

Passenger, thanks for coming back and presenting your observations without the personal attacks. If we can all stick to that, and give each other the benefit of the doubt in these conversations, that would be great. Guessing at others' experience and motivations isn't going to help.

We've all got different degrees of risk tolerance and there's a lot to learn from discussing individual approaches.

12/21/10 3:25am

johnspeth

author=Snowolf link=topic=18494.msg78561#msg78561 date=1292938911]
Obviously having a partner or partners is the best, safest way to go, it is not always possible. A solo skier or rider with common senses can be infinitely safer than a pack of idiots.

Amen, Snowolf. Another great tidbit. Words to live by (literally). Group influence on decision making leading to even the slightest seemingly inconsequential decision can lead to...

12/21/10 3:24am

TeleMurray

Great report Snowolf! I've been watching their expansion plans and finally realized expansion for some time. This is the first opportunity I've had to actually see some of the terrain (other than gazing longingly from the top of Great White :)). Your report confirms what I had expected, maybe just a tad disappointed about the lack of steeps inbounds, but moderate glades are pretty fun too. White Pass gets great snow and the ski side lodging is great - hoping to get up there as so...

12/21/10 3:17am

johnspeth

author=pcg link=topic=18494.msg78525#msg78525 date=1292896768]
I think most savvy folk do read the NWAC posts, but what if he didn't that day? Frankly I would rather have the skills to analyze snow and make tests, and practice them frequently, than become dependant on NWAC reports and making decisions based on that. What if the report says avy danger is low and there are isolated areas where it's high or extreme? How are you going to know if you d...

12/21/10 3:11am

Passenger

I would like to apologize to Snowolf and anyone else that was offended by the tone of my earlier post. My only excuse is that his TR happened to coincide with my thinking about several recent avalanche incidents and seemed to encapsulate many of the things that I feel are wrong with how people consider the backcountry. What I am about to say is not a personal attack on Snowolf, just one skier’s thoughts on staying alive. You are free to disagree.

The popular safety m...

12/21/10 3:08am

dave_perkins

Thanks for the TR Ryan. It was nice to get out with all of you.

12/21/10 2:27am

Marcus

Appreciate the update Snowolf, thanks for the extra info. Thanks for your reasoned response to Passenger, as well.

12/21/10 2:08am

Scotsman

Very Nice...... First descent by a glove and pole without human???

12/21/10 1:58am

chadgmiller

Nice seeing you Ryan. Gus had a blast in the Slot and decided to drop it twice. The steeper the pitch the more he likes it as deep & mellow are a wallow fest for him. Once I find my camera's cable I'll post a few pics . . .

12/21/10 1:53am

filbo

Snowolf it was a shame to see the flame and lame response to your well produced report with some nice fotos. Welcome to the board and just let me say that here people are courteous and polite as well as experienced and savy in the world of skiing in the wild.

About the WP expansion I am hoping that because the Crest Trail passes through the boundary that access to it will always stay open despite the number of sad and unfortunate incidents. Also if there have been...

12/21/10 1:39am

Stugie

Bummed for you Dave. I saw the pics of your ski and shed a tear. On the upside, you get to go ski shopping! ;)

12/21/10 1:23am

davidG

Thanks for the report, Snowolf. We all had a chat here last year over the likely consequences of the lift expansion as it relates to side country access, and it appears the concerns are starting to come home to roost. Also, I posted in the lift assisted section last week about WP conditions only to mention about the 'bermuda triangle' zone in the expansion area, which has been responsible for some of the missing (but safely found) skiers. It is now only a matter of time before what...

12/21/10 1:15am

Stugie

Love the cornice stomping. Awesome. Looks like good views and good snow. Nice.

12/21/10 1:12am

Snowolf

Deleted

12/20/10 9:41pm

jesski

Dec 5, 2010, Cowboy Ridge, Whistler backcountry

Juice: maybe you could tell us which headlamp you settled on, per that one guy's request, above? I did notice yours was quite bright.

12/20/10 3:32pm

Atraslin

I hear ya with the interrogation.Especially when everything is nicely packed away
in your pack.I remember paying $25 for a one way ticket and that was too much.

12/20/10 2:48pm

Gary_H

December 18, 2010, Paradise, Bundys

Good report Michael,
Glad you guys are getting out and enjoying the early part of what looks to be shaping up to be a great season.
Hopefully our tracks will cross as the snowpack deepens. :)

Gary

12/20/10 1:25pm

Pierce

author=acarey link=topic=18520.msg78533#msg78533 date=1292900117]
We had 50-70 mph winds Friday night; a big old-growth tree fell across the road to Paradise not 1/4 mile from the entrance station--right where you can see the Nisqually; park guys cut up the tree and threw the bole and root wad into the river. I have no idea whether or not there were additional trees across the road. You must have seen some of the carnage from Tahoma Woods to the Park, too. ...

12/20/10 11:16am

Andrew Carey

author=Pierce link=topic=18520.msg78421#msg78421 date=1292797753]
... We arrive around 830 to find out the road to paradise wouldnt open til 11. I'm kicking myself for not getting more sleep and frustrated cause I cant understand why the road is not open, how long does it take to clear 3inches of snow? (there weren't down trees).

We had 50-70 mph winds Friday night; a big old-growth tree fell across the road to Paradis...

12/20/10 10:55am

Robie

Rusty ,You sure are alert to catch that it was Ron and Mad dog.Thier disguises threw me off.
not a big fan of helmet cams but the brew cam footage was great!

12/20/10 10:49am

pcg

author=Passenger link=topic=18494.msg78509#msg78509 date=1292889473]
Dear Snowolf:

let's say you really are an "avy savvy" splitboarder with a plan to 'drop in' in the backcountry at White Pass....

because of your training and expertise - you know that you should always check the NWAC avalanche report for the latest conditions before heading out...you also know it's important to carry a map and compass;

12/20/10 9:59am

kane2183

I have fought hard to not reply to this all day. I am a WP regular and have been for years. I am also a frequent BC skier and last year for example I was probably skiing the Hogback area more than inbounds every weekend (P.S. before I get the TGR style "oh, yeah, slack country is not really experience in the BC -- STOP) I have plenty of true BC experience multi day big trip etc (so be cool) . I had a very serious conversation with ski patrol last year about the "...

12/20/10 8:50am

BrandonH

The boundary policy may seem relaxed for now, but I suspect it will become more controlled as the season goes on. White Pass is a big ski area now with backcountry hazards similar to place like Baker. I think they could learn a lot from the boundary policy baker has implemented.

As of now I'm not sure White has even put a rope line along the entire boundary in the Paradise basin area. From the White Pass website. "14 individuals have been lost out-of-bounds in the past 11...

12/20/10 8:27am

Marcus

Passenger,

Please review the Terms of Use again. You can disagree with his choices without being rude and, as a bonus, he'd probably be far more likely to listen to you if you have some good points.

12/20/10 8:26am

Passenger

December 16, 2010, Snoqualmie Pass, Slot Couloir

Dear Snowolf:

let's say you really are an "avy savvy" splitboarder with a plan to 'drop in' in the backcountry at White Pass....

because of your training and expertise - on display and drenched in jargon for all the world to read in your Turns All Year TR posted 12/16/10 - you know that you should always check the NWAC avalanche report for the latest conditions before heading out...you also know it's important to carry a map and compass; or at...

12/20/10 7:57am

Clarence

We saw you guys start up the Phantom while we were in the parking lot, but we decided to catch first chair at Alpental for an epic powder run down International before hitting the skin track. Thanks for the ski cuts in the Slot, we probably wouldn't have skied it if you guys hadn't done that... The skiing on the apron below the slot was amazing! We were unaware of an alternative exit, so we took the standard gully. There was some loose snow sluffs, but the wind...

12/20/10 6:40am

Marcus

Thanks for trimming it a bit Jeri, but as I said, really not an issue at this time. Feel free to put some more of your highlights back in, if you want.

12/20/10 4:25am

jeri534

dont want to step on any toes on my first post., so updated it with 3 pics, and a link to the rest of them in my photobucket album

12/20/10 4:21am

Marcus

The current photo policy isn't being enforced.

I've been kicking around a number of changes to it and, in the meantime, still would encourage folks to cherry pick the best photos they have instead of posting up the content of the camera from the day. That said, we're not running through people's post and yanking out excess photos at this time.

Thanks for the TR, jeri -- welcome to TAY. Glad you had such gorgeous weather for your Avy 1.

12/20/10 4:16am

ErikT

December 18, 2010, Skyline Ridge

haven't been reading here for too long, but I heard there used to be a max for number of pictures. Maybe because I'm on a fast connection at work, but I'm glad these all got posted. Stunning... beautiful. It's other worldly up there when it's blue-bird!

12/20/10 3:58am

Pete A

north aspects off Heather Ridge skied really nicely on sunday...occasionally in thick trees the rain crust would show up, but keeping out in the more open areas, the snow was consistently light calf-deep powder. Could use a bit more snow up there to cover up the multitude of tracks, but still plenty of space to get untracked lines if you hunt around a bit.

12/20/10 2:00am

Marcus

Skiing with your face again, Silas? Great pictures Kaj...

12/20/10 1:44am

haggis

We were on Catherine and same findings as Silver. Thought I'd picked a clever spot to tour but alas.

Nice battle scar Silas!

12/20/10 1:23am

Rusty Knees

Great video you guys. Also, nice to see Ron & Jeanette do a cameo appearance right there at the end of the video, too ;>)

12/20/10 12:58am

dkoelle

Ollalie to Silver Peak basin was not very good on Sunday. Ollalie itself was a wind-blasted mess, with alternating areas of scoured rain crust and powder niches. The upper basin quickly got very bottomless and a bit scary at the steep rolls due I guess to wind transport. The lower basin as usual was the best of the bunch but even there it was pretty wind-damaged. Still a nice day out.

12/20/10 12:06am

KajBune

Dec 18, 2010, Crystal backcountry

Good to get out with you Seelaaaassss...let's do it again soon.

12/19/10 2:32pm

jcocci

Yeah that's Preston. Good running into you. Glad you guys had a good day.

12/19/10 1:15pm

Splitter

Nice to meet you Silas, thanks for sharing the fluff. We entered the W facing open slopes at about 5400, well below the ridgeline. Slight wind affect at surface, other wise 20 - 24 inches of nice gradually increasing density down to the crust. Extremely good bond to the rain crust, column collapsed before any shear. Great day with sun, views and good snow.

12/19/10 1:14pm

airpoppoff

Good to see some some WP TR's Excellent writing and pictures.

Unfortunately patrol has had a terrible time keeping people in bounds. 14 people so far have been lost and 6 of them ended up walking 15 miles down to clear lake (seriously? how does that happen???)

All of the new terrain is pretty mellow but the short traverse out west will get you face shots til 3 in the afternoon which is nice when you clock up almost 15000' in 3 and a half hours. ;D

12/19/10 12:19pm

Robie

Most of the place/run names around paradise we use today were put there by current generation skiers. To name a few Ed Straus,Gary Vogt ,Ron Jarvis ,Dorothea Driggers,Andy and Regine I'd really be curious to hear the the same places names by skiers from the 20s 30s 40s 50s etc.
Devil's Dip comes to mind as a very Old name. Perhaps Lowell Skoog has more info.
Gary Vogt has what we call the Rosetta stone map he put together which shows most of the names.

12/19/10 11:55am

David_Coleman

Dec 18, 2010, Crystal backcountry

Yeah, was a good team effort considering I wasn't expecting a moonlight tour at the end. Then, to have my ski fly out of the Thule box on the freeway on the way home certainly capped the day. 2010 you will go down as one of the worst years ever for me, sorry to say!

12/19/10 11:29am

prestonf

Based on the red jacket, those pics look like me ;D. Props to Dan for getting some airtime! Noice to bump into you guys.

12/19/10 11:24am

haggis

Dec 18, 2010, Crystal backcountry

We had a trip yesterday on a North facing treed slope they yielded nothing like those nice turns. We were at 4700ft and picked the wrong spot by the sounds of it.

12/19/10 11:16am

Stugie

Word. Friday around in Xtal's eastern BC the winds got pretty strong. Lots of windslab developing. By Sunday morning the winds had died down a bit and we didn't get more until after noon. Pretty good days out. Here's a few more pics:

^{Kyle throwing some wake.}

12/19/10 11:08am

Charlie Hagedorn

December 18, 2010, Skyline Ridge

Surprised I didn't see you guys, but didn't see anyone, nor tracks, all day.

Saw the same 6-12" on bomber crust.

Windslab forming along ridgetops, but extent off the ridgetop was surprisingly short. Backward cornices gave easy shears, but never better than Q2. Sweet sloughing turns on my first lap led to a second lap's center-punch of a slope I'd been expecting to avoid.

Turns to the car were surprisingly good. Thin sun crust building o...

12/19/10 10:14am

snoholic

After skiing the area on Sunday, I ran up to moonlight bowl for a sunset lap. Found pockets of boot top bliss surrounded by wind affected snow. With more daylight or moonlight (it was to cloudy) there would have been plenty of good lines to be had.

Telemack, I will also be touring around the Stevens environs the next few days. Shoot me a p.m. if you want another partner or two.

Zack

12/19/10 9:07am

Pierce

December 18, 2010, Paradise, Bundys

author=ovrthhills link=topic=18509.msg78392#msg78392 date=1292746590]
From there we contoured NE, following a skin track and crossing another creek, to the smooth ridge known by some as Bundy's.

Must have been our skin tracks, I didnt know we skied Bundy's yesterday till Robie enlightened me. It was a great run, long with a variety of terrain to ski. Did you stop at the end of the skin track or did you continue...

12/19/10 9:05am

TheJuice

You're welcome for the batteries- I pack extras for just this reason :). Dunno what to tell you about why your batteries seem to be burning down so quickly- Lithium polymer cells are supposed to be better-rated for cold temperature, high-output applications than regular alkalines. You're not using lithium-ion cells?

You're right, some of the best visibility and turns on the day came after dark as we descended down into the source lake basin! ...tho of course, this sa...

12/19/10 7:36am

Pierce

Thanks Robie, Nice to meet you as well.

For some reason I thought Bundy's was a steeper line to the lookers left (not in the photo), that emptied into the road. Learn something new every day.

12/19/10 7:11am

Robie