TR Replies
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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!
Based on the red jacket, those pics look like me ;D. Props to Dan for getting some airtime! Noice to bump into you guys.
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.
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.
Kyle throwing some wake.
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...
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...
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
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
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...
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...
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...
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.
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.
Nice meeting you ,Ist picture is Bundy's
2nd run is what we have always called "The Avalanche slope "
3rd run is Charle's Run
To the north of Charles is the area we call "The Golf Course "
2nd run is what we have always called "The Avalanche slope "
3rd run is Charle's Run
To the north of Charles is the area we call "The Golf Course "
We stopped at the second radio tower which, I think, is about 1000 ft. east of the lake. We were going to ski down into the gully north of that radio tower but it was somewhat windswept in there too so we bailed on that idea.
We didn't top the ridge to the north of the lake so I can't tell you much about what might be over there.
We were planning to go to Cascade Powder Cats on Wednesday but I just got an email from Ryan that things are still too thin on the...
We didn't top the ridge to the north of the lake so I can't tell you much about what might be over there.
We were planning to go to Cascade Powder Cats on Wednesday but I just got an email from Ryan that things are still too thin on the...
We were up there watching you ski Bundy's from Mazama. We entered Mazama from very top above the trees. Some side loading in open spots above trees .finally we found a safe spot to drop in and MAzama middle skied wonderfully. No more then 10 tracks on it all day. Such a short day but good. One note still no creek crossing on Paradise river .
We found out the hard way.
We found out the hard way.
Did you get over the ridge north of the lake? We may tour up there in the next couple of days.
And snowball free, too -- I've had Pam recommended to me several times, looks like it's time to finally try it.
Sweet. Thanks for the TR, was wondering how paradise faired with the winds.
Great trip report! That tele skier will probably never know how close he came... One of these days after I finish purchasing all of my AT gear ($$!!) and have stuff suitable for wintering bc skiing in pow (as opposed to hauling my alpine gear up mtns to ski stable corn in the summer!) I'd love to go out with you a few times to help me get more avy savvy.
author=Larry_R link=topic=18482.msg78298#msg78298 date=1292630257]
I’d also like to add that in spite of ‘user group’ disagreements between snowmobilers and skiers, there are some really nice caring snowmobile riders out there. Jane and I met one such fellow, Ron W. from Ronald (just north of Roslyn). He had seen our car early in the morning with all the snow on top, and was worried that there were some skiers up the hill in trouble. He was just starting...
Decker is fun and there are many ski line options....Steeps, tight chutes, finger chutes, this day we chose powder less incline and a longer run...You need good stability for the steeps...
Cheers!
Cheers!
The skiing was fine, but a dozen people crowded into the little trees at the top was a little cramped!
author=altasnob link=topic=18479.msg78318#msg78318 date=1292650794]
Who wants to hold a mogul contest in the slot this weekend? I will build some booters half-way down so we can through some daffies and twister spreads.
My thoughts exactly
Thanks Chris. Gotta walk the walk and practice what you preach..lol!
Who wants to hold a mogul contest in the slot this weekend? I will build some booters half-way down so we can through some daffies and twister spreads.
Very nice video. I luv the Bad Brains I have seen them live 5x. Decker looks epic.
author=Pete A link=topic=18479.msg78300#msg78300 date=1292632219]
five more sets of tracks in the slot this afternoon.... still plenty of soft stuff in there, though getting a wee bit tracked out in the couloir proper.
watch out for occasional hard avy debris hiding under the powder on the lower slot fan...
Make that 8 more sets this afternoon. I agree, the couloir proper is a bit tracked out now but still a blast. The...
Yes a fun place with clear weather and stable avalanche conditions...
I knew there was a slight chance someone would recognize and like "Bad Brains"
Later!
I knew there was a slight chance someone would recognize and like "Bad Brains"
Later!
five more sets of tracks in the slot this afternoon.... still plenty of soft stuff in there, though getting a wee bit tracked out in the couloir proper.
watch out for occasional hard avy debris hiding under the powder on the lower slot fan...
watch out for occasional hard avy debris hiding under the powder on the lower slot fan...
Awesome Larry -- I've been waiting for your first report of the season. Sounds great.
there is no good beer anywhere, women are not pretty,
Now I know this is a decoy: I have personally drank many a fine beer at "The Shrine"; I have a secret crush on one of the waitresses; and the more beer I drink, the prettier she gets. Now if that doesn't spell out good skiing nearby, I don't know how else to convince you...
author=ajjenkin link=topic=18479.msg78292#msg78292 date=1292622018]
Those who were in it today care to share how it skied?
we skied the slot yesterday and it was phenomenal. it was ski cut thoroughly by the pair ahead of us which was nice for us. only minor and manageable soft slab at the entrance where it rolls over, as expected, with a rough shear. the run down the slot apron was in the top five all-time for me and the phan...
Hm, we were out this morning too and decided to stay away from that particular slope and it's shady forest due to an abundance of "hummocks", "mounds", and various other "ground" features coming to the surface. At least this was what was found last Friday while skiing the Slot followed by a descent back down the Phantom from the Slot entrance (we booted all the way back up the Slot cause it had slid near-to-ground, thus making booting easy and safe, and the bo...
Hi Silas! We must have just missed you this morning.
Great skiing on recycled pow below ridgeline on Mont Snoqualmie, overlooking the mighty Valle du Alpental. Now, if those pesky cliff bands would hurry up and fill in, it would make the lower skin much less taxing!
Let's hear it for bluebird + powder.
Great skiing on recycled pow below ridgeline on Mont Snoqualmie, overlooking the mighty Valle du Alpental. Now, if those pesky cliff bands would hurry up and fill in, it would make the lower skin much less taxing!
Let's hear it for bluebird + powder.
Nice Silas... hoping to break in the "new knee" next week. With any luck we can get out sometime in January.
I well recall that death on Stoneman a couple years back in large part because conditions that day seemed prett damn normal as in "some new, not to much, a bit of time for it to settle, possibility of avi's very slim". It was really, really surprising.
So much terrain gets skied around the Baker front country in all conditions with very, very few accidents it's easy to get in the mindset that it's just not going to happen.
So much terrain gets skied around the Baker front country in all conditions with very, very few accidents it's easy to get in the mindset that it's just not going to happen.
It's amazing how a few excellent images can tell the story. Very nice turns. ;)
That looks like great fun.....I'm jealous.
I knew it was going to bee good ! Glad you got it . :)
Blackcomb backcountry is pretty epic when it's clear. Looks like a great day. I dig the bad brains song.
author=Mofro link=topic=18458.msg78231#msg78231 date=1292540412]
Given the amount of water I saw pouring off on Sunday, how did the exit drainage treat you?
We actually managed to skin all the way up - first time I've ever done that, then exited via a gully I've never skied before. I'm sure that folks that head there often will have no trouble doing either one.