TR Replies

This rant is boring.

4/12/10 2:04pm

CookieMonster

I'm not trying to be snarky, but CascadeClimber made these posts with the convenience of hindsight. This doesn't make him look smart or experienced ... it makes him look awfully sanctimonius.

1. CascadeClimber reads about accidents that are not related to the TR here.
2. CascadeClimber feels it's appropriate to scold Haggis and Co. for other people's mistakes.

I'm simply asking CascadeClimber to explain what puts him in the position to scold an...

4/12/10 1:54pm

Don_B

very nice TR and pix. Thanks especially for the route Option 2. We've gazed longingly upon it from the endless traverse in the snow above, thinking if only we'd had some sweet young person along for hitching bait maybe we could go down there. Now we know.

4/12/10 1:47pm

Gary_H

April 10, 2010, ONP Hurricane Slackcountry

Great father/son outing Rusty, defiantly qualifies for another Father of the Year nomination. ;)

Gary

4/12/10 1:45pm

Gary_H

Nice Doug,
It was a great weekend to be in the mountains! :D

Gary

4/12/10 1:40pm

chmnyboy

ONP - Hurricane Ridge Area (w/ pics!!) - 4.11.10

good to see that all the new snow at Hurricane didn't go to waste. Good job guys!

4/12/10 1:39pm

Gary_H

ONP - Hurricane Ridge Area (w/ pics!!) - 4.11.10

author=Stugie link=topic=16346.msg68260#msg68260 date=1271084484]
Nice meeting you Gary, Jan, and Jeff!

Great meeting you too Scott. Yes, it was a fun day, good weather, good snow and best of all, good partners. Hope to ski with you some more in the future.

Joe, nice job breaking trail to the peak, that was some creative skinning. ;)

Here are a couple pictures, and a link to a few more. htt...

4/12/10 1:32pm

CookieMonster

March 14-16, 2010, The Wapta Traverse

Thanks for the kind words. Non-commercial use of that image is just fine. AleCapone was kind enough to forgo his usual sitting fee! The idea was, of course, to capture him in the shot, but my timing just didn't work out that way.

For Jibber: I can't imagine doing this tour with a herniated disk. For the record, we tried to coast as much as possible, but eventually skinned the last section to Yodelin. Maybe 1/2 mile.

RedShift: LOL, but I thought we agreed that the...

4/12/10 1:27pm

Zap

Jason, Thanks for posting the TR and photos. The images and words are wonderful.

You and some of the "gang" should consider a trip to The Sierra. Checkout the Backcountry stores(in Truckee) website and their Message Board for some Backcountry TR and the Message Board at www.sierrabackcountry.org. Two different web sites. It's getting time for Sierra corn. ;)

Jill and I are working our way south and should be there in a week or so unless another powder ev...

4/12/10 1:27pm

sconey

Thanks again for the fun day. There is so much to learn about touring. I never knew you could snort powdered juice mix. Yowee. On a more serious note, did you have to blather about boot-packing that awesome stretch of hwy 2 ? Now everyone's going to want to do it. Another secret stash ruined, I tell ya...

4/12/10 1:05pm

JibberD

Ps, I did that tour with a herniated disk in my lumbar about 5 years ago. At the time I only knew my back was sore, but by the end of that tour I knew it was serious. Those flats at the end of the tour coming into the backdoor of Yodelin were rough. We couldn't decide whether to skin or ski and ended up doing a lot of sidestepping and backsliding in hopes we would find long lines to coast in ski mode. How did you do it?

I ended up having surgery to remove the herniation and have...

4/12/10 1:02pm

JibberD

Hey Cookie,

If it's okay with you, I've saved photo #2 of AleCapone's wake as my PC's background.

Too cool!

4/12/10 12:51pm

dave_perkins

April 10, 2010, Mt Catherine

"I'm not trying to attack your credibility, I'm just trying to figure out if you have any in the first place."

I can vouch for his credibility if anyone cares. He is more experienced than me or the majority that post here. And for the record I decided it would be best to go rip up some trail on my mountain bike in Hood River this weekend rather that chance it in the mountains. I just had a bad feeling about the snowpack and felt is best to stay away.

4/12/10 12:46pm

gregL

Sorry we missed you, Mike! We too saw Don, Steve and Co. on our first lap, and found some great turns in the trees.

4/12/10 11:27am

trees4me

April 10, 2010, Mt Catherine

That looks great, especially for April! Catherine is a favorite. Sounds like it's all tracked out now... should make for easier lapping

4/12/10 11:26am

Telemon

The Annihilation of the Great White North v. 2.0

Couldn't you find a bigger pack for your son, Don? ;)Well, like father,like son.

4/12/10 9:07am

timmyfitz

I must say, that is a route that I have not yet considered. I have done the first half and thought that was a good day - now I have bigger plans based on this. Great job on pulling this off!

4/12/10 8:45am

CookieMonster

author=CascadeClimber link=topic=16323.msg68273#msg68273 date=1271108304]
There was another incident on Sunday, below 5000 feet on a '3' day.

My point is that you cannot just check the NWAC report, maybe dig a pit, and declare the area safe. Someone got whacked in the Commonwealth Basin the same day as this TR. The person was swept into a tree. With 5-7 feet of new snow in the preceding week, including a good amount in the two days before...

4/12/10 8:36am

Zap

Excellent TR, map and photos.

4/12/10 8:21am

CascadeClimber

There was another incident on Sunday, below 5000 feet on a '3' day.

My point is that you cannot just check the NWAC report, maybe dig a pit, and declare the area safe. Someone got whacked in the Commonwealth Basin the same day as this TR. The person was swept into a tree. With 5-7 feet of new snow in the preceding week, including a good amount in the two days before this TR, I would (and did not) go into that basin, where I've been many times. With that much new snow, s...

4/12/10 6:38am

CookieMonster

Thanks for the kind words.

I usually take a couple hundred photos, with the hope that something turns out good.

During this trip, I took 219 photos, including about 50 action shots. The two skier photos above were the best action shots of the day. My Flickr account has some recent photos of a trip to Heliotrope Ridge ( pages 2 and 3 ) ... there are some really good shots of AleCapone in the powder. I took 225 photos during the Heliotrope Ridge trip, and about 25 turned ou...

4/12/10 6:22am

wolfs

4-9-10 stevens pass hat skiing

AleCapone picture is one of the more amazing skiing pictures that don't include actual skier that I have ever seen. Looks like Hollywood-grade SFX.
Had you hit the tour LAST Saturday you could have availed yourself of the shuttle bus that was ferrying lift skiers up from the Yodelin lot (AND the Nordic lot).

4/12/10 6:01am

JimD

Mt. Pilchuck, 4/10/10

JimG, yes, the east gully off the summit is what we call The Gunsight and those were our tracks going back up to Larrison Ridge. From there we either ski the ridge, which requires some traversing, or down the gully. Below The Onion Peel cliffs follow the drainage down to an open slope that you climb easily back up. This puts you below the summer trail, or intersects with the normal skinning route which is followed down to the trail/parking. As you've likely heard it is easy...

4/12/10 5:08am

JimG

Mt. Pilchuck, 4/10/10

Nice TR. We went up on Sunday and saw some of your tracks. The snow conditions up top were pretty good and deteriated rapidly as we went down.

Is gunsight the chute that is E-SE of the hut up top? If so, did you drop down and then climb back up to the saddle that is to the skiers left (North)? Looked like a great run, but lacking the kowledge/intel, we opted to drop in on the north face and parallel our uptrack out.

4/12/10 1:27am

snoseeker

Nice report Scott. It was a great fun skiing with you.

author=telemack link=topic=16331.msg68204#msg68204 date=1270920500]
Where are the pix of the hats?

Sorry, no pics. You just had to be there to believe it!!

4/12/10 12:56am

Stugie

March 14-16, 2010, The Wapta Traverse

Glad you guys got the goods Don!

4/11/10 11:56pm

gregL

Nice, Jason. You make quality a priority in your TR's and it shows. The extra time and effort you put in waiting for the right moment in your pictures really makes a difference; if I were your teacher you'd get an "A" for sure. Thanks again.

4/11/10 11:49am

weaver

That is not a smooth looking turn - yeesh. Thanks Don and Dan for sharing the excellent snow at Yodelin; especially steep and deep in the trees.

4/11/10 10:51am

Plinko

author=trumpetsailor link=topic=16335.msg68218#msg68218 date=1270949844]The picture seems to tell the story - please refrain from any snarky comments at the injured party; an avalanche is rebuke enough for any error they may or may not have committed. We've decided to post the photo now, while everyone still has our current snowpack in mind. The crown seems confined to an aspect that gets different windloading from the rest of the main bowl.

...

4/11/10 4:29am

Stimbuck

April 10, 2010, East of Stevens Pass

Explosives were from the Alp Patrol- Cornice work. Small charges produced big results!

4/11/10 3:13am

Kenji

I thought you would call it like "Paradise in Jim Hell". A shot from the lunch spot, looks like a bunny hill ;D

4/11/10 2:43am

BigRed

I was just about to post that same picture of the slide. We were the party skiing the trees farther to the east of the bowl. The fracture up high was quite impressive. But it was also interesting that the slide did not really effect the snow in the lower bowl at all - it just slid on top, and maybe pulled the top two inches. In our pits on the open slopes we could not get anything to move at all, and I had no concerns about the stability on the lower parts of the slopes....

4/11/10 1:27am

Dr. Telemark

Nice to meet you Rusty. You were right, it was some of the best snow I've seen up there too. A little sun baked around the westerly side of the ridge but the main runs were great. Our dog got tree-welled TWICE - had to pull him out as he was unable to get traction on the icy sidewalls of the wells. It was surprising to see the absence of tracks on the main face off the ridge when we got there. That didn't last long!

The video of the day is at:

4/11/10 12:57am

haggis

http://lifeflight.org/membership/

There was some deal going around my paragliding club for membership of this, I never got it as my wife's cadillac insurance covers in full anyway, I made a point of calling them specifically on the subject. However, I think insurance still required so depending on your carrier so you could be out of pocket for a chunk of change. Not saying either way about removal topic as its covered in a plethora of other TAY threads!

4/10/10 8:56pm

CookieMonster

author=Cornfed link=topic=16323.msg68225#msg68225 date=1270960163]
Requiring people to pay for their rescue when they get in trouble in the back-country or similar adventures is a great idea.

Good, then perhaps people should be forced to escrow the money, just to ensure payment. I trust you'll be first in line with $25,000.

4/10/10 3:11pm

Cornfed

Requiring people to pay for their rescue when they get in trouble in the back-country or similar adventures is a great idea. I happen to agree with it. I think judging the decisions of others without complete information, however, isn't the goal of this site or blog. Instead, I think it is a great site to compare notes, share information, swap stories, and ask questions that challenge one another.

Very sorry to hear about the slide and injured party -- wo...

4/10/10 1:29pm

RonL

That does clear some things up. Thanks for posting the picture as it's a familiar place to alot of us and a good reminder. I haven't been up since last sat but the wind was something then too. I'll probably head up in the morning and see what you all left.

4/10/10 12:56pm

CookieMonster

Thanks for the photos. Those drift lines certainly tell an interesting story about wind direction.

4/10/10 11:54am

prestonf

1 April 2010, Mt. Rainier, Paradise Powder

Bummed to hear about that accident. Hope everyone recovers.

I've seen quite a few naturals in that pocket. There was one there last Friday (4/2). I think the wind really rips over the ridge right there.

4/10/10 10:49am

Andrew Carey

author=Snow Bell link=topic=16221.msg68208#msg68208 date=1270925766]
With age comes wisdom. ;)

Congratulations Andy. Since the government probably spent your SS deposits long ago, I would like to imagine that any monies that I put in are going directly to you.... for ski gear. Spend my dollars on ski gear please. ;D

My wife, Regine, says "don't worry, he buys new ski gear every year!"

4/10/10 9:15am

Salal

4-9-10 stevens pass hat skiing

I love hat skiing...its the latest trend. So hot right now.

4/10/10 4:31am

Snow Bell

1 April 2010, Mt. Rainier, Paradise Powder

author=acarey link=topic=16221.msg67736#msg67736 date=1270242493]
But his year, out of roughly 55 days of bc skiing, 50 have been on AT.

With age comes wisdom. ;)

Congratulations Andy. Since the government probably spent your SS deposits long ago, I would like to imagine that any monies that I put in are going directly to you.... for ski gear. Spend my dollars on ski gear please. ;D

4/10/10 3:56am

Snow Bell

March 14-16, 2010, The Wapta Traverse

Thanks for sharing Jason. Your TR's never disappoint despite the high expectations.

4/10/10 3:37am

telemack

4-9-10 stevens pass hat skiing

Where are the pix of the hats?

4/10/10 2:28am

JimH

I think pointed criticism about safety decisions is fine. But the idea that our access to the hills will be preserved if only everyone else would make better decisions seems pretty misguided.

There was certainly some risk yesterday. I was probably in more peril at Alpy - my bad for charging Felsen for first tracks I suppose. It sluffed pretty good! And the cornices were really not to be trusted. We've got more common cause with folks who make decisions we don't agree with th...

4/10/10 1:51am

Snoqualmonix

So when avy danger is 4 or higher, should people not be allowed to go into the backcountry? I'm sure there were many people out in the BC the last two days who weren't caught in a slide (one right here).

I spent the first half of each day on the lifts at Alpental before going skinning; things were/are still hella' dangerous up there in the conditions present, as well as the nature of the terrain in general, so I'm guessing people (many who have no "mountain s...

4/10/10 1:06am

alecapone

Stupendously fun day to be out in a safe area.

4/10/10 12:32am

JCK

Haggis---obviously you made the good decisions on a day with instabilities in the snowpack and enjoy some good riding. I hadn't considered the trees below Kendall---I generally avoid the Alpental Valley / Commonwealth on days with higher dangers because I haven't scoped out safer terrain, but that is a good spot.

Thanks for the TR----

4/9/10 11:58pm

haggis