TR Replies
This Ale character is turning into a real media darling!
I agree with Pete, I've never seen Asgard Pass so filled in. Did you guys use the rap 1/2 way down?
I agree with Pete, I've never seen Asgard Pass so filled in. Did you guys use the rap 1/2 way down?
Thanks all. I can't wait to get up there again and actually see the summit and surrounding views. And perhaps snag several other peaks right there as Steve suggested.
When we were coming down we met two fellows (forgot their names) doing the isolation traverse Northward. Hopefully the clouds parted for them!
Limited pictures can be found at
http://picasaweb.google.com/sukiakiumo/100131ElDorado?feat=directlink
When we were coming down we met two fellows (forgot their names) doing the isolation traverse Northward. Hopefully the clouds parted for them!
Limited pictures can be found at
http://picasaweb.google.com/sukiakiumo/100131ElDorado?feat=directlink
Thanks, it definitely added stuff to the ticklist rather than crossing it off...oh well, most tours end up doing that I guess! ;)
Joe, the log and small creek crossing were okay, and so was the last one but it did have a bit of exposure:
Joe, the log and small creek crossing were okay, and so was the last one but it did have a bit of exposure:
Looks like you guys had some nice turns out near 8 mile! That's a sweet looking line!
There's definitely some goods up there, glad you guys got some good turns in.
Glad it was good up there! Sounded like an excellent trip!
sounds like a super trip, where's the pics!
Nice pictures! The tracks on the right are from Brian, me and Ben - we must've descended just a little before you. Did you follow our tracks down through the trees, or go another way out? I agree that there's getting to be a lot of tracks on The Castle, but I too think that there is still plenty of room for us all (and the backcountry is still nothing like the lineup at any surfing spot I've ever surfed at). I saw some tracks across the valley on another slope that I was contempla...
author=JasonGerend link=topic=15427.msg64504#msg64504 date=1265010011]
Lots of tracks on the Castle – the 3” of fresh snow definitely didn’t cover the week’s worth of skiing.
Brenda and I spent both Sat and Sun in the area. Nearly all the tracks were from the weekend. It's getting to be a very busy place up there, but still plenty terrain.
I usually judge snow quality by whether Brenda's having a good time or not....
Looks like fun.
Supposedly my roommates friend ended up getting frostbite out on dragon tail a little while ago.
Supposedly my roommates friend ended up getting frostbite out on dragon tail a little while ago.
Cool trip. Thanks for the conditions update.
That one has been on my mind this season but it hasn't come together yet.
I also remember the boulder field from this last spring but fondly is not the adjective that comes to mind. ;)
That one has been on my mind this season but it hasn't come together yet.
I also remember the boulder field from this last spring but fondly is not the adjective that comes to mind. ;)
Eldo ski tour in January. Good work! The lack of views is a pisser, but hey that's an excuse to go back.
Good get guys!
I was hoping to see a TR from your weekend although I thought for sure Brad would have authored it. ::)
I'm Glad that Scott was able to join up with you. Wish I could have made it, I am sure that it was a fun crew.
How was the creek crossing? When I went, there was a few feet of snow on the log making for a bit of pucker factor. Not that it would have phased you guys. ;)
I was hoping to see a TR from your weekend although I thought for sure Brad would have authored it. ::)
I'm Glad that Scott was able to join up with you. Wish I could have made it, I am sure that it was a fun crew.
How was the creek crossing? When I went, there was a few feet of snow on the log making for a bit of pucker factor. Not that it would have phased you guys. ;)
Way to tag that summit! Hopefully you got a couple of pics between the cloud cover ;)
Those pics make it look like you should have brought the trail runners for the ridge! The Olympics do get there share of wind. I can't wait to get back over there...
Awesome. I remember my eldorado/klawatti link up fondly, especially the boulder field and creek. Way to get up in there.
Nice work guys! Brad was talking about this trip the weekend prior with enthusiasm, glad you guys got it done. With more hours of daylight I am sure you guys would have had Little Annapurna too. 8)
Nice. Its rare to get that one in pooder conditions. Winds have been suprisingly calm this year.
Awesome work -- I've been up there a few times in the summer and it's drool-worthy for winter trips. There's a line off the descent from Colchuck Balanced Rock that I saw a couple of years ago that I'd love to get in there to ski. So much good stuff.
Tasty, thanks for sharing. Love the reports from the east side.
author=jwplotz link=topic=15422.msg64488#msg64488 date=1264972469]
a steepish couloir that cleaves the NE face of 7550.
Nice! Looks like a sweet line.
author=Marcus link=topic=15430.msg64509#msg64509 date=1265044398]
Excellent knee deep powder in the trees on the upper ridge eventually turned to steep tight trees and knee-tweaking elephant snot
Knee deep powder I understand.
Knee tweaking elephant snot is a new term to me, I will have to add it to my snow conditions reporting terminology. Hopefully I will rarely experience it.
Thanks for the Jim Hill info!
If you get a clear day, I'll bet the north side is in great shape. There was another party off in the fog that, for better or worse, at least got to ski that side, since they came up Henry Creek instead of via Lanham Lake.
Yah, Lisa was on top of her Karhu Jils and some of her best deep-snow turns ever.
nice!
As much as I live up at the pass, I have yet to go up jim hill... maybe you enticed me to take care of that tomorrow.
As much as I live up at the pass, I have yet to go up jim hill... maybe you enticed me to take care of that tomorrow.
Awesome Mack!
Glad to hear you scored on the conditions.
Glad to hear you scored on the conditions.
We saw your tracks yesterday on a tour of Little Diamond Head and environs. Good snow. Busy place.
Jason, great post. Guess what I was there at the Wheeler Hut at the same time. We skied the seven steps on Telegear the day Ivan dissappeared. Small world eh?
We were back at the hut around 6:00 pm after having some dinner at the Glacier Lodge and Ivan had reached the bottom of a bottle of distilled Plums straight from Slovakia. Just a guess but he probably turned around early and came back to the Wheeler knowing the little trip up to Alsukan would be more than he was up for.
We were back at the hut around 6:00 pm after having some dinner at the Glacier Lodge and Ivan had reached the bottom of a bottle of distilled Plums straight from Slovakia. Just a guess but he probably turned around early and came back to the Wheeler knowing the little trip up to Alsukan would be more than he was up for.
Wow...Roger's Pass SUNNY...I've never seen it. LOL. Seriously, everytime there it was immersed in cloud for both ski and climb. I'd really love to actually see it one of these days. Thanks for the preview. God knows this helps keep the dream alive.
Great story. One of my favorite places to ski anywhere. Regarding Bill Briggs and his Bugs to Rogers Pass ski traverse (1958); When my buddy and I came through on our traverse of the Bugs to Rogers, we found Bill Brigg's party signature carved into the window frame at the Glacier Circle Cabin. The park service rebuilt the hut in 2005 and put all the historically important etchings behind protective plastic.
I had a chance to talk to Bill Briggs last summer in Jackson Hole at the w...
I had a chance to talk to Bill Briggs last summer in Jackson Hole at the w...
author=GerryH link=topic=15413.msg64485#msg64485 date=1264964264]
Hello John, re old pits:
1) I wouldn't use an old pit to get current stability info - weather impacts on the sidewalls ( heat transfer from sun or air temp and possible precip. or wind impacts) will change the dynamics around those areas, making the pit irrelevant (or possibly give dangerously false stable readings) to anyone subsequently using it, ................hence,
2) Just l...
Hello John, re old pits:
1) I wouldn't use an old pit to get current stability info - weather impacts on the sidewalls ( heat transfer from sun or air temp and possible precip. or wind impacts) will change the dynamics around those areas, making the pit irrelevant (or possibly give dangerously false stable readings) to anyone subsequently using it, ................hence,
2) Just like filling in your divot on the golf course or picking up your dog's poo, filling in ones pit ha...
1) I wouldn't use an old pit to get current stability info - weather impacts on the sidewalls ( heat transfer from sun or air temp and possible precip. or wind impacts) will change the dynamics around those areas, making the pit irrelevant (or possibly give dangerously false stable readings) to anyone subsequently using it, ................hence,
2) Just like filling in your divot on the golf course or picking up your dog's poo, filling in ones pit ha...
Ak-nak to be exact......courtesy of Mr. Jake.
Good to meet you Ryan. We wondering what kind of conditions you found on the south side. Thanks for mentioning it. The north side sure was nice indeed!
John
Good to meet you Ryan. We wondering what kind of conditions you found on the south side. Thanks for mentioning it. The north side sure was nice indeed!
John
Hey Marcus, good to know it's still holding in on the NE. I was wondering if the sun would have gotten to it later this week. We dug there on Wed as well. At first we were surprised at how light the shovel shear pressure needed to be to get the old powder to slide on the crust, but our CT result was high 20's also. You might have seen that we didn't fill in the pit (not really in anyone's potential line). But we thought others could perhaps continue to work the...
Hi John,
I was in the group that met you guys on the ridge below the summit of Lichtenberg. Took an avy class with Jake a month or so ago.
We ended up doing a lap on the south aspect, which definitely had experienced some sun/warming in previous days, but we got in ~1500' of nice creamy turns, with some partial clearing. We ended up skinning back up to the ridge and doing a couple laps off the north side, which was excellent!
I was in the group that met you guys on the ridge below the summit of Lichtenberg. Took an avy class with Jake a month or so ago.
We ended up doing a lap on the south aspect, which definitely had experienced some sun/warming in previous days, but we got in ~1500' of nice creamy turns, with some partial clearing. We ended up skinning back up to the ridge and doing a couple laps off the north side, which was excellent!
author=trumpetsailor link=topic=15409.msg64455#msg64455 date=1264901544]
Below perhaps 4.5k, the new turned to schmoo in the afternoon - ski cuts caused the upper ~3" to sluff readily.
Nearby on E, NE, and N facing slopes we found excellent old powder with 2" new atop it, no afternoon schmoo above 3500', a bit heavier below. Nearly raining below 3000'. Photos from iPhone, still trying to figure out iPhoto s...
Thanks for the video......
Not easy to film on a one day assault like that....
The visibility makes the run look less steep,good view on the summit of the weather coming..
Cheers....
Not easy to film on a one day assault like that....
The visibility makes the run look less steep,good view on the summit of the weather coming..
Cheers....
Thanks for the conditions update and description of the group dynamics for the delayed skier. It re-enforces the "rule" of choosing your ski partners carefully.
Great report. Interesting analysis of the group dynamics. Maybe the nonchalance over the missing Ivan is more an east European thing than due to group inexperience. The other thing is maybe Ivan had a few wee nips too many of the schapps.
Awesome TR. I'm looking for my passport now.
Glad Ivan was OK!
Glad Ivan was OK!
I just slapped chopped a video of the Mt. Fitzsimmons ski West to North Face-Racing the Storm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IZ8Jos1_B4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IZ8Jos1_B4
Thanks for the kind comments guys.
I'm a gonna tack a bit a stoke onto this here post.
(do I have to tell you to click the thumbnails for big pics?)
Same range four days later with my buddy Jeff.
He sure does enjoy skiing
I'm a gonna tack a bit a stoke onto this here post.
(do I have to tell you to click the thumbnails for big pics?)
Same range four days later with my buddy Jeff.
He sure does enjoy skiing
\Good call on midweek. Apparently weekend was a gongshow 40 ppl pissing every where but the pee tree at Keiths hut
The fracture and resulting slide on the N-NW face of Unicorn was huge. We were glad to see that face had already slid.
Errata: Pics are copyrighted 2010 by J. Asproulis.
Errata: Pics are copyrighted 2010 by J. Asproulis.
No crowd at the hut. Had the place to ourselves for most of the evening, then were joined by a small group of friendly Whistler locals who toured to the hut by headlamp that night.