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TR Replies

author=Marcus link=topic=13502.msg56281#msg56281 date=1243886930]
My read on her description was that the *road* is snow-covered about a mile from the TH, thus the snomos can still access it... perhaps not.

Nice TR!


I expect this is accurate.  Last year the snow melted to the Schreibers Meadow trailhead some time in the first few days of July.  The melt happens fast and there is a perfect time to go each year...
Nice.  I still have really fond memories of the bottom skier's right slope to the Wilson being one helluva fall line.  It really puts a nice sustained finish on the route after the upper traverses. 
author=bramvs link=topic=13502.msg56280#msg56280 date=1243885095">
Mmhhh, I don't think snowmobiles are allowed at this area once the snow has melted.... Guess some people don't care. From Mt.Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest website: "The Mt. Baker National Recreation Area including Schriebers Meadow is open to snowmobiles when snow depth exceeds 24 inches at the trailhead....
Snow begins about a mile from the trailhead. Snowmobiles abound.


Mmhhh, I don't think snowmobiles are allowed at this area once the snow has melted.... Guess some people don't care. From Mt.Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest website: "The Mt. Baker National Recreation Area including Schriebers Meadow is open to snowmobiles when snow depth exceeds 24 inches a...
Nice Pete!  Kyle and I saw your tracks down the thumb and were duly impressed with the Schrund hopping!
nice one!  saw those tracks yesterday after exiting the FF and thought 'i wonder if those are danhelmstadter's cause he was wanting south side of Rainier pics last week'  :)  looked spicey for sure!

and yeah, the Finger has been getting hit hard this season by skiers...i think i counted about ten folks making turns on it Saturday afternoon and then there were probably another ten skiin' it on Sunday.

Nice Pete. Thanks to Pete, Gus, and Tony for a great trip. We skied from the summit circa 11:30 and found ripper conditions below around 13.5K. Here are some pics from the trip.

Can't seem to figure out how to post thumbnails from picasa.

Pictures here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/casruff1/RainierFuhrerFingerMay09?authkey=Gv1sRgCKrN8MPa9IWc7gE#

Congratulations on your first summit!

There are no ideal snowboard routes on Mt Baker but Boulder Glacier comes the closest in my view. Plus there are no snowmobiles around.
Thanks for the beta, kristys.  Did you hike up the summer trail to Cascade Pass or skin the gully?
Great job guys!!  You did it Tim!
Nice line Pete. I did a double take on the way out- wasn't expecting to see tracks down the thumb because of that schrund.
No, that can't be Jeff. Really?
Looks like you guys had another fun tour.  :)
Miss Q, if there ever was a doubt there is no more- you're NOT a newbie :)

Nice TR.
Nice choice doing this as two day.
Many folks are doing Little T as one day in last few years. Physical endurance aside this is considered by many a DEATH CLIMB due to rockfall danger. Helmets are mandatory please.
The grandfather of this website led a climb many years ago here and one of the party was coldcocked even though had helmet.  BH had to descend to Sunrise RS and ranger would not call heil until he saw victim in person so climb all the way back then finally heli victim out. T...
Howdy RossMac and Tobae. I was the earlybird soloist. Nice to meet you folks even though names not exchanged. I presume you are the same Tobae who can stay within the same zip code as Monika on a trip?
I thought this bit of fun leading to the drainage was the best skiing of the day.
Was wondering if any of your party picked up much pollen on their bases on the lower drainage? With two runs down there, it was about as bad as I have ever had. This was after a fresh wax job with warmer sp...
Nice. Glad you got to check that place out. Quite a scene, huh?
Thanks all for a fun trip---and I got the bonus of being able to distill the pollen off my bases to market as "Special Yellow" grip wax. I promise I'll put the profits in my beacon battery fund.
After dislocating my shoulder deep in the Wallowas a few years ago I have a special appreciation for your situation and the consequences of accidents in the backcountry.  I too had a large group with many resources to facilitate my evacuation. I concluded that large, self sufficient, groups are the best way to ski in the backcountry and ski partners should always be cherished.  Good work all. 
We were up in the Chair Peak basin Saturday.  Coverage was good and the skiing exceeded my expectations.  We thought about Great Wall of China Chute, but it looks like it's done for the year.
Congrats to all the brohams getting it on Rainier this weekend.  Luckily for me, my hate is on hiatus despite inability to escape the city - wreck beach was a good change of pace.
It was nice to ski with you yesterday, Ross.  What was impressive was the amount of melt compared to last week.  A couple of photos:
If I'd known it would have been good, I would have gone with you.  Went up earlier and saw so much dirty & boot-tracked snow and avy crowns, I turned around and went home and did a m'cycle ride ...
I have no idea where Hidden Lake Peak is,  Ross. Any interest in coming up to Baker this summer? I may head up to the Artist Point area this weekend.

I find that the hardest part of posting photos here is trying to chose only three shots from the 150 pictures that I took during the day. I am a computer dinosaur, so if I can understand the process I am sure that you can too. I have a Mac (it would be appropriate if you  also used one ;D). I export my three photos from my I-Ph...
That was a nice line! We noted the schrund huck and spent some time analyzing your turns while we packed up before the ski down. I'll see if I can dig up a pic.

Glad you had a good ski.
Wow. Nice TR Lisa. Sounds like you got more than you bargained for. Great effort. The epics are more memorable than the summits it seems.
Folklife tour still went well as of yesterday, and heading out early helped with conditions, though lots of breaks through the day added up and we did find deep mush here and there. The streem from Chair Peak Lake would have gone, sort of, but I was glad we did the small climb to the knoll to ski the slopes below Roosevelt. When we looked back up at the outlet creek, we could see continuous snow, but a clear rotten snow band ust below the waterfall.

Still some great turning to be had...
Nice informative first post, kristys. 
I agree with the one month early assessment.  I was a Muir yesterday and there was a 1/2 mile carry at Pan Point.  Amazing how much less snow there is this year compared to last year.
Yeah, I'd say conditions are similar to late June last year.  Get it while it's there!
Good to hear she got out with you. Is there still as much or more snow on the way up to Chair Peak Basin as at end of June last year? It'd be fun to do that one again.
Nice trip. Nothing like Olympic corn.
I was in the first party to ski down, tracks lookers left at top.  We left the top at 11:30 and it was too late then.  Should have left Seattle at 3:30 instead of 4:30.

Fun, but a little creamier than I like my corn.  Set off a wet slab lower down....certainly a spring wake up.
Sounds like a great trip, thanks for sharing!!
>>How was your carry over??  I was thinking your party must have been freezing up there with
even more wind?<<

Other than hauling everything to the top in one day (10k ft), the carryover went well.  The Ingram Gl actualy had many more crevass proplems than did the Tahoma.  Lots of new spin-drift filled crevasses.  Also everything below Pebble Cr. on the Muir Snowfield was chopped up pretty badly by the post-holing hords.

No wind to spea...
author=dkoelle link=topic=13440.msg56197#msg56197 date=1243643274]
... Any hints from regulars on how to find the correct entrance?


Main (middle) Chute Entrance: 46* 49' 8"N; 121* 43' 53"W, (map datum NAD83) Elevation 8200 (msl). You can't miss it, there's a big sign there ;) (look for the "rock eyebrow", the horizontal rock band above the entry which connects to the rocks that form the west side...
Thanks mattT! Come along next time. Cheers.
Hey Robyn: remember from our '07 trip down the Paradise Glacier?

I'll be down there tomorrow solo, hoping for Nisq. chutes.  I have a GPS but am not :savvy:.  Any hints from regulars on how to find the correct entrance?  Thanks
We're gonna do a repeat tomorrow but this time exit stage left down the paradise. Reports of pollen in the tatoosh form dorothea who skied there yesterday.(thursday )
Cool idea on the traverse, always nice to get new slants on things.
Great work on the evac.  Best of luck with the recovery.
Yikes! Great work all!  Nice write-up on the TR Lisa.
author=telemack link=topic=13465.msg56115#msg56115 date=1243535277]
How 'bout that no-bridge drive?   ::)
  yeah, the drive felt like the biggest "no fall zone" of the trip (some impressive drop-offs along the edge of that narrow forest road).
More trip photos are posted here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/chriscass1/RoyalBasinDeceptionBasinOlympicNationalParkMay24To262009?authkey=Gv1sRgCP-JgO_FwYb5oAE#
Monday was a very nice day indeed. We got a later start than you guys though--Spencerhutch and I started skinning shortly after 9 and got up to the camp by 1. Came down through the Nisqually chute, avoiding both the slide debris and setting off anything new...it was great skiing except for a couple of mushy spots, and of course the sticky snow and pollen down towards the parking lot. Eww. Starting earlier is definitely a good idea.
My camera was dead but Spencer's photos are here: htt...
Wow! What an amazing feat you accomplished as a team. Ashlie, I am so sorry to hear that you are injured! As Jason said, the mountains aren't going anywhere. Take good care of yourself and heal quickly.
I agree completely with Amar. I am so proud and privelged to have such a fantastic team of friends and climbers, such as yourselves.
Lisa, you have so many talents! You'd be an excellent ranger. :) Or writer!!!
awesome looking trip.  fantastic photos! I'm jealous
Wow, guess I've been out of the loop completely (and out of the state), I didn't even know this had happened. Great work on the self-evac! It makes me proud to have friends as capable and skilled as all of you.

Ashlie, that's a great photo, glad to see you're smiling through the ordeal. I hope you heal quickly and will be back in the mountains shortly. And skiing down Rainier soon in fine form too!!


Thank you all so much for the well wishes on a quick recovery, turns out I have Medial Head Gastrocnemius tear, Ankle joint strain (Capsulitis/Synovitis), and Deltoid strain. 

And to the rockstar team of the year; Wes, Kurt, Dave, Dave, Lisa, Steph, Crystal, and Cory, I can’t thank you all enough! I agree that your collaboration SHOULD make the news as I am still amazed at how efficiently you pulled together this rescue mission.  Lisa, you are definitely missing your calling in life,...
A couple of pics from the day.  The first is Ash harvesting some corn before she decided to challenge the group on the way out, and the second is the SAR assistance near the TH. 
First off thanks again for all the kind comments
author=Stugie link=topic=13471.msg56130#msg56130 date=1243550555]
You got any volcano tr's coming up?  I've still got your harness too.

I hear Amar is a much better writer  ;)
We should meet up sometime soon
author=Teleskichica link=topic=13471.msg56136#msg56136 date=1243552322]
Someday, someday, it'll be my turn, too. :...