TR Replies
Yup. Actual powder. It pretty much made the day.
iluka - thanks for the TR, the pics, and a great day outside.
iluka - thanks for the TR, the pics, and a great day outside.
Skiing was very good up there, glad we went to the more northerly faces. Gotta love the corniced knob. Should remain good for a while if the temps stay low and the sun shrouded. Relieved to finally get some snow in my face and get off the horrid crust.
Nice TR -- one question. What the heck is all the weird, blowy white stuff behind you?
Yeah. Dig that wiggy cold smoke!
Nice pics Silas! We're all sitting here in the lecture hall very jealous!
Jay
Jay
I love that place! Did you go with the concessionaire and stay at the huts? I skied some of those lines I think, are they the ones on Wing Ridge proper? Did you make it further to any of the other peaks? We camped at an undisclosed spot in the beta mid last spring and it was a super fun time, nice flat access to the camp spot along the trail makes it nice with a big pack.
My buddy Dan lives in Bozeman, but I'm sure him or a few of our ski partners would know it. I'll tell him to jump online and reply to your post.
Man Alive did you luck out....
we departed the huts on the 4th, we had great sun and views but quite variable snow for Febuary.
But...we have our lines scouted for next year. ;D
Glad you got it good.
we departed the huts on the 4th, we had great sun and views but quite variable snow for Febuary.
But...we have our lines scouted for next year. ;D
Glad you got it good.
I can't take it anymore! Got the car loaded up and Brenda and I are heading there today after work.
Man I love that place!! Whenever work gets to be too much I sit back, close my eyes and think about the tasty pow pow on Wing Ridge ::)
I get a hut for a few days every year (Big Sheep coming this March) and I'm soo sad when leaving - one day I'm just going to stay, just like Jeremiah Johnson.
Just look for the guy in a raccoon skin hat, bright green Scarpa Spirit 4's and a goggle tan to die for! 8)
cd
(sing along kids)
Jeremiah J...
I get a hut for a few days every year (Big Sheep coming this March) and I'm soo sad when leaving - one day I'm just going to stay, just like Jeremiah Johnson.
Just look for the guy in a raccoon skin hat, bright green Scarpa Spirit 4's and a goggle tan to die for! 8)
cd
(sing along kids)
Jeremiah J...
author=Marcus link=topic=12279.msg51320#msg51320 date=1234508121]
Heh -- thanks. I had Silas sign a Release Of Caring Whether The Ski Will Work afterward... :) It's a learning opportunity for me.
Better skis than a used car!
saw those for the first time this winter heading back from utah... they looked gangsta from I-84. glad to see a tr from there!
The Col is between Chair and Bryant. I did have 2 short boot tracks including to one to the col that you may have seen. There were 2 guys with a dog who showed up just as I was getting ready to leave. I also saw their + dog tracks on my way out.
The skiing was excellent from Melakawa Pass down to Chair lake and again to Snow Lake. I hate to say it but the best turns so far this year.
Glad you guys got some good turns in as well.
The skiing was excellent from Melakawa Pass down to Chair lake and again to Snow Lake. I hate to say it but the best turns so far this year.
Glad you guys got some good turns in as well.
Heh -- thanks. I had Silas sign a Release Of Caring Whether The Ski Will Work afterward... :) It's a learning opportunity for me.
Views from East Peak to the south
Down into Cement Basin pow
Silas cutting up the said pow
Marcus, good luck in fixing the Bows... good ski to salvage!
Down into Cement Basin pow
Silas cutting up the said pow
Marcus, good luck in fixing the Bows... good ski to salvage!
Sweet - I'm going to make it a point to get over there sooner or later! Nice shots!
So you dump your skis on me and then rub it in when I'm at work?
Heh -- thanks for the report. I hope we keep getting the goods. When do you head south?
Heh -- thanks for the report. I hope we keep getting the goods. When do you head south?
Where's that picture counter when you need him?
Is the Bryant Peak Col between Bryant and Chair, or is it South of Bryant? We did a dawn patrol this morning part way up Chair Peak Basin -- We followed tracks of a single skier and a dog from yesterday. There were boot tracks of a single headed up between Chair and Bryant.
Very little in the way of other traffic from yesterday. Stability today was really good--I was amazed how well the new snow had bonded to the hard crust below. The only really good turns we...
Very little in the way of other traffic from yesterday. Stability today was really good--I was amazed how well the new snow had bonded to the hard crust below. The only really good turns we...
Five days deep in the Wallowa's, yes it was alright.
<...
<...author=CookieMonster link=topic=12267.msg51275#msg51275 date=1234478576]
Thanks for the interesting report. Any idea if that was a thin wind slab?
being on the lee side of the ridge it had a heavier load due to transport, but as to the characteristics of the slab, it was very soft (tree sheltered). the crown and flank fractures are visible in the photo, although it flowed like a loose snow slide.
Thanks very much for the information.
Randy, No we didn't use a rope, but in retrospect we probably should have. A fair bit of the slab released from above me and I was lucky not to be swept down.
CookieMonster, I had to look up the scale to refresh my memory, but I'd estimate it was SS-AS-D2-R2, maybe R3 because it ran a long way.
Thanks for the interesting report. Any idea if that was a thin wind slab?
Neat report. Any estimate on the size of the avalanche? SS-AS-(R1)-(D1)? Just curious.
Ah, I didn't look at the other pictures at first. Glad conditions are better.
Looks good, I gotta hook up with you this weekend, thats a place I have wanted to explore.
Ha. I mentioned before dropping in that there never seems to be a discussion, I always get nominated to be first. It's a dubious honor. On the positive side, it ripped exactly where we expected it to. I think the rest of the Slot would have been safe, our main concern was booting out of the basin on a similar aspect. In any case, the few inches of new snow have improved the skiing in the area quite a bit; generally 4-6" low density fluff on top of carvable crust...
Damn son that does look to be tasty! How long a drive from the Hood? Thanks for the pics, I'm drooling.
Ian, are you a Whitman student? I live in WW too.
Did you ski around Spout Springs or out towards Andies Prairie?
Some good, but short, sidecountry around Bluewood too.
Fun with MS Paint:
Did you ski around Spout Springs or out towards Andies Prairie?
Some good, but short, sidecountry around Bluewood too.
Fun with MS Paint:
Looks like fun. I have only spent 1 day touring around wing ridge. Would love to take a 3-5 day trip in the area.
Usually a pretty easy drive from Walla Walla, but I haven't gotten over there as often as I would like.
Usually a pretty easy drive from Walla Walla, but I haven't gotten over there as often as I would like.
Gorp - did you loose Rock Paper Scissors with Clarence at the top of the Slot? I'm wondering how you decided on who got to do the ski cut....
Glad you're both fine and that the ski back down the Phantom was fun. Thanks for the report and the useful information.
RonL - the last couple shots in the linked Picassa Gallery show where the crown was pretty well.
Glad you're both fine and that the ski back down the Phantom was fun. Thanks for the report and the useful information.
RonL - the last couple shots in the linked Picassa Gallery show where the crown was pretty well.
author=RonL link=topic=12269.msg51261#msg51261 date=1234469901]
was that release on the first big roll over skiers left?
It was on the first big roll over, but the release came more from skier's right. In the picture above, Gorp is standing at the skier's leftmost edge and I am standing pretty much in the middle. The crown extends another 10 or more feet out of frame behind me.
Thanks for the report, was that release on the first big roll over skiers left?
That is a fun one, but man the exit looks horrible. Thanks for the report, just in time for my day off.
We did it from Commonwealth but but I have gone up from Alpental and skied the south side of Mt Snoqualmie down to Cave Ride then made my way over to Gyue Peak down the Couloir and out Commonwealth. Then either walk or thumb a ride back to Aplental.
Beautiful Couloir pics! Did you get the ridge from the Alpental or Commonwealth side? Thanks.
Most of the blues are pretty unexciting terrain-wise. They get amazing dry inter-continental snow but in general there isn't anything steep. The one exception is the Elkhorn Range, the area around Anthony Lakes ski area. I's a little blob of granite and it has everything you'd expect of a granitic mountain range, including a couple 40ish degree couloirs.
The Wallowa's are a seperate range from the blues, and a little farther from western Oregon/Washington, but the...
The Wallowa's are a seperate range from the blues, and a little farther from western Oregon/Washington, but the...
Good call. That chute looks awesome, but that snow looks Skkkkketchy!
Good to see there's some snow out there, good report. It would be nice for more folks in the Portland area to post observations so we could get a feel for the snowpack before heading out. Glad you got out of the slide OK, thanks for the info.
FYI, I skied Sierra at Tahoe, (South Lake) on the 9th. On the NE protected areas I hit it felt like about 18" of very nice light snow on an old crust. The lightly skied runs had minimal scrap off down to the old firm crust. It was amazingly great skiing. What a concept; POWDER!. I did remain spooked all day at the low base, ~3-4', and all the snaglly dead fall and slightly covered boulders in the woods. If they've gotten more snow since the 9th...
Pic two looks like a real fun line. Thanks for the TR.
It was a fun day. Thanks for going. I should say last section is not skiable. After the hourglass S-turn you will need to bail out to skiers left. I found out the hard way ;D
me too. We need to head out east more.
thanks for the sites. Weather is looking good. It appears that you guys have been getting a good amount of snow up in the highlands. Looking forward to getting some turns. Hitting Mt Rose for BC then on to Donner pass area for more BC. Looking forward to visiting the area harvesting some freshies for all I am worth.
I've always been curious about the blues. What kind of terrain is out there.