TR Replies
That slope gets loaded and then warms.
Thanks for the report. I was hoping that someone would go in from the east side, soon after this massive storm ended.
That's because I had noticed during the storm that the Washington Pass telemetry site was the only one which managed to stay almost-all-snow throughout the majority of the storm. Here's the last 3 days of NWAC data, showing the snowdepth increasing from 50" before the storm to maximum of 93" just after the peak of the storm at 7am on Jan 8, with 4....
That's because I had noticed during the storm that the Washington Pass telemetry site was the only one which managed to stay almost-all-snow throughout the majority of the storm. Here's the last 3 days of NWAC data, showing the snowdepth increasing from 50" before the storm to maximum of 93" just after the peak of the storm at 7am on Jan 8, with 4....
What!? Two high speed quads????? I hope they abandon the area and leave it so that I can ski untracked slush with my dog! The lower lift is still there, so you can still access some XC stuff. The rest you can get to from Acres. Hyak is awesome because it is closed some of the time.
Long live Alpental mondays!
Pete
Long live Alpental mondays!
Pete
author=haydenslides link=topic=11838.msg49351#msg49351 date=1231546075]
...none of us have ever seen any slides on this slope before.
If that's the east side of 'Sunrise' you're talking about, I saw slides there several times during the 18 years I worked at Olympic. That's probably why there are no or few trees. ;) The really amazing thing is that the park used to have their kiddie tubing area right above...
author=khyak link=topic=11700.msg49364#msg49364 date=1231548790]
I am getting tired of clicking on trip reports and seeing this rant about Crystal!
Me too! I wish Crystal management would quit pissing people off.
Thanks for the heads up Hayden-
I am thinking of headed out that way tomorrow but having a hard time judging conditions. What can you tell us of the coverage and snow quality?
I am thinking of headed out that way tomorrow but having a hard time judging conditions. What can you tell us of the coverage and snow quality?
Ummmm, is this a trip report??? I am getting tired of clicking on trip reports and seeing this rant about Crystal! I believe this site is primarily for BC skiers. Is there some reason people continue to use it as a forum to bitch?
Is there a moderator available?? Can we at least move this drivel to the proper category. Sorry for the negativity, but let's concentrate on skiing and less whining. Thanks Kevin
Is there a moderator available?? Can we at least move this drivel to the proper category. Sorry for the negativity, but let's concentrate on skiing and less whining. Thanks Kevin
A beacon is probably a definite good idea. Glad everyone was okay.
Thanks for the beta Andy, I do like JD's cajun topping comment. Yoda's Cajun forest ( a Blue Square) is still a bit twiggy however...
There was a lightning strike last summer up on top of Yodelin which caused the "killer tree" outbreak. Helicopters doused it pretty quickly.
My group went to Ymir last Feb. 29. Trevor was a total wanker, he forgot to get us too.
We had a fab time 4,000 touring one day, 5,000 the nest and the access was great from the stinky moldy Qua yurt.
Question is how do you accept a "guide" / outfitter who can't honor his word. Lots of stories out there about Trevor forgetting this or that, but he never forgets to cash the check.
We had a fab time 4,000 touring one day, 5,000 the nest and the access was great from the stinky moldy Qua yurt.
Question is how do you accept a "guide" / outfitter who can't honor his word. Lots of stories out there about Trevor forgetting this or that, but he never forgets to cash the check.
Before the Coldsmoke Fest started, Nils Larson organized a tele clinic at Whitewater, BC Presidents' Day weekend. In Feb 2006 a group of us spent 3 days after the clinic at Qua yurt with Nils and Kasha Rigby. Great time, great company, great skiing. The facilites are 'basic' and Trevor forgot to come pick us up and we had to ski out after sitting around waiting for a couple hours, but no serious complaints.
Wow that is insane,looks more like a late spring avalanche cycle!
Crystal has always had poor customer relations in my book. My wife and I went up to ski after snoqualmie opened but could not use our pass because they were not in full operations. they said that I could come back tomorrow and use it because west and central would be open. I told them that was not full operations so why would it work tomorrow and not today? They said that it had to do with full price tickets and not lifts open...... There were tons of people just li...
We took a trip there a couple years ago, but under much better conditions. The "highlight" of the trip was, due to lack of space on the motorized vehicles, several of us being towed out on skis behind the sleds. Pretty fun for a while, but after 20 miles in those temps it got old real fast.
Brenda and I had planned to spend the holidays in Nelson, but canceled at the last minute due to the conditions. They had had a very thin snowpack, under super cold temps for several week...
Brenda and I had planned to spend the holidays in Nelson, but canceled at the last minute due to the conditions. They had had a very thin snowpack, under super cold temps for several week...
Marcus~
Spooky is right! We baggd our outing all together. Good to hear the area has promise. Scotsmans got the Karma statemtnt to the T....Now lets get winter back on.
"Next time gadget.....Next Time...!!!" (Dr. Claw)
Spooky is right! We baggd our outing all together. Good to hear the area has promise. Scotsmans got the Karma statemtnt to the T....Now lets get winter back on.
"Next time gadget.....Next Time...!!!" (Dr. Claw)
Yeah, there's some remarkable stuff up there.
Some of the pit variability was due to the sub-snow surface -- lots of rock and trees, etc, so lots of local changes. That CT11 to ground was on a 25 degree slope though... spooky. All the pits we dug were to ground. It was that 18" slab on the rutschblock that scared us the most -- the whole slope we dug it one actually cracked above our pits as Todd was approaching the RB...
Some of the pit variability was due to the sub-snow surface -- lots of rock and trees, etc, so lots of local changes. That CT11 to ground was on a 25 degree slope though... spooky. All the pits we dug were to ground. It was that 18" slab on the rutschblock that scared us the most -- the whole slope we dug it one actually cracked above our pits as Todd was approaching the RB...
Wow, those are some scary pit results Marcus CT5, CT10, CT11 with Q1!!!! yikes.
Sorry it didn't work out for you but seeing new terrain for the future is always money in the karma bank.
I love that part of BC.
Sorry it didn't work out for you but seeing new terrain for the future is always money in the karma bank.
I love that part of BC.
Hyak - photo from a long email chain @ work
I am hoping for two new high speed quads and night skiing next year at Hyak to rip lap after lap
That's pretty cool that you were there to see it.
Have you considered that perhaps you are bad luck?
If so, sorry. That sucks.
Have you considered that perhaps you are bad luck?
If so, sorry. That sucks.
Thanks Matt, we'll check that out.
Had we better snow, the terrain was like a low alpine version of Fairy Meadows. Many, many fantastic lines, if only we could get near them without changing our shorts.
Had we better snow, the terrain was like a low alpine version of Fairy Meadows. Many, many fantastic lines, if only we could get near them without changing our shorts.
Too bad about the snowpack, Marcus. But it sounds like a fun trip nonetheless. If you want a "cozy" shelter for next year in that area, check out the Huckleberry Hut just south of Nelson.
Where are the stopping plowing on highway 20. Can you park at Silver Star Creek?
i haven't had any bad vibes thrown my way up at baker either. in fact, the vibe there is making me like it more and more (currently taking their MEC 200 level course).
however, as far as space between riders goes i'm not sure about that. but like i said there are a lot of people within a short ride of the terrain.
i think what sparked my local-ness comment was the comment regarding more beta for the seattle snow sluts coupled with reading the "Dec...
however, as far as space between riders goes i'm not sure about that. but like i said there are a lot of people within a short ride of the terrain.
i think what sparked my local-ness comment was the comment regarding more beta for the seattle snow sluts coupled with reading the "Dec...
I've never noted even a hint of localism at Baker. Not once. There is too much terrain and space between snow riders. Wind-an-Sea Beach in La Jolla, off Gravilla street, that's localism for you....
Apparently the FS or whom ever manages the forest up yonder marks the "killer trees" as those trees who have snags, or week root structures after a burn event. Good to know...
author=mc link=topic=11767.msg49062#msg49062 date=1231264949]
meet new people. have more fun.
I've met so many new people and had so much more fun thanks to TAY! Charles is the man.
Justin....I knew that was you on the back nine.....you beat Jen and I to the goods ... funny we didn't see you or you Dan. thanks for the uptrack! Great day 8) .... Jerry
You shouldda come down the road a bit to Galer below 24th. The kids had a kicker and everything!
Many of you know I've been a vocal critic of CM customer relations. I wish I weren't but there it is. I will say that I have heard a couple of pretty bad stories already this year of people being treated less than thoughtfully. Really, how hard is it to do something nice for a dissatisfied customer (even if you - as a customer relations person - disagree) if they are genuine. A voucher for another day costs little relative to the loyalty and good will it will generate. The sad thing is...
author=snoqpass link=topic=11700.msg48985#msg48985 date=1231189035]
I had always thought back-up motors were run as part of start-up procedures everyday.
Occasionally , Crystal will fire up the diesel engines to make surre they are operating correctly. But, only now and then. They should fire immediately, with a person in the know, on how to operate those expensive pieces of equipment.
Most of those maps are easy to read so I assume that you're reading them correctly. These maps are great tools for aiding perception of exposure to avalanche terrain. But as a perceptual tool, they have several downsides: for example: non-avalanche terrain does not indicate safe terrain. Second, although the maps provide a very accurate depiction of which slopes are steep enough to avalanche, they don't integrate snowpack information. This is a nasty thorn.
Third, the middl...
Third, the middl...
2009 new year's resolution? slash as many local spots as possible from a base out of seattle.
folks need to get over the local-ness considering a metropolis of over 1M people is within 3 hours of all WA mtn goodness. meet new people. have more fun. leave the vibes for the lift line bro-brahs. unless of course you were hatched out of a raven egg high atop a mtn.
:)
folks need to get over the local-ness considering a metropolis of over 1M people is within 3 hours of all WA mtn goodness. meet new people. have more fun. leave the vibes for the lift line bro-brahs. unless of course you were hatched out of a raven egg high atop a mtn.
:)
Holy crap! So most of this programming jargon is WAY over my head, but I understand how to read the final maps (at least I think I do). I would be really curious to see Granite Mtn. area and a few others that are pretty prone or reknowned for sliding. You know Cookie Monster, if you need specific info from snow pits, rutschblocks, etc. for programming this kind of stuff (sheer levels, snow density, etc.), would it be possible to make a simple form we could fill out after some b...
author=Boot link=topic=11773.msg49022#msg49022 date=1231213405]
Orion, Is this rock where you headed right, away from our tracks or was it before that? Chaotic is a good word, though we were calling it something else >:(.
We left your ski track before the rock in the steep trees but continued along the same general path up to the rock. It looked like maybe our skis were biting into the crust under the fluff a...
Nice TR Lee I have to head out there sometime this season.
I made that map of Chinook Pass with some custom software, DEM data from USGS, and orthographic imagery from University of Washington. The rendering is customized using a variety of graphics tricks. Mostly simple, some complicated. There are other useful and useless research images here:
http://www.scenomics.com/internal/accounts/richardm/avalanche/topics/images_01.htm
http://www.scenomics.com/internal/accounts/richardm/avalanche/topics/images_01.htm
I looks almost like a better time that I had in oregon...almost :) Man I got to get my butt up to Rogers some time.
author=Stugie link=topic=11737.msg49036#msg49036 date=1231220469]
That map is really cool...that'd be a sweet additional overlay for google earth!
No kidding! Just earlier today I was thinking about how one could generate avalanche starting zones and runouts as an overlay to google earth or google maps using usgs digital elevation model data. It would be way more useful for trip planning than trying to squint at c...
author=skinjob link=topic=11786.msg49035#msg49035 date=1231219749]
great pics- i like the dual-rider photos - very cool.
what camera set up are you using in the back-country?
Scott
Scott - Canon G10 and a Canon A710 both set to Aperture priority.
I also sometimes pack around a DSLR but the g10 is making me think that the DSLR will get left home a lot
What am I doing still reading...this just makes me want to go ski! Awesome pics!
That map is really cool...that'd be a sweet additional overlay for google earth!
great pics- i like the dual-rider photos - very cool.
what camera set up are you using in the back-country?
Scott
what camera set up are you using in the back-country?
Scott
Awesome TR Lee! Way start the new year.
There are some really good additional pictures in the linked TR as well.
There are some really good additional pictures in the linked TR as well.
Bostock drainage on Jan 4th
Skied off SW facing slope off McGill shoulder into the burns. Found the same facet layer from Christmas but failling on moderate shears on that aspect. Ski pen was 30 or so and slope was w/l with fluffy white fist density snow. Skied a protected treed ridged rib instead of wide open bowl due to exposure.
Probably a bit conservative as ski cutting convexities produced nil results in any event. Quality turns ...
Skied off SW facing slope off McGill shoulder into the burns. Found the same facet layer from Christmas but failling on moderate shears on that aspect. Ski pen was 30 or so and slope was w/l with fluffy white fist density snow. Skied a protected treed ridged rib instead of wide open bowl due to exposure.
Probably a bit conservative as ski cutting convexities produced nil results in any event. Quality turns ...
Day 2 - Jan 3 - 8812 Bowl - Ursus
Got in the alpine today. 35cms ski pen on w/l slopes in Balu/Bruins area. No whumpfing. Felt a hint of a w/s layer lower in valley with pole probes but no signs of same layer on SE facing slopes at TL and BTL
Pillows and convexities didn't react to ski cuts. some sluffing on storm snow but no slabs.
Got in the alpine today. 35cms ski pen on w/l slopes in Balu/Bruins area. No whumpfing. Felt a hint of a w/s layer lower in valley with pole probes but no signs of same layer on SE facing slopes at TL and BTL
Pillows and convexities didn't react to ski cuts. some sluffing on storm snow but no slabs.
Hey, good pics. I was at riding lifts on Saturday and saw tracks coming down East Peak, guess some of those were yours.