TR Replies
Big thanks to Amar, Monika, and Dave for a super trip, I had a great time! Also a big thanks to climbers for leaving Muir so early! ;D ;D ;D
Yeah I noticed some pollen issues on Saturday while up near 3Way. Me no likey, nasty pollen it is!
author=artfreeman link=topic=10221.msg41106#msg41106 date=1212415459]
I've found that often if one stares at the various weather pages long enough, wishing it was better than it really is, eventually one comes up with cunning plan to avoid the clouds and rain. A plan available only to those with the most well developed skills of analysis and perception. Or, more likely, it is just the computer screen-dumbed mind playing tricks.
A...
author=NickD link=topic=10215.msg41092#msg41092 date=1212372258]
Nick wouldn't happen to be Nick D would it? Thought I might see him today on Fortune, perhaps with Brent on a visit!
John
I am recovering from December hip accident/surgery John. Living vicariously through your reports. Did my first bike ride yesterday so I hope to ski in July. Sort of a bookend season. Sunrise opening day is a target...
author=md2020 link=topic=10216.msg41100#msg41100 date=1212379256]
Brenda and I made a camp yesterday at the base of the southeast bowl at around 5800'. Good skiing there and in Headlight basin yesterday. Took a tour over to Ingalls Lake today. The approach from Esmarelda TH was a bit of a disappointment. With lots of snow on the trail I was sure we would be skinning all the way to camp. Wasn't to be. Those woods melt out so quick. Windy as hell last...
No, I've seen this before. It's Ron with his "invisible guitar" routine again ::) ::) ::)
Brenda and I made a camp yesterday at the base of the southeast bowl at around 5800'. Good skiing there and in Headlight basin yesterday. Took a tour over to Ingalls Lake today. The approach from Esmarelda TH was a bit of a disappointment. With lots of snow on the trail I was sure we would be skinning all the way to camp. Wasn't to be. Those woods melt out so quick. Windy as hell last night with plenty of rain. Wind this morning, as well as the clouds which kept pushing through, had us...
Ive seen that hand out before . Gimmee a beer !
Nice effort, cool to see a report from further south!
Cool. Almost looks like you got it better than we did! Schweet.
Hey John- That would be Nick C, and no problem on the advice. Trust me, we had second thoughts at the bottom! This tour might go for a few more days, but with all the other tours available to ski, I'd recommend considering one (or more) with a snow start. Thx!
Nick wouldn't happen to be Nick D would it? Thought I might see him today on Fortune, perhaps with Brent on a visit!
John
I am recovering from December hip accident/surgery John. Living vicariously through your reports. Did my first bike ride yesterday so I hope to ski in July. Sort of a bookend season. Sunrise opening day is a target. Sounds like the standard Hawkins thing where by the time you can drive close to TH, on...
John
I am recovering from December hip accident/surgery John. Living vicariously through your reports. Did my first bike ride yesterday so I hope to ski in July. Sort of a bookend season. Sunrise opening day is a target. Sounds like the standard Hawkins thing where by the time you can drive close to TH, on...
Nice to meet you. Some of us enjoyed extra turns on the way up toward Melakwa Pass. The corn was nice - finally getting big grains and no sticky slush or pollen. Your shot of the ski alongside the Chair Peak Lake outlet stream gives a good feel for that stretch. I didn't like the neck of rotten snow, but it was nice to get away with skipping the little climb to the wiser route you describe.
As I mentioned in the other Hawkins post, sorry for thinking it wouldn't be worth the trip. Your picture of the approach is so typical. Good advice on the beginning at the bottom. Nick wouldn't happen to be Nick D would it? Thought I might see him today on Fortune, perhaps with Brent on a visit! Thanks for the post. By next weekend though, I think it may all be gone, and my little 3 week "stay close to home" vacation is coming to an end!
John
John
author=Kevin Steffa link=topic=10213.msg41079#msg41079 date=1212358913]
Chris, Mark, Kathleen, Drew, and I headed up the Salmon La Sac road in search of snow.
We aimed for Hawkins, it looked a little thin, so tried for Scatter Peak (Fish Eagle), between Paris and Scatter creek. Promptly got stuck in snowdrift a mile down the road, so dug out, and had a go at Hawkins anyway despite the dryish look of the surroundings.
Thanks for the good time Holly and pics , I added a few picss .
That was some tasty corn!! and not bad managing to break the 50% mark on the joy-o-meter! (vertical feet skied divided by vertical feet hiked/skinned = 2,200 ft / 3,900 ft = 56 %!!!).
Additinal pics posted here..
Additinal pics posted here..
author=John_Morrow link=topic=10202.msg41041#msg41041 date=1212280993]
Access and Approach Notes:
Pico and I thought we'd try Skookum Peak having been told that Paris Creek was as far up the Fish Lake Rd. 4330 as one can drive. When we got to the Paris Creek TH there was no snow to be seen anywhere.
So then we decided to drive toward Boulder Creek and try Hawkins Mountain. When we got to Boulder Creek and the view of Hawkins we saw it too was...
I'm sorry to learn about the Injured hikers.
I would be curious to learn more specifics of the incident.
I would be curious to learn more specifics of the incident.
It was great to meet you guys as well - definitely a great day for a quick tour. Thanks for letting me tag along,
Just added a few more details (see top)
Townsend is always tricky...once the road has melted out so has the snow on the south slope. I believe it doesn't get that much snow in the first place, sitting in the snow shadow of the Olympics. Still IMHO it's a great trip and like Elinor to the south, the views are worth the grunt.
Speaking of Elinor, I heard that two "hikers" were injured on Saturday by falling ice - hope they are OK
Speaking of Elinor, I heard that two "hikers" were injured on Saturday by falling ice - hope they are OK
Jessica & Lowell,
Perhaps we can pass the torch and get in one last dusker before Brett becomes an Eckstein alumni? We were talking over this exact topic yesterday with him (during our circumnav of Chair peak). We've got a couple of weeks til he's a high-schooler...
-Dave
Perhaps we can pass the torch and get in one last dusker before Brett becomes an Eckstein alumni? We were talking over this exact topic yesterday with him (during our circumnav of Chair peak). We've got a couple of weeks til he's a high-schooler...
-Dave
Thanks for the beta on the Townsend beat. I didn't realize it had waned quite so much already. Where does the time go?
John, your report gives me a chance to post a link to some pics I was going to show as part of a TR that never got done from a few weeks ago. Impressive slide paths! Looks like Jon Herman and the rest of the trail crew will have their work cut out for them (so to speak) this season. :)
Time for me to put the skis in suspended animation until next year. But this was a great season; over 6 months of ski camping and not having to miss a single week. I guess I'll have to get used t...
Time for me to put the skis in suspended animation until next year. But this was a great season; over 6 months of ski camping and not having to miss a single week. I guess I'll have to get used t...
When we were in there a few weeks ago we had trouble getting from the lake down to the creek too. About the first half when well then we stayed to far to skiers left. Ended up hugging trees also! But fortunately we came out right at the foot log. I really like that area and wanted to get back but have not been able to work that out yet. Hopefully the snow will hang in a while longer.
Eric
Eric
Should have mentioned this in the TR. The gate is open, and you can drive about 3.5 miles up the road before you hit an impassable patch of snow. The road is then bare for a while after this patch of snow, but there are quite a few downed trees. Finally the last 2.5 miles or so to the TH are all snow covered and skinnable.
Despite the rain, what a whole lotta fun!!
Here are pics of the group. (Sorry guys, no good with thumbnails.)
Here are pics of the group. (Sorry guys, no good with thumbnails.)
Lowell,
You and Tom may have to take the torch for the Eckstein afterschool patrols from Dave_R and his Redgoesfaster soon to be highschooler Brett. I look forward to joining in!
Nice tour and viddy!
You and Tom may have to take the torch for the Eckstein afterschool patrols from Dave_R and his Redgoesfaster soon to be highschooler Brett. I look forward to joining in!
Nice tour and viddy!
My 16 yr old Stewie and I went to Crystal today and hiked up and skied Gunbarrel near 3way Peak. On the way down he found $10 in the snow under the quicksilver lift. Pretty faded so they ( 2 x $5 bills) must have been there a while. He bought the lattes at Wapati Woolies.
Always a cool day when you get to ski with the fruit of your loins and find money! ;D
Nice job Lowell with the adaptations.
Always a cool day when you get to ski with the fruit of your loins and find money! ;D
Nice job Lowell with the adaptations.
Ahhhhh, nickel nosing. Seeing your picture of Tom skiing on a fine spring day brought back fond memories of Gordy & Randy's little brother tagging along many a late spring alpenglow meander up & down the chairs at Alpy or Acres looking for "nickels". Best find was a diamond wedding ring!! BTW, Marilyn & I were doing same on a Crystal to Chinook jaunt the same day. Not much booty but as a consolation it happened to be very good spring skiing.&nbs...
thanks for the report. is the mt pilchuck road open all the way up?
Nice trip Silas! Looks like you guys had some good snow. Will try to make it another time when I am less sleep deprived :-)
glad you had a good time Dan. Pretty cool.....
Mmm - check out that excellent snow in the second photo. Fun day!
Below, Silas demonstrates convincingly that the corn harvest is not limited to silly blue hat wearers (However, if you look very carefully, he's wearing an understated dark blue hat).
Below, Silas demonstrates convincingly that the corn harvest is not limited to silly blue hat wearers (However, if you look very carefully, he's wearing an understated dark blue hat).
author=Larry_R link=topic=10190.msg40976#msg40976 date=1212109794]
Speaking of VR pans, there is a link to a pan that John did from the top of Pinnacle on this page:
http://www.larryscascaderesource.com/VRpans/VRpans_files/panlink.html
I'll have a pan from Foss soon. It will be the first complete 360 deg pan using my new 12 mp camera.
The pan from Foss (6524) is up now, linked on the same page as above....
author=oftpiste link=topic=10198.msg41035#msg41035 date=1212275298]
Lowell, what kind of set-up for skinning do you have Tom on? I'd like to get some kid-sized skinning set-ups for my guys.
I took some old adhesive skins and removed the tip and tail hardware. To put them on a short pair of skis, I center the skin on the ski, smooth it down working outward from the center, then fold the skin over both the tip and tail. I wrap about...
Wow! Way to get after it Dan! Sounds like things have changed a bit on that route since the time I did it in June '96...though that choke/hourglass section was fairly narrow as I recall. I too got to the summit way too early and I also had to wait and wait for things to be "right" (which was a little before 2pm). For me the spooky part I unfortunately experienced, was the trip out onto the Sandy and up the Reid as my old Montana skins would not stick...
Lowell, what kind of set-up for skinning do you have Tom on? I'd like to get some kid-sized skinning set-ups for my guys.
Nicely done.
Nicely done.
Impressive descent Dan! Looks to be right up your alley.
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Welcome, to TAY, T! There's getting to be a pretty active Olympic contingent reporting in now. I grew up over there, and miss those peaks and valleys. Maybe I can get over and ski that ridge with you before it's done for the year.
Good luck on your first year. Well begun is halfway done.
Rusty Knees
Good luck on your first year. Well begun is halfway done.
Rusty Knees
Great job skiing another big line on Hood, Dan. That ski-width chute sounds nasty, though. I've wanted to ski Sandy Headwall for a long time, but maybe not this year in that case.
I have lots of photos of Sandy Headwall from Lolo Pass and McNeil Point taken in previous years, here's some of the better ones:
I have lots of photos of Sandy Headwall from Lolo Pass and McNeil Point taken in previous years, here's some of the better ones:
more pics... anyone have a good one of the entire route from a plane or lolo pass?
author=korup link=topic=10137.msg40993#msg40993 date=1212163520]
Lowell, thanks for digging up all that historical context. Strange how a 1940's text has far more to say about it than anything around today! Does Martin Volken's guide have a section?
Yes Lowell, thanks for taking the time to post the history.
uphill roped on skis? Martin Volken's book does have a page which addresses that. Along with some...