TR Replies

Is that south facing? A little bit of sun warming the trees and rocks?

1/9/08 1:28am

curmudgeon

The cornices on the ridge to lookers left tell me that the slopes that broke were cross loaded. Perhaps an earlier wind scoured those slopes to a crust, but the cross loading itself would have kept me off that aspect.

1/9/08 12:23am

md2020

I'm assuming that slid on the New Years crust. Was that a surface hoar layer? Maybe the wind was able to get to some of those other areas and blow it off before that snow came. That patch looks like it might be a bit protected.

1/8/08 1:17pm

ron j

author=bc_skier link=topic=8735.msg35084#msg35084 date=1199854918]
I have a question for all of you avalanche students. Why did the above slope slide and the rest of the obvious avy slopes around it not slide?

:) Ah, such a simple question.
So many possible answers; for such a mysterious science.
To he who can answer that question with absolute certainty and factual accuracy lies the ability to save untold lives and possibly lifel...

1/8/08 1:01pm

bc_skier

January 6, 2008, Crystal BC, View From My Head

ron j-

Yep, I was over in the Tatoosh.

Rusty Knees-

Yes, 100% windloaded.

I have a question for all of you avalanche students. Why did the above slope slide and the rest of the obvious avy slopes around it not slide?

1/8/08 11:59am

JCK

Amusing video work---I couldn't place Poopsicle's accent though----Swedish Chef from the muppets?

What helmet camera were you using and is the native (non-youtube) video higher quality?

Thx

JK

1/8/08 11:36am

Salal

Jan 1-4 Rendezvous Huts Methow Valley

I spent last new years up there and it was a blast!!!

1/8/08 11:11am

MW88888888

January 6, 2008, Crystal BC, View From My Head

Tony! That was just like skiing with you - got a tree branch in the eye to prove it.

1/8/08 8:31am

OldHouseMan

January 5, 2008, Mt. Hood, Bennett Pass powder

I wouldn't say a slide couldn't happen in the clear cuts at Bennet Pass but myself and my skiing buddies usually consider the clear cuts to be reasonably safe low angle skiing when the avy danger elsewhere is up.

1/8/08 6:24am

hefeweizen

January 5, 2008, Mt. Hood, Bennett Pass powder

The unequivocal, sure fire answer to your question is...

it depends. ;)

1/8/08 6:13am

Jerm

Jan 1-4 Rendezvous Huts Methow Valley

I spent a weekend at Cassal. It did have a nice slope for skiing but unfortunately it was raining when we were there :(

If I were to do it again, I would approach from the south up logging roads from that housing development. Much shorter and more direct than the Rendezvous base.

1/8/08 4:40am

January 6, 2008, Crystal BC, View From My Head

Nice video. Remind me not to ask for a ride with that guy though! ;D

1/8/08 4:09am

cjm720

Thanks Pete A...that's where I was as well, except I accessed via Silver Fir. (hit up Radio Mtn. first). I definitely was wondering which access would prove best - Hyak or Silver Fir. Have you taken both? Preference? Thanks for the info!

1/8/08 2:22am

Pete A

was skiing on the north/northwest side of Catherine....accessed it by using our season passes for a freebie ride up to the top of Hyak and then out across the xc skiing trails.

1/8/08 1:56am

cjm720

What side of Catherine were you all on and what route did you take to access, out of curiosity? Catherine was superb on NY's day!!!

1/8/08 12:29am

Nate R

Thanks, Marcus & Telemack. Marcus, sorry you couldn't make it out. Hope that knee gets better soon! JD, nice to run into you guys -- I figured there must've been at least one other TAY group up there. I hope Irena had a good day in the backcountry and is left wanting more.

1/7/08 4:12pm

savegondor

author=mtn_mama link=topic=8717.msg35012#msg35012 date=1199762101]
It must have been you boys that we met up there at the top. Thanks for letting us have first turns!

Yeah,

Thanks for checking the bomber stability for us!!! I was a bit sketchy about that stuff near the saddle!

And to everyone else: thanks for the beta.

-Jayme

1/7/08 1:55pm

jdclimber

I was wondering if you were a Turns-All-Year group.
I was out with Kelvin and my girlfriend Irena on her first (and hopefully not last) trip into the Backcountry on the teleskis. I said hi and let you pass and then hassled you in the parklot on the way out, since it was so early and you were moving so very fast and strong.
Good day up there, a little heavier than days past, but who can complain, sun break was beautiful with all the fresh snow.

1/7/08 1:39pm

telemack

Nice vid, good music selection & synchronization, and sweet fluff.

1/7/08 1:13pm

Rusty Knees

Did you see it happen? Maybe windloaded?

1/7/08 1:06pm

ron j

1/5/08 Heather Ridge, Stevens Pass

Shot from over on the Tatoosh?

1/7/08 12:16pm

coldsmoke

The last shot in that sequence is sick Jim! Did Jeff get a new red jacket just to slut for your camera? I seem to remember him destroying his last one on a low snow day early season at stevens pass... Check out our TR from the same day you guys were out. http://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107770 Of course we rode on the lifts and took the pictures in whistlers slackcountry but at least we walked a little bit for them! We were using my sd500 at 4PM in a whiteout, so what we...

1/7/08 11:24am

Charlie Hagedorn

Ah, I'd seen an uptrack on my way out and figured its owner had some sage knowledge of a nifty route upward. I was more than a little concerned that I didn't see a downtrack, as I left the railroad grade not long before dusk.

If your route home following tracks took you through thick trees, along logs, and generally downhill, that was my uptrack. If it took you down steep, but not quite so thick trees, across a sizeable avalanche slope above a munchy looking terrain trap, t...

1/7/08 11:17am

BigRed

Good to know the conditions were still good up there. We had some fun up there on new years eve and the Saturday before.

As far as the north side, I remember this trip report from last year among others:

http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=5746.0

1/7/08 11:15am

mtn_mama

Jan 4-6, 2008, Scottish Lakes-High Camp

It must have been you boys that we met up there at the top. Thanks for letting us have first turns!

1/7/08 9:52am

dkoelle

The Coulter Ski Trail sign is just 100-200 feet up the road from the current Midway transport pit stop. We were told that no one has skied it this year yet, so it would be slow going, but I am sure Don/Chris could provide a lot of information re: signage, etc. I got the feeling old guidebooks might provide information about this trail; I think it was a traditional way of getting to/from US2 "back in the day". And no to your McCue Ridge question. My main lesson from th...

1/7/08 9:20am

John Morrow

Jan 7, 2008, Red Mtn Pt. 5703 ( Salmon La Sac)

Here's pics:
1. Self portrait with skin track depth at 5000 feet.
2. South slope of Pt. 5703'.
3. North slope of Pt. 5085'.

1/7/08 7:20am

Marcus

Jan 6, 2008, Mount Gardner, north ridge

Yodelin rarely disappoints -- nice video, as always.

1/7/08 6:46am

ron j

Nice TR, Mike.
Thanks.

1/7/08 6:39am

Zap

Jan 6, 2008, Mount Gardner, north ridge

Thanks for the great TR. I was staring at the terrain a couple of days ago with the binoculars hoping some adventurous folks would leave some evidence of their journey. ;) Your TR is exactly what is needed to encourage a followup journey.

1/7/08 4:52am

bergmeister

I was out there as well, and experienced conditions similar to what you did. I got a late start due to home projects and indecision about where to start skiing - Hyak or exit 47. I choose exit 47 after seeing the crowds on the pass and falling for what looked like a more direct route to Silver Peak on the map. As you've noticed, contour lines on maps don't tell the whole story. Who would have known that someone would try to grow a "Christmas tree farm" at the top of the ridge...

1/7/08 2:42am

savegondor

author=Randy link=topic=8717.msg34985#msg34985 date=1199720543]
The Silver creek drainage off the "backside" of Kendall ridge is quite a bit steeper with mostly north facing couloirs that then open out to the east.

Descents have been made here -- but these routes are more akin to skiing "The Slot couloir" on Snoqualmie than the "front side" of Kendall.

Randy,

Do you know anyon...

1/6/08 11:42pm

Randito

author=savegondor link=topic=8717.msg34967#msg34967 date=1199679322]
If anyone has done any stability exploration of the East face of Kendall Peak/Ridge on the Gold Creek side I'd appreciate the beta. My guess is that it's a completely different story on that side.

The Silver creek drainage off the "backside" of Kendall ridge is quite a bit steeper with mostly north facing couloirs that then open out to the...

1/6/08 9:10pm

Jim Oker

1/5/08 Heather Ridge, Stevens Pass

Regarding your comment on consolidation on the west aspects - perhaps this is because of mostly westerly winds compacting snow on that side? I realize there have also been east winds, but it seems that a lot of the snow since early December has fallen during west winds. Just a thought...

1/6/08 2:42pm

Shred

Nice shots JD, your the man!
Gord & I headed over there again, It was just as good and with sun breaks as well. Wish you were there ;)

1/6/08 1:42pm

Charlie Hagedorn

Jan 4-6, 2008, Scottish Lakes-High Camp

Save for the scary bit, with which I'm still coming to terms, it was indeed a good adventure.

Granite's looked beautiful in the sunlight over the past two days. Come in, come in, said the spider to the fly... The benevolent future-gazing NWAC folks seem to have ordered up a whole 'nother batch of winter though - it'll be a while (and worth the wait).

1/6/08 1:29pm

telemack

Sounds great; we have Feb. 1-3 booked. There's an established trail from the midway down to US 2, right? And have you skied the slopes S of the saddle below McCue Ridge? We did the upper part on corn, but friends have gone all the way to the creek bed.

1/6/08 12:15pm

savegondor

If anyone has done any stability exploration of the East face of Kendall Peak/Ridge on the Gold Creek side I'd appreciate the beta. My guess is that it's a completely different story on that side.

1/6/08 11:55am

Swooz

Margie T., Bill S. and I made it up there later in the day, after making a run through the trees on the west side. We dug a pit to the crust, 6' or so. Just did a shovel isolation test, with very similar results. No matter how hard I pounded on the shovel, it wouldn't budge from the deep crust, but did when I pried it with the shovel. The whole column remained intact after release. A gloved finger penetrated about an inch max the whole length. Being reassured of stability, procee...

1/6/08 11:51am

haggis

We were up in the area today. Still nice snow on the N slopes and from the stump down to the Kendall Basin even had some good powder in it.

Good times.

1/6/08 11:45am

telemack

Good "adventure". I was surprised to see Granite bare on the ridge last Friday. Maybe we'll get a clear spell next week and go after it.

1/6/08 9:24am

cochise

We were up today 1-6-08 . Quite a few people up there. Thanks for the inspiration Pete! Still some fun skiing and beautiful weather. No wind on the summit and clear views. Thanks for the nice skin track! Getting skied out on the SW side.

1/6/08 9:00am

korup

January 5, 2008, Just E of Snoqualmie Pass

Also toured around Mt. Catherine on Sat; after a few pits, we decided to stay off everything steep. Tap tests failed after 2-4 wrist taps, shear tests with easy force, and a RB failed at knee flex. All tests were at ~4300 ft, N facing slopes. A couple failed just under the fresh 4-6 inches, most gave a clean shear at a granular-graupel layer at ~ 16 inches.

1/6/08 8:27am

gravitymk

Dug a pit just above Milwaukee Bowl at Hyak yesterday. About 3800 ft, facing East/South East in the trees.
320cm in depth. There is a rain crust at 120cm which is where our column failed during the shovel test at 15 taps. Snow above was softer, four fingers. The snow below the rain crust was denser, about two fingers. At the bottom of the pit, roughly 15cm there is another rain layer. Things are starting to settle down, however I believe that the rain crust at 120cm will come back to haunt...

1/6/08 4:48am

Kirinpnw