TR Replies
Lee, thanks for the TR and Sharon's Google Earth image. What are the light blue circles ?
Hello Ron & Maddog-
Great report! Looks like a bad setup for the future with ugly stepdown possibilities. Looks like about 40" then @ 5900'?
Gerry
Great report! Looks like a bad setup for the future with ugly stepdown possibilities. Looks like about 40" then @ 5900'?
Gerry
What day was this? Today (monday) or Sunday? Looks like you had nice blue skies and light fluffy stuff to keep you company. Good work accosting the drunk and even better work accosting the Baker backcountry.
See you next time.
Chris
See you next time.
Chris
Ron - Thanks for the snowpack data!
here's a vid for ya'll to check if you have 6 minutes...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CC-kIvTymw
Hope you like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CC-kIvTymw
Hope you like it.
Lucky for me, my partner did not ski Saturday, so was highly motivated to go Sunday. I would have turned around if he had not insisted on going for it!
Yep, the photo is below the nose. Without local guides, we needed to stay within sight of the parking lot. ;)
Yep, the photo is below the nose. Without local guides, we needed to stay within sight of the parking lot. ;)
Check out this cool Google Earth thing sharon put together
Thanks for the pit data. Not what this tyro would've expected.
Good info Ron!
We (Justin, Michael L. and myself) ventured up to Muir on the 8th and found highly variable wind-affected snow up high (wind- scoured to bare water-ice in some spots, but mostly covered with several inches of soft snow for fun turns, though occassionally bottoming-out on surprise ice chunks below). The runnels weren't too noticeble above Pebble Creek, though it seemed rather boney for this time of year around Pebble Creek.
Pics from Saturday are posted
We (Justin, Michael L. and myself) ventured up to Muir on the 8th and found highly variable wind-affected snow up high (wind- scoured to bare water-ice in some spots, but mostly covered with several inches of soft snow for fun turns, though occassionally bottoming-out on surprise ice chunks below). The runnels weren't too noticeble above Pebble Creek, though it seemed rather boney for this time of year around Pebble Creek.
Pics from Saturday are posted
We were also up in the Paradise vicinity yesterday.....flat light and flurries in the morning kept us from going high...so once we reached the base on pan point we decided to drop down into Edith creek. This run was a couple inches of dust on crust....and very vertigo inducing as we couldn't decipher terrain features or if we were moving or not for that matter. We traversed across hoping to find better conditions on Bundy's. No such luck.....more dust on crust. ...
Oh, Yeah, I forget to mention that, Mack.
It snowed all day and it was dumping when we left, mid afternoon.
It snowed all day and it was dumping when we left, mid afternoon.
Trust me on this. Go when the weather's good - so if its good weather in February then take the opportunity.
Thanks for the data , Ron. Was it snowing at all Sunday?
Looks like my kinda skiing! Take me with you whenever it's like that....
Lee, Thanks for the info and great links! I have 2 trips planned up there - one in Feb and the other in April and I'm thinking the April trip would be perfect time to get out there.
Yeah, cuttin across the fall-line like that. Lame. What a waste of momentum. :)
They're really not that far. Just a ridge over from the Blackcomb Glacier so very close to inbounds. Taking our time got there in about 2 hours from bottom of Showcase T-bar. This might help - http://john_baldwin.bivouac.com/whistler.htm
http://john_baldwin.bivouac.com/sample.htm - map
http://john_baldwin.bivouac.com/sample.htm - map
Great pictures Nate! It was a fun run and my skis thank you for navigating a good passage through the rocks. Marcus, it is indeed a small world, especially when all the good snow in Washington lands in one area. I suspect I'll be running into you folks again somewhere in the mountains. Hopefully with the snow knee deep and the mountain below us!
Hmm... the snow level would have to be pretty high. We were making our way through brush/trees that were easily 5 or 6 feet above the snowpack. Should we have headed farther skiers left?
Edit: (added photographic evidence)
Edit: (added photographic evidence)
I just love having my own personal videographer. Though I do seem a little ... tired ... in those later runs. Thanks Jayme!
Nice posts. How far (distance and time) off the lifts are these glaciers? I've been to the blackcomb glacier but am not familiar with these. Sounds like a fun trip
Wow, nice pics! You guys had the goods too!
Glad to hear you guys had a great day too! Thought we saw a rider who looked like Sergio, and we were around the same area. Right on, good turns.
OK, I'm really holding back here and surprised to not get any fired-up responses. I'm hacked off to have to buy a yearly pass so I can access one road in OUR PARK for a few hours on some days in the winter. I have no problem with a closed road or late opening on bad weather days, but there is no reasonable reason to open so late on nice days. All other mtn roads and passes in the state seem to manage it just fine. If liability is "concern #1&quo...
Yeah, so why the heck did so many people bother with the passes when they could have sacraficed just one extra hour of sleep to get the goods?
Pictures would have been just too painful to look at anyway. That snow sounds like an injury waiting to happen.
Thanks for the running the recon mission Mack. Do me a favor and check in weekly with a report so I can know just when it's ready for me. Also that way you can establish good tire ruts so that I won't need to hike from the lower trailhead or below.
Yeah, that would be great.
Yeah, that would be great.
Went up there Saturday as well. Killer weather and views, for sure. And very nice 4" layer of fluff on top of the crust. ;D Lots of rocks poking thru, though, at the top of Pan Point and for a few spots shortly after it. Wait a few weeks for more snowpack to build up if you don't want to have some long walks in that section or else scratching up your bases.
When I called the park on Friday they said that the gate could open any time between 8:15 and 9:00 am....
When I called the park on Friday they said that the gate could open any time between 8:15 and 9:00 am....
More photos here:
http://climbwashington.shutterfly.com/action/pictures?a=67b0de21b358044da48b
http://climbwashington.shutterfly.com/action/pictures?a=67b0de21b358044da48b
You're on, Kenji. We're talking post-holidays now. Cheers.
Remember the Park Service's #1 concern is not service -- it's liability. #2 is keeping within their limited budget.
Want an early start from Paradise -- camp overnight -- of course the trick hereis getting past Longmire before the gate gets closed in the evening...
http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/upload/winter_group_camping.pdf
Want an early start from Paradise -- camp overnight -- of course the trick hereis getting past Longmire before the gate gets closed in the evening...
http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/upload/winter_group_camping.pdf
Hey Dave & Jeff, fun run down from Table, eh? Glad the route we took through that cliff band panned out. So many posts from Baker, hope you don't mind me hijacking your thread to post some pics.
http://www.evilfungus.com/trogs/herman07.html
checking out Herman Saddle & Table Mountain
http://www.evilfungus.com/trogs/herman07.html
checking out Herman Saddle & Table Mountain
nice work, my partner and i were planning on some touring but totally chickened out because of the weather. its just hard to ski in that weather after a day like Saturday :)
is the spot in that picture below the table nose?
is the spot in that picture below the table nose?
I, too, wish the gate were consistently open earlier. Sunrise from well above timberline shouldn't be locked away when the road's apt to be in good condition. There are few things better for the soul.
Once there is more snow, that descent is not too bad...
Opened @ 9:00. Conditions made for pretty quick travel, but it sure would be nice on these short days to get an earlier start.
BigRed,
Thanks for posting the pictures. good winter adventure, silly skiing, excellent views.
I'd do it again.
Jamin
Thanks for posting the pictures. good winter adventure, silly skiing, excellent views.
I'd do it again.
Jamin
What time did the gate open? You musta made pretty good time to get up Cowlitz and back up near Anvil both. Thanks for the good pics.
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me
As I was walking a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me
Chorus
I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And...
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me
As I was walking a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me
Chorus
I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And...
Thanks for the report- I'd wondered about heading that way on Saturday - now I know! :).
Edit: Nice photos too - some of those climax slides are pretty nifty.
Edit: Nice photos too - some of those climax slides are pretty nifty.
Nice Dave! Kirsten mentioned that she'd run into you out there. Small world. Thanks for the report.
The video was great!! I wish I didn't have to work yesterday!! It is a little confusing though. The title of the video on you tube is "Baker Backcountry". It starts out showing a dumping titled "October 12th, 2007: Mt. Baker", then it forwards to yesterday which was sunny and it is titled "November 8th, 2007: Mt. Hood backcountry", yet we obviously know it's Ptarmigan Ridge near Mt. Baker, not Mt. Hood like it is labeled in the video.
author=Matt C link=topic=8419.msg33707#msg33707 date=1197227506]
Nice pics Gondor! Was that you guys who came up to dig a pit near the peak?
Here is a link to some video of Toby making that track in your second pic...may take a minute to download as I'm still learning how to compress files...
www.vivovox.com/ptpeak
Matt
Yeah,
That was us. After the deaths this week and ample e...
Nice, that was some really good lookin' stuff. Thanks for the video!
Nice pics Gondor! Was that you guys who came up to dig a pit near the peak?
Here is a link to some video of Toby making that track in your second pic...may take a minute to download as I'm still learning how to compress files...
www.vivovox.com/ptpeak
Edit to Add: Windows users may need to paste this URL into Quicktime
Matt
Here is a link to some video of Toby making that track in your second pic...may take a minute to download as I'm still learning how to compress files...
www.vivovox.com/ptpeak
Edit to Add: Windows users may need to paste this URL into Quicktime
Matt