TR Replies
Lee, A great adventure and the photos expose the beauty and some of the agony of the journey. On one of my trips along the Garibaldi Neve Traverse, we spent some time touring the Sphinx Glacier near Garibaldi Lake. Once at a high point, I looked towards the McBride Traverse and wondered "what's it like down there". Thanks for answering the question. ;)
Great TR and photos. I'm pleased to see a report from the Blackcomb backcountry. I saw the forecast for last FR and SA's storm cycle but Jill had a medical appointment. It was painful to sit at the terminal and see the report of 4" on FR and 9" on SA knowing there was more at higher elevations. This weekend should be fun with the Backcountry event and all the sponsors at Whistler/Blackcomb. We're planning a return trip after Whistler closes...
Chris, Nice photos. We spent a week there back in 2005 and had a great time. We did a self guided and self catered trip. Their son was the caretaker during our week and he had a kite and was teaching himself to fly/tumble :) There was a dry spell before and during part of our trip, yet there are so many stashes near the hut that we were skiing powder on north slopes most of the week. We're waiting for them to build the second hut for a return trip. ...
Happy trails back in CO, and thanks for sharing some nice reports while you were here.
Regarding the lemmings, there are also the folks who simply don't report much detail on short-drive routes that aren't in books, thus enabling the "personal discovery zone" of others... ;D
Then again, who in their right mind wants to waste good skiing by going to snowcrummy pass to explore? ;)
Regarding the lemmings, there are also the folks who simply don't report much detail on short-drive routes that aren't in books, thus enabling the "personal discovery zone" of others... ;D
Then again, who in their right mind wants to waste good skiing by going to snowcrummy pass to explore? ;)
You will be back, and you know there is a futon at our house waiting for you. That ridge holds some really fun terrain. I think I will be back up there some day to try out Aaron's line.
author=ryanl link=topic=6864.msg27655#msg27655 date=1176791985]
Spinfast- I was wondering who the other sick bastard was that got it into his/her head to head up there with conditions as they were. Pretty sweet views, though, eh? Yeah, now's probably not the best time to ski it. My brother and I went in there on sunday and didn't find boot-packable snow until roughly 4500'. Pretty nasty bit of uphil drudgery without a snowpack ;)
Yep, Paul, that certainly is a perky set of bright smiles you were skiing with. That must have been what we were mistaking for sunbreaks up on Hauser, after we just missed all but one of your party on your second run to the east. Small world, eh?
Silas, I only counted one lurker in your posse. And nice to meet you J.C., although with initials like that it may have been more appropriate to have met you on the previous Sunday. Silas, the other "usual suspect" you refer to...
Silas, I only counted one lurker in your posse. And nice to meet you J.C., although with initials like that it may have been more appropriate to have met you on the previous Sunday. Silas, the other "usual suspect" you refer to...
Spinfast- I was wondering who the other sick bastard was that got it into his/her head to head up there with conditions as they were. Pretty sweet views, though, eh? Yeah, now's probably not the best time to ski it. My brother and I went in there on sunday and didn't find boot-packable snow until roughly 4500'. Pretty nasty bit of uphil drudgery without a snowpack ;)
Hey here are some of the pics of the trip http://climbingjay.smugmug.com/gallery/2723086#144449836 ;D
1st day stuff was spectacular! I'll read the other days later. Fine trip.
Yes, a beautiful day in the Crystal backcountry :) Good to see you Ron and Jennette! Creamy snow
on both sides of East Peak to 5700'. Thanks to Cathy, Andrea, Melissa and Crystal for a great day... lots of smiles.
on both sides of East Peak to 5700'. Thanks to Cathy, Andrea, Melissa and Crystal for a great day... lots of smiles.
Ah yes, what a great trip!! Out of all the skiers that went down they missed the east side gully. It was nice to cash in on it. Almost like we were on the mountain alone. As for the three tele ladies that skied down with us drop a pm to Androolus 8).
There's definitely a better way. Go when there's enough snow. Right now, it's so thin that the road in is a major slide alder schwack and above that is an unappetizing mix of jumbled logs intermixed with punchy, rotten snow for about the first 1,500' (above which you can skin). That said, we were told that somebody made the descent the day prior to ours by coming in over the top, via Asgard Pass. That approach may have been longer, but I'll bet it...
Oyvind: It was good to meet you up there. What a fabulous day! Josh
Looks like Paul is still using those narrow fish scale touring skis, eh. Makes it even more impressive. Well done chaps and thanks for the inspiring reports.
its only around 2 miles to the summer trailhead, not too much time sucking 2-stroke fumes. The circus has begun however, there was a part of 11 directly behind us, and we saw about 20 people in different groups on our way down...
Great post!
How's the road? How close can you get to the summer tr?
Thanks!
How's the road? How close can you get to the summer tr?
Thanks!
Road is passable to TH, no 4x4 required. Skagit County crew must have had the BIG chainsaws out though, big thanks.
Sweet! So the road is passable all the way to the TH? Were there any washouts? Was high clearance / 4x4 required?
Wow, looks sweet! How about some bigger pictures...
Very nice work and great timing on the conditions. ;D
author=Spin Fast link=topic=6864.msg27584#msg27584 date=1176684159]
Perfecting those alpine starts, we left the 8-mile turnoff around 9:00 am. The first 3-4 miles of the road was dirt. We slipped on the skins and made our way up to the Stuart Lake TH in about two hours time from the car.
Sometimes you just have to sit back and have faith that your partner knows best... Much to my amazement we attained the lower entrance to the main couloir just af...
Yes. There are power outlets to recharge your camera batteries or run a laptop. The electrical system was pretty good while we were there but be aware the current fluctuates occasionaly and that might not be good for your device.
Lowell--what a great trip. Thanks for sharing the photos. It's been on my list for decades. As a high-schooler in the 60s I did the southern portion on snowshoes, before I skied. A week-long good weather forecast would be tempting next spring. Being an east-sider, I would approach via the White R. A snowmobile tow to the trailhead would be helpful!
Chester
Chester
I also did Cannon Mt. Couloir this spring, about March 20th or 21st. we dropped in from the tippy top, and snowboarded all the way down to mountaineer creek for a nearly 5000' descent, the longest vert run of my life :D
It was 2-3" of creamy nice fresh atop a smooth firm stable base. turned to rain at the rock garden at the bottom of the bowl below the couloir.
We left the car at 7a @ bridge c...
It was 2-3" of creamy nice fresh atop a smooth firm stable base. turned to rain at the rock garden at the bottom of the bowl below the couloir.
We left the car at 7a @ bridge c...
author=telemack link=topic=6873.msg27614#msg27614 date=1176743475]
I don't know the creeks, but it sounds like you were reporting that the Teanaway Road is reasonably clear to about 4 miles before the end of the road. Or am I misreading you?
Well...sorta. I used the Berverly Creek approach to Stuart. It was 3 miles up teanaway road to there and another 1 or so up that road. Follow a nice valley for another 3 miles then dro...
I don't know the creeks, but it sounds like you were reporting that the Teanaway Road is reasonably clear to about 4 miles before the end of the road. Or am I misreading you?
author=David_Coleman link=topic=6873.msg27609#msg27609 date=1176738013">
Looks like you made a fine choice based on the weather last weekend. That pic Troy got of you is sschweet!
Ha. I'm glad he got it. I put the camera on continuous so he wouldn't miss it. Those were some great turns.
Thanks for the shot Troy: ...
No secrets here, as we traversed toward Bullion Basin Ron and I decided to head to Hauser Peak. The going was slow for me today as I forgot my ski crampons at home :'(. Would have been a great thing to have for the early hard conditions as we made our way up the steep part. Don't know why the song "The old grey mare she ain't what she used to be" kept going through my head as I made my way to the top ;). It was a beautiful day with great ski conditions. Aft...
Stability was predictable - a foot or two of glop relatively smoothly bonded to the underlying snow. I kicked off a small slough on a steep (45 degreeish) rollover just below the N. Face notch. Other things of note - there seems to be a bit of a 'schrund opening up on the final slope up to the notch (wasn't a problem at all on Saturday but might become a hassle later?) and the final few feet to the notch were on slabby snow-covered rock (after I slipped down this section on...
Looks like you made a fine choice based on the weather last weekend. That pic Troy got of you is sschweet!
We arrived at the parking lot at 11 to do this trip - it was pouring buckets. Headed back to sunny Seattle with a sneaking suspicion it might have been actually nice up there. Darn.
Hey Silas where'd ya go?? We called you and the tay lurker on the radio?? We talked to Maddog and Ronj.
Was sure nice to have the weather turn for the better. Yeah our group of Rickster and Gregm encountered an inch or two of wet fresh on a softening base as the day worn on. Protected areas still held blower powder but turns were on the lighter side. Some trees had some deep wind lips to slash through. Just had to hunt and pray that whatever was underneath was soft and...
Was sure nice to have the weather turn for the better. Yeah our group of Rickster and Gregm encountered an inch or two of wet fresh on a softening base as the day worn on. Protected areas still held blower powder but turns were on the lighter side. Some trees had some deep wind lips to slash through. Just had to hunt and pray that whatever was underneath was soft and...
Silas
We missed you- tried calling a few times. You probably wouldn't have liked the slopes, untracked, steep, pretty good snow- oh yeah that damned sun was out too. We did talk to the 'MadDog'- we guessed she was skiing with Ron. We also skied/boarded with a neighbor of yours(?) GregM. We did run into another pair on our way out- Zenom(?). Sometimes this big BC out there is a small world.
Maybe hook up another time.
We missed you- tried calling a few times. You probably wouldn't have liked the slopes, untracked, steep, pretty good snow- oh yeah that damned sun was out too. We did talk to the 'MadDog'- we guessed she was skiing with Ron. We also skied/boarded with a neighbor of yours(?) GregM. We did run into another pair on our way out- Zenom(?). Sometimes this big BC out there is a small world.
Maybe hook up another time.
Florian and I took the road less travelled to Red Mtn Pass and Lundin Peak (?Mountain). The first run from Red Mtn. pass to the minilake was good, but then it got warm. Big pile o' slurpee slush anyone? Saw a few folks on Red...looked sketchy. A few pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/koelle/ and a few other pictures at http://www.dianadornfeld.smugmug.com/gallery/2767166#P-1-15 and a little movie at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2pwa7s-jQc
betcha they will go longer at alpental. they always extend it after they "close."
Thinking about heading up there soon (especially now that Alpental is closed for the season). How was the stability?
wireless internet - useful for weather i guess. Is there power for a laptop?
yeah, i hear ya. i'll be there soon.
btw, there's snow just north me...
btw, there's snow just north me...
Saw your tracks from the top of Great Scott...looked nice.
author=kam link=topic=6833.msg27547#msg27547 date=1176497548]
what? you still have snow? >:(
Dude, grade those finals and jump on a plane next month - we'll save some for you.
I missed this report earlier Greg, was looking in wrong month.
After Mason and I left you at the summit of Hinman conditions improved markedly. The 2000' run down the E. slope was ideal conditions, 3-4" of cold smoke on a seemingly groomed base. The weather seemed to be holding back from "full on" the further E. we went, so we decided to push on for Mt. Daniels. Visibility was good enough that navigating to PeaSoup Lake was simple and gaining the...
After Mason and I left you at the summit of Hinman conditions improved markedly. The 2000' run down the E. slope was ideal conditions, 3-4" of cold smoke on a seemingly groomed base. The weather seemed to be holding back from "full on" the further E. we went, so we decided to push on for Mt. Daniels. Visibility was good enough that navigating to PeaSoup Lake was simple and gaining the...
A nice day ! Your description of the conditions were perfect. On Tuesday, April 10, Jill and I were downhill skiing at Stevens Pass and your description applied. We found most troughs and depressions held boot deep powder and ridgelines were crusty. Powder in mid April is always a treat. :D
author=wolfs link=topic=6812.msg27446#msg27446 date=1176250439]
There's a cascadeclimbers.com thread that should answer all possible questions of "where is this Old Chute and why do I want to go there." Summation: for some reason, things are shaping up this winter/spring such that Pearly Gates has a short waterice step, so people and resultant bootpacks are heading up Old Chute instead.
Yah, I saw that on cc.com last week...
I'd like to volunteer for the ski cutting! Save the state and taxpayers a few bucks you know!
Actually I have great respect for for DOT crews. Ive met quite a few of them through my job as a contractor at the various DOT yards around the state. They do a tough job in tough conditions to keep our routes to the mountains safe.
Thanks again for the work and update.
Actually I have great respect for for DOT crews. Ive met quite a few of them through my job as a contractor at the various DOT yards around the state. They do a tough job in tough conditions to keep our routes to the mountains safe.
Thanks again for the work and update.