TR Replies
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.
Enjoying a fine April dawn patrol in the sun, Skip, Allyson, and I utilized the well-traveled skin track set over the past couple days (thanks Plinko and others!) to arrive at the top of Alpental around 8:45 this morning. Ski conditions didn’t look very promising on the way up with a semi-breakable surface crust on all solar aspects. Optimism returned as we dropped into the partially shaded northern slopes of International in consolidated powder (a bit funky with hidden hard chunks in a few sp...
Lowell:
2 members of the party, Mason Stafford and Jim Swayze, did summit both Hinman and Daniel on same day. However, Ben Haskell, Greg Allen and myself only summitted Hinman, due to exit time constraints. The route our group took was a type of reversal from Martin's original route, with our beginning over Kendall Ridge and exit from Chain Lakes. After having come down the Middle Fork valley, I could see how starting out that way would lead to some attitude of defeat before the journe...
2 members of the party, Mason Stafford and Jim Swayze, did summit both Hinman and Daniel on same day. However, Ben Haskell, Greg Allen and myself only summitted Hinman, due to exit time constraints. The route our group took was a type of reversal from Martin's original route, with our beginning over Kendall Ridge and exit from Chain Lakes. After having come down the Middle Fork valley, I could see how starting out that way would lead to some attitude of defeat before the journe...
Hi Aaron, Yes, that was me in the yellow jacket. I find that wearing a bright jacket allows folks to identify senior citizens and help us break trail. ;)
You had a nice tour and snow. Jill and I talked about going "up top and out" but she's still nursing a hip injury. Plus, I was concerned the temperatures and freezing level would rise by the time we got there. I noticed the telemetry temperatures up top remained below freezing yesterday and just started rising thi...
You had a nice tour and snow. Jill and I talked about going "up top and out" but she's still nursing a hip injury. Plus, I was concerned the temperatures and freezing level would rise by the time we got there. I noticed the telemetry temperatures up top remained below freezing yesterday and just started rising thi...
Jon had to get a little air with his new fat twin tips (no trees were damaged in the stunt).
author=MW88888888 link=topic=6838.msg27491#msg27491 date=1176343477]
...enjoyed powder down a completely untracked Edelweiss.
I admired your tracks on the way up and considered heading over that way for a run, but by then it was just baiking in sunlight.
Come to think of it now, I'm sure I saw Zap & Jill skiing down as I was just starting up. If Zap was wearing a bright yellow shirt or coat--bingo!
Phreadi, I was doing a search on St Helens and wondered if you had been up yet? I'm planning to go April 27-28 leaving from Seattle. Let me know if you're still looking to go. There might be 3-4 of us. Teles, and boarders.
Rusty
Rusty
Really nice to get more winter weather with you Ally. You did great out there.
the ski pic looks like pretty good Virginia legs to me ;)
Thanks for the heads-up, Stimbuck.
We appreciate your updates.
We appreciate your updates.
Great choice of partners, Ally.
It's good to see you back playing in the cascade wonderlands and it was sooooper seeing you at the GT class Tueday nite.
Hope to see you again b4 you leave.
It's good to see you back playing in the cascade wonderlands and it was sooooper seeing you at the GT class Tueday nite.
Hope to see you again b4 you leave.
Great to see you back in town, Allyson! I know how you feel, I spent years away from the Cascades back in my "ambitious" youth. Hope to see you again sooner rather than later.
Timing, dear folks, timing! Today was fine, as long as you beat the sun!
I summited at 6:33 am this morning and enjoyed powder down a completely untracked Edelweiss. Very, very nice. Then found boot deep down Debbies, and finally, soft snow over a firmewr crust down Sessel. Good stuff. Think Snow!
I summited at 6:33 am this morning and enjoyed powder down a completely untracked Edelweiss. Very, very nice. Then found boot deep down Debbies, and finally, soft snow over a firmewr crust down Sessel. Good stuff. Think Snow!
The road pass the lower trail head is still snow bound. Yeh I'm that weird mature boarder who lives at Cushman. 8)
author=Aaron_Riggs link=topic=6838.msg27487#msg27487 date=1176335502]
There was a skin track (thanks) to the top of Chair 2 and quite a few tracks in Nash...Nash was good but full of snow snakes
8)
Pretty lines on Pineapple ;) It was bright out today, hope you all wore sunscreen, my face looks like this: :-[
Hi Zap & Jill,
I too was lured by yesterday's report, but I got a later start today, leaving the parking lot solo at 11:30. Sounds like you needed to go just a tad higher. The snow way down low was bad, but by going higher I found the good snow, not the powder party from yesterday but more like the chowder party. There was a skin track (thanks) to the top of Chair 2 and quite a few tracks in Nash, which I skied down to the Snake Dance entrance. Nash was good but full of snow...
I too was lured by yesterday's report, but I got a later start today, leaving the parking lot solo at 11:30. Sounds like you needed to go just a tad higher. The snow way down low was bad, but by going higher I found the good snow, not the powder party from yesterday but more like the chowder party. There was a skin track (thanks) to the top of Chair 2 and quite a few tracks in Nash, which I skied down to the Snake Dance entrance. Nash was good but full of snow...
Yeah, good info about that on cc.com. I talked to another fellow that climbed it on Sunday and conditions were such that they could only ski from the bottom of the Hogsback down. Hit or miss on the volcanoes I guess...
Hi Greg,
Martin's 1999 group (Martin Volken, Mike Hattrup, Peter Avolio, Andy Dappen, Carl Skoog) did a horseshoe traverse around the headwaters of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. In my history website I summarize it as: "Ski traverse from Big Snow Mtn to Mt Hinman, Overcoat Glacier, Chikamin Peak, Gold-Burntboot Creek divide, Snoqualmie Pass".
In 2002 my group (Joe Catellani, Matt Firth, Bruce Goodson, Lowell Skoog) did a "thru route" starting at...
Martin's 1999 group (Martin Volken, Mike Hattrup, Peter Avolio, Andy Dappen, Carl Skoog) did a horseshoe traverse around the headwaters of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. In my history website I summarize it as: "Ski traverse from Big Snow Mtn to Mt Hinman, Overcoat Glacier, Chikamin Peak, Gold-Burntboot Creek divide, Snoqualmie Pass".
In 2002 my group (Joe Catellani, Matt Firth, Bruce Goodson, Lowell Skoog) did a "thru route" starting at...
Very nice Greg. I'll bet that ankle is feeling better :)
Lowell:
We skied out the Middle Fork. The snow was nicely frozen under the trees until the last 2.5 miles before the road end, and then classic springtime low-elevation glop for the remainder. Our sub-group summited Mt. Hinman on our departure day, after leaving camp at Chain Lakes and moving up thru LaBohn Gap. We then descended, broke camp at 11 AM, and continued down via Williams Lake and to the car at the Goldmeyer Hot Springs gate by 6:15 PM.
There was some discussion as to...
We skied out the Middle Fork. The snow was nicely frozen under the trees until the last 2.5 miles before the road end, and then classic springtime low-elevation glop for the remainder. Our sub-group summited Mt. Hinman on our departure day, after leaving camp at Chain Lakes and moving up thru LaBohn Gap. We then descended, broke camp at 11 AM, and continued down via Williams Lake and to the car at the Goldmeyer Hot Springs gate by 6:15 PM.
There was some discussion as to...
Yeah, I got some sun too. Aloe's your friend ;)
That was such a good day. Those two runs down nash were probably the best I've hit it all year...no debris, no people, no tracks. Knee-deep, quality powder feels even better in April. Somehow my face got sunburned 8). Thanks for taking the pics.
Awesome. Glacier Peak looks great.
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.
Is the Old Chute the one west/left of the standard route, Pearly Gates I think? And how long do you think, generally speaking, the route will stay skiable? I got whited-out off Hood once on foot and would love to ski it.
great TR Lowell...i love reading about the less travelled regions of the cascades.
and nice job pulling off a big multi-day tour during less than ideal weather!
and nice job pulling off a big multi-day tour during less than ideal weather!
Congrats on successful trip Lowell! Thanks for the great report.
Way cool. Indian Head Peak looks fun.
Nice! Way to work the mid-week days!
minimovie added
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIeGHlvxC5o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIeGHlvxC5o
nice shot! im envious of the bomber snopac you guys got now, we still got persistant weak layers and shit loads of depth hoar on north aspects,, http://avalanche.state.co.us/
Telemack,
Yes, there is a lot of potential for great tours in the Elkhorns and Wallawas. Here is a shot of Gunsight Pk with a nice looking 1,000 ft. north face, about a mile from Anthony Lake ski area, the steep couloir at the top looks like a good challenge. There are also many open ridges in the south of the range that we didn't check out.
Yes, there is a lot of potential for great tours in the Elkhorns and Wallawas. Here is a shot of Gunsight Pk with a nice looking 1,000 ft. north face, about a mile from Anthony Lake ski area, the steep couloir at the top looks like a good challenge. There are also many open ridges in the south of the range that we didn't check out.
Sounds great, Greg!
I'm curious, how did you end your trip? Did you exit west down the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River or east down the Cle Elum River? If you reached the cars in 6-1/2 hours from La Bohn Gap, I'm guessing you went west.
Did you ski to Mt Daniel and back in a day from La Bohn Gap? That would be a big day!
I'm curious, how did you end your trip? Did you exit west down the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River or east down the Cle Elum River? If you reached the cars in 6-1/2 hours from La Bohn Gap, I'm guessing you went west.
Did you ski to Mt Daniel and back in a day from La Bohn Gap? That would be a big day!
Hello Oyvind this is Eric.
I hiked heather lake on pilchuck one day after you hiked it. It was nice beside the sloppy snow.
If you are ever in the need of a partner give me a call, I'd love to get out!
I hiked heather lake on pilchuck one day after you hiked it. It was nice beside the sloppy snow.
If you are ever in the need of a partner give me a call, I'd love to get out!
Evening on Ellinor; way good. Road still not passable to the upper TH?
Hey, are you the "mature" boarder I climbed the chute with about 2 weeks ago, who lives on Cushman?
Hey, are you the "mature" boarder I climbed the chute with about 2 weeks ago, who lives on Cushman?
Hi Kenji, good report. Has your daughter done more freeheeling since Baker?