TR Replies
Looks great. I've only been in there last April and want to hit it again. Is there any reliable way to find out whether the access road is open? and was the Elfin Lakes Hut crowded at all?
and the slut himself
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spcmanspiff/sets/72157594394775484/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spcmanspiff/sets/72157594394775484/
The Trough had always been included in the "To Do" list when I lived in Boulder. Especially after I heard a friend tell tale of a 3,000 vf descent. It had only ever lasted on the list because it did not cleanly deposit one for a true summit ski. I'd seen skiing off the Southwest summit area. What if a ski of the South and West slopes could yield a top to bottom? But a hearty sole it would take to complete these lines. To complicate the matter, as many Front Range classics ex...
Good stuff Eric -- thanks. Working on Friday sucked...
Coverage was questionable under Silver Fir on Saturday. There were disconcerting "voids" under the snow on the steeper parts. Thank you Kent!
Thanks Matt. Yeah it was definitely hero snow. I'm with you about hoping it keeps up!
With my MHM pass, I get a discount on Hoodoo, so I may try visiting soon.
Jeff
With my MHM pass, I get a discount on Hoodoo, so I may try visiting soon.
Jeff
I personally witnesseed two slides in Silver basin on Sat 25th. The crown you saw in Silver was not set of by patrol bombs but by skiers.
I was in the first group to ski the South Back when they dropped the Throne rope. I reached the bottom and was talking to two patrollers when a skier set of a slab. He managed to ski out of it. :DNext trip around, a snowboarder below me set of another slab and got taken for a ride. I skied down onto the bed surface which was the rain crust formed...
I was in the first group to ski the South Back when they dropped the Throne rope. I reached the bottom and was talking to two patrollers when a skier set of a slab. He managed to ski out of it. :DNext trip around, a snowboarder below me set of another slab and got taken for a ride. I skied down onto the bed surface which was the rain crust formed...
Wow Jeff, that looks like great fun, I wish I was there! I've ridden that area only once, and it was a blast. It looks like hero snow from the photos. I especially like the first one. I went to Hoodoo on Saturday and found a lot of fresh lines with deep deep powder. Pretty amazing for late November. Let's hope it keeps up ;)
From all the accounts I heard no one was seriously hurt and all were able to either ski or walk out. Which was confirmed as we passed them. There will be a more detailed account on my trip report from that bluebird bottomless day.
I heard of a burial slide in the Norse Peak/Bullion Basin area on Saturday (happy ending!)....Check in w/ Crystal Patrol prior to going out folks regarding recent activity they area a good resource...Be safe out there.
Chris
Chris
Yeah...I was up on parachute the other day(see snoqualmie central closed)...was a good run...just I had to follow my up track to keep sped through holiday...ahha....good snow over all though
I was looking at silverfir too...but opted to go for parachute seeing as I didn't know what the coverage looked like on silver fir...were there al ot of streams? thats teh biggest thing I can remember about that place
well back to school work...wish I could be up there....maybe tom...
I was looking at silverfir too...but opted to go for parachute seeing as I didn't know what the coverage looked like on silver fir...were there al ot of streams? thats teh biggest thing I can remember about that place
well back to school work...wish I could be up there....maybe tom...
nice report, Le Cass.
deer hunting and powder skiing: nice idea, Kelvin.
deer hunting and powder skiing: nice idea, Kelvin.
Nice. I headed up the plain old ski trail from govie to t-line. Nice snow, but ya higher up I am sure is wind blasted.
There were no natural releases and no skier triggered releases that we saw yesterday. It was cold all day, in fact it got a little cooler as the day went on. There was a bit of wind up high. I would imagine that once the cold weather lets up later in the coming week and it warms up/gets sunnier you'll see alot of slide activity especially on wind affected slopes. But as for Friday, only slight surface sluffs as we carved through the down pillows. We stayed in the trees initially (the great...
Did you notice any avy activity? I relegated myself to riding the lifts at snoqualmie because of NWAC's reported high avy danger. I presume you stuck to the trees... did it seem stable? Did you dig a pit or do any snow testing? I'm curious, since I'd like to get out there soon.
Interesting -- I usually refer to #4315 as the "Jolly Mtn" road. The map I posted is more the Howson creek area. Both areas have a nice selection of clearcuts for skiing -- though the mid-lower part of the "Jolly Mtn" area has had enough regrowth to limit the fun in all but the deepest snow packs.
BillK,
You must be thinking of someone else, I've never been to Univ. of Colo. Sorry.
-kelvin
You must be thinking of someone else, I've never been to Univ. of Colo. Sorry.
-kelvin
In addition to route in the map Randy has posted, there is additional access to Sasse Ridge via Rd 4315, the one I usually use. There is a large snow park there, however you can park for free along the west side of Salmon La Sac Rd. 4315 is the standard access to Jolly Mtn.
Sasse Mtn / Ridge is located east of the Salmon Le Sac road -- It's within one of the "Voluntary Non-Motorized" areas in the Cle Elum Ranger discrict.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/district/cleelum/skiinfo.html
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/district/cleelum/winterrec.html
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/district/cleelum/skiinfo.html
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/district/cleelum/winterrec.html
Thanks for getting the equipment fixed. It will be helpful. Was that you guys riding chair 2 up?
We found conditions very unstable. After causing very large fracture below Schluct that was 50 feet wide and 18” in depth above, we decided to get out of there. We skied down Gunmount.
We found conditions very unstable. After causing very large fracture below Schluct that was 50 feet wide and 18” in depth above, we decided to get out of there. We skied down Gunmount.
rad photo.....first time you look at it its hard to get perspective....
sick!! is that the slot couloir?
Sky and I were up on the other side of the valley and found simlilar conditions.
The archery picture is a classic. It has made many laugh already. How does it work for snow snakes?
That's quite the contrast from the weather here in Washington...
Way to get it, Wipe! I was looking down at the pass from the plane wondering how your day was turning out. By the way, it was sunny and almost 60 degrees today in Minneapolis. My but it's an odd season thus far.
Well, bugger all. Looks like a beautiful day out, ski delamination notwithstanding. I'll be keeping my eyes on the weather and looking to get out as soon as I'm not wearing the pager...
May I suggest—politely—that the Trip Reports forum is probably not the appropriate place to admonish others about their presumed personal contributions to global warming? There's plenty of space for that on the Random Tracks section of this site.
Thanks.
Mark
Thanks.
Mark
It was an awesome morning out. Beautiful to skin up at dawn as the clouds cleared and while skinning in the fresh was work, it made us super excited for the ride down. What a way to open my 06-07 backcountry season!Pow before Thanksgiving!
Kelvin, those boards sure looks cool and were way light. Can't wait to check out version two.
Kelvin, those boards sure looks cool and were way light. Can't wait to check out version two.
Sounds like a worthy way to start the day...sorry about those homemade skis, though. I respect the effort put into making such a worthy tool. BTW, I keep seeing Kelvin's name in these posts: is that the same Kelvin that is a University of Colorado grad, circa 1990? Curious to know....we may have common friends.
-Bill
-Bill
Wow, gas vs skiing is a touchy subject. I beleive Zee didn't mean it as an attack but making assumptions (SUV, single purpose trip) and laying all the evils of America on fheimer's desire to ski may have been a bit much.
I think the point is a good one. I choose to drive a small economical car and I still think about the impact of my skiing habit. If we didn't drive to the mountains, we might not appreciate the environment and so make different consump...
I think the point is a good one. I choose to drive a small economical car and I still think about the impact of my skiing habit. If we didn't drive to the mountains, we might not appreciate the environment and so make different consump...
Well Zee, upon reading your post I simply could not resist replying. Since you obviously are more environmentally correct than the rest of us and feel the need to preach and admonish us , I think it would only be fair for you to give us details on your own carbon footprint just to make sure you are not being hypocritical.
Please reply with details of the car you drive ( if any, and I hope it is an energy efficient car). Details of your mileage for the past month. We, the TAY communit...
Please reply with details of the car you drive ( if any, and I hope it is an energy efficient car). Details of your mileage for the past month. We, the TAY communit...
There ya go! Two who turned lemons into lemonade. Thanks for keeping the faith !
Hey Zee, the cool thing about this site is that it is about skiing and just skiing. We don't get political here (except to lobby the Park to open the road to White River campground!). The man had to ski, so he drove to Baker! Many of us TAYer's nay have to drive a bit further this winter dur to the park flooding. Should I post my mileage and how many people I have in the car when I post a trip report? Should I buy Carbon credits everytime I go to Crystal?
Let's ke...
Let's ke...
yeah I am guilty of consuming gas. The trip actually only took 20 gallons of gas (small car). When I also factor in that no energy except my own was used in getting up the hill and I conserved on heating cost by sleeping in my tent I figure I'm not doing to much damage. I also included a trip to ikea to buy a bunch of stuff so it's not like the whole trip was just to go skiing.
I think what one has to do is weigh the costs versus the benifits. I don&#...
I think what one has to do is weigh the costs versus the benifits. I don&#...
The way I have been looking at it is that the increased greenhouse gasses will raise temperatures causing the Greenland ice cap to melt. The decreased salinity of the North Atlantic will cause the Gulf Stream to shut down which will plunge Europe into a new ice age. Skiing in the Alps is going to rock!!!
There is always a silver lining in the bad news somewhere :D
There is always a silver lining in the bad news somewhere :D
Saturday was definitely the day to be out. Sunday was wet and miserable. Camped Sat night up near goat lake/big crow basin. Skinning up wasn't too bad. Didn't get too many turns in on the way down though. Got home, dried off and went and saw Casino Royale. Which is worth seeing.
:)
That's great but by doing the thing we love so much we are killing it. Driving 10 hours (probably in a SUV) for 1 day of early season skiing you burn up 30+ gallons of gas. What's contributing to global warming and what does America use most of (hint: gas) and for what purpose (hint: cars/personal transportation)? Just something to keep in mind. Enough of my environmental diatribe for now. Not meant as a personal attack on you.
That's great but by doing the thing we love so much we are killing it. Driving 10 hours (probably in a SUV) for 1 day of early season skiing you burn up 30+ gallons of gas. What's contributing to global warming and what does America use most of (hint: gas) and for what purpose (hint: cars/personal transportation)? Just something to keep in mind. Enough of my environmental diatribe for now. Not meant as a personal attack on you.
Lar,
Great to know the "clinic" will be staffed for another season!
John
Great to know the "clinic" will be staffed for another season!
John
Wolfs and I went to Silver basin on Saturday as well. Higher up in the basin, the crust was mostly boiler plate...so we could generally ski without the dreaded "breaking on through...and tumbling". We went over silver col and down to crystal lakes. The sun on the slopes produced slight softening and slightly better skiing. The views were great and it was good to be out.
Mack, thanks for the honorable mention. Next time James can fix the wiring.
Home-moaner issues? Don't let them get away with that crap.