TR Replies
I thought the snow was pretty good, considering we are in a big warmup after > 1 foot of fresh Thursday night! Snowfield had not-too-sun-kissed powder, and the schmoo was luckily only the last 1-2 k to bridge.
Skied it today too - way too late, around 2:30. Slush and thigh burning sensations from the top to the bridge and passed huge table sized pinwheels. Melting fast. Gate was open at 8:30, but we dilly dallied with the car shuttling and only got started up at 10.
John, great to see a post from you, seems like it's been awhile. I'll have to twist your tail though, stopping before the col, what's up with that???
Pigeon spire pic is fantastic.
Pigeon spire pic is fantastic.
Thanks for the report. I know it's a pain,but I would love a picture or two.
What a great trip, thanks for the post.
Very nice video and tunes - great outing Jeff & Jason
author=jtack link=topic=40233.msg160401#msg160401 date=1520739590]
Yurt life (turn about is fair play!)
Touche!
Thanks mike for putting this all together, Ill add a few pictures. The trip in was a slog for me, I would think about hiring another porter for the beer! It's a great place with terrain that requires double diapers.
Yurt life (turn about is fair play!)
Yurt life (turn about is fair play!)
Thanks All!
Kamtron, You and I will be "Relieved" to hear that Jason had a healthy bowel movement, a few days following... :D
Kamtron, You and I will be "Relieved" to hear that Jason had a healthy bowel movement, a few days following... :D
Thanks for the great video.
Thanks for sharing !....long gone is the straight-forward approach that made the colouir a reasonable objective. Glad I tapped it several times when the getting was good. It is hard to view it and not want a shot skiing it. From experience, It isn't in good ski shape a lot of times in spring and when it smooths out, the pack is getting shallower and some rocks come into play.
Sweet trip, guys!
My cousin, as a child, had an experience with gummy bears that landed her in the hospital... luckily the laxatives worked.
Those views into the crater... tempting!
My cousin, as a child, had an experience with gummy bears that landed her in the hospital... luckily the laxatives worked.
Those views into the crater... tempting!
Nice Jeff and Jase!! such a great video!!
It's too hard to leave the backyard alpine in the prime season when I still have so much unfinished business.
BTW - It's just about Stuart season. Hit me with your phone # via PM if you're still interested in joining for a lap.
BTW - It's just about Stuart season. Hit me with your phone # via PM if you're still interested in joining for a lap.
Yes, great trip and great video!
nice one! Skiing in circles, I like it
some nice footage down low, good to see Jason in front of the camera for a change ( : great vid Jeff
some nice footage down low, good to see Jason in front of the camera for a change ( : great vid Jeff
author=Good2Go link=topic=39814.msg160362#msg160362 date=1520541970]
the worst skiing to approach effort ratio of any objective. It's such a short run, for the amount of thrashing required
The story of Leavenworth Backcountry skiing in a nutshell! Unless you have a sled.
I'm shocked you haven't been to the Bugaboos yet! I would have thought you had been there multiple times by now!
Nice one John! Love the pic of the au cheval on Pigeon. Have to try to get out to the Bugs someday.
As for the CMC, it has the worst skiing to approach effort ratio of any objective I've ever attempted. It's such a short run, for the amount of thrashing required to get there. But looking at it from the Bridge Creek Campground is a siren song that no ski mountaineer can resist. You've been warned!
As for the CMC, it has the worst skiing to approach effort ratio of any objective I've ever attempted. It's such a short run, for the amount of thrashing required to get there. But looking at it from the Bridge Creek Campground is a siren song that no ski mountaineer can resist. You've been warned!
Thanks for the trip report! How much snow was on 8-mile road on the way up? Think it'll survive the coming rain?
I'll vouch for the eightmile creek route up cannon. we split it a couple years ago, crossing the creek at 3100ft with fairly minimal bs. either that or my selective memory has fooled me again.
Thanks for sharing the photos. Happy to see the conditions out there right now.
Thanks for sharing the photos. Happy to see the conditions out there right now.
I don't think they want you talking about helicopters....drones appears to be ok...
author=rippy link=topic=39814.msg160323#msg160323 date=1520386496]
I'm seeing some CMC beta for the first time in years so please pardon the thread heist. I remember turning left at Mountaineer TH parking and a gated logging road led cross-hill to the ridge end we used to climb up. Once, there was drifted snow over the gate and tracks showing a successful drive right to roads end...Opel Manta Rally with a ski rack sitting there. So I believe I saw a major...
I'm seeing some CMC beta for the first time in years so please pardon the thread heist. I remember turning left at Mountaineer TH parking and a gated logging road led cross-hill to the ridge end we used to climb up. Once, there was drifted snow over the gate and tracks showing a successful drive right to roads end...Opel Manta Rally with a ski rack sitting there. So I believe I saw a major wash or a slide years back that took out a big chunk of that hillside making that walk-in traverse pre...
Looks like a nice tour. I'll hate on that ship all day when they're lapping the sled accessed stuff, especially when it drops in on the same basin I'm skiing and it's too late to change locations or when they make a mogul field out of silver star in the spring.
The heli flying twice into cedar creek is pretty much the exact opposite of that. It's flying to a more difficult to access by sled/foot zone, that doesn't eat much jet fuel and won't be buzz...
The heli flying twice into cedar creek is pretty much the exact opposite of that. It's flying to a more difficult to access by sled/foot zone, that doesn't eat much jet fuel and won't be buzz...
sorry to hear about the ski phil...you want to do some recon and look for it soon. I suggested to Micah that the tracks were yours, bummer we didn't run into you, maybe we could have helped.
forecast looks good...I might try and get out on Friday again, let me know.
Aryn
forecast looks good...I might try and get out on Friday again, let me know.
Aryn
Photo of the au cheval on Pigeon Spire, in case my reference to it was confusing:
author=jwplotz link=topic=39814.msg160287#msg160287 date=1520276530]
The CMC always seems to fill in nicely, and it looks good now. We did notice though the coverage from the road to the top of the couloir looks very thin. In the best of seasons the West slopes of Cannon feature rotten snow over barely covered snags and stumps. It looks especially heinous currently.
Yeah, we tried last April. Seems like a poor idea right no...
kinda testing the limits of my memory at this point :)
i think the red line was the prominent melt freeze crust from 2/8...so the blue line may be the 2/13 facet layer. Â At the time, the column failed at the red line, but as the column collapsed into the pit , there was a failure at the higher interface (blue line) and some obvious slabs.
i think the red line was the prominent melt freeze crust from 2/8...so the blue line may be the 2/13 facet layer. Â At the time, the column failed at the red line, but as the column collapsed into the pit , there was a failure at the higher interface (blue line) and some obvious slabs.
author=clevo link=topic=39814.msg160289#msg160289 date=1520279740]
The Cannon approach was awful at the peak of the mid-February thaw. You could trail run two miles of the eightmile road on bare dirt and walk to 5000' on dry, southerly aspects of Cashmere. Similar coverage on Cannon at the time and hasn't gotten much better below 5k' in the burn. The only difference is that the road snow is back.
We will need a big March and April to...
The Cannon approach was awful at the peak of the mid-February thaw. You could trail run two miles of the eightmile road on bare dirt and walk to 5000' on dry, southerly aspects of Cashmere. Similar coverage on Cannon at the time and hasn't gotten much better below 5k' in the burn. The only difference is that the road snow is back.
We will need a big March and April to get the Stuarts resembling the shape they were in last year in May/June. Storms near the crest have no...
We will need a big March and April to get the Stuarts resembling the shape they were in last year in May/June. Storms near the crest have no...
The CMC always seems to fill in nicely, and it looks good now. We did notice though the coverage from the road to the top of the couloir looks very thin. In the best of seasons the West slopes of Cannon feature rotten snow over barely covered snags and stumps. It looks especially heinous currently.
Did you get any good eyes on the Cannon couloir? Also, how was stability overall? Looks like good coverage for an early attempt!
I have seen mention of the feb 13 layer implicated in some of the slides. Which one would that be in this pic on the 23rd?
author=Jake the Brit link=topic=39814.msg160279#msg160279 date=1520265878]
Oh yes.....great stuff fellas.
It looks like Dragontail is well clad for spring shenannigans. Much needed TR John, thanks, & it's always good to hear you're in different footwear!
Thanks Jake!
As for ice in Triple Couloirs/Gerber-Sink routes, from our perspective, it looked like powder snow over rock. No ice from what we could...
Oh yes.....great stuff fellas.
It looks like Dragontail is well clad for spring shenannigans. Much needed TR John, thanks, & it's always good to hear you're in different footwear!
It looks like Dragontail is well clad for spring shenannigans. Much needed TR John, thanks, & it's always good to hear you're in different footwear!
Big push! In that second picture, I can still see some of those nasty boulders south of the lake...I hate them...They took all my energy last June. Were you able to keep your skis on the whole way? Really like skiing above the lake, but starting to dislike the torture of hiking there and back with ski tails catching on rocks. Still too fresh in my memory.
haggis: banana DPS's, splitboard & beard?
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wasn't so thrilled with my photo results, still getting used to a new camera that sometimes leaves me with impressionistic(read: f'ed up) shots -
blur
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wasn't so thrilled with my photo results, still getting used to a new camera that sometimes leaves me with impressionistic(read: f'ed up) shots -
blur
nwhikers.net instituted a "no spray zone" in their trip reports section years ago. Seems like a good idea. Forces people who have issues that get triggered by any given TR to take that to a separate thread, and helps ensure that people aren't discouraged from posting TRs to the site. Just an idea the new side admins/mods might ponder...
Yup, it was good on the trees early today, read 7:45 1st drop-in. It felt wind affected just above treeline as you mentioned so we stayed below for our 2 laps before work.
author=Kyle Miller link=topic=39781.msg160189#msg160189 date=1519884163]
Been really wanting to head out to the Caucasus Mountains lately and have been learning a bit about this zone. Hard to say if it would be a better bet going for powder or corn. Looks amazing and such a unique culture.
From what I learned on my trip, and hearing from my friends who have remained out there for the season - I think corn is the way to go. Wind e...
author=Heli-Free North Cascades link=topic=39758.msg160077#msg160077 date=1519597384]
Anyway, Seems like this trip report should be in the Lift service section here at TAY.
Seems like they did some uphill skiing... Should we put any tour that uses snowmobiles to access terrain in the lift served section? What if I drive to the trail-head in my car?
Sweet photos - looks like a beautiful day out with stellar snow!...
Nice report!
I'm planning to be there on a motorcycle next fall, but will miss the skiing. Hard to say whether that's the right choice, but glad at least that someone's getting it. Meantime, I'll have a look at your friends' blog.
Mark
I'm planning to be there on a motorcycle next fall, but will miss the skiing. Hard to say whether that's the right choice, but glad at least that someone's getting it. Meantime, I'll have a look at your friends' blog.
Mark