TR Replies

That was my fourth time up there and I still can't remember which is the right gulley. I think I've taken a different one each time. Pete and his partner had already kicked steps, so we had no choice but to follow ;).

Old cornice.

5/22/06 6:07am

Pete A

phil, i'm 99% sure we were all in the correct gully (unless my partner who's done the rock climb twice before has been going up the wrong path each time).
the last bit of snow to the pass, maybe 10 feet or so was almost dead vertical (i think thats the 'vertical bit' Preston was referring to), maybe the remnant of an old cornice or windlip..too steep for just a whippet and no crampons...but it was easily bypassed by going up a short section of rock ledges on either side...

5/22/06 5:41am

philfort

may 21, copper peak circumnav (wa pass)

author=prestonf link=topic=4786.msg20276#msg20276 date=1148321826]
One thing we didn't count on was having to scramble around the vertical bit at the top of Headlee pass.

Sounds like you took the wrong gully! ;) The correct gully is straightforward, no scrambling.

5/22/06 5:36am

kam

nice report Allyson. and great photos, Cass...

5/22/06 5:12am

bivywack

may 21, copper peak circumnav (wa pass)

Nice work. I was up there with a few friends. Did you pick up a hitchhiker that went back for another hitchhiker? If so, the second hitcher was one of our party. Thanks so much for making our trip back to the Blue Lk TH a lot easier.

It was a beautiful day at Washington Pass, and we also enjoyed a few beers in rain!!

I was going to post a TR with the snow conditions, but it looks like you covered that splendidly. :)

B

5/22/06 3:52am

cascadesfreak

may 21, copper peak circumnav (wa pass)

author=allyson link=topic=4783.msg20265#msg20265 date=1148306861">
yes! we beat the rain! and nothing finishes a trip better than a beer and gummi bears waiting for you at the end.

Always much better than being caught in the rain! The raindrops held off just long enough. 8)
Another great trip in the WA Pass area!

The rest of the trip phot...

5/22/06 3:31am

Pete A

nice to meet ya Preston...and thanks for the creek crossing beta for the hike out, probably saved us a half hour of bushwacking back up to where we crossed on the way in.

5/22/06 3:17am

prestonf

We got a little wet, both at the river crossings and in the rain, but we loved this tour. One thing we didn't count on was having to scramble around the vertical bit at the top of Headlee pass. Downclimbing the loose rock back into the gully on the descent, with boards on back, felt pretty sketchy!

You might be able to see yourself up towards the summit in this pic:

5/21/06 11:58pm

Joedabaker

author=Lowell_Skoog link=topic=4768.msg20262#msg20262 date=1148274147]
Here's a picture:
The bottom skin is Army surplus, probably World War II vintage.

Now that is a blast from the past!
Tired of trying to remove the bubble gum kick wax off of my tele skis moved me to those surplus canvas ones.
They were some of the first skins that I owned.
They slipped off the ski quite often if my memory serves me ri...

5/21/06 11:12pm

JibberD

Very cool Lowell, thanks for the lesson!

Looks like I'll be sticking with the adhesive types for now. (pun intended) ;)

5/21/06 2:02pm

Lowell_Skoog

May 6, 2006, Mt. Benzarino, Wa Pass

author=JibberD link=topic=4768.msg20255#msg20255 date=1148259295]
Lowell, what is the benefit of a strap-on skin in wet and dirty conditions? I've actually never heard of a this type of skin. Can you explain what they are and where you got them?

Here's a picture:

At the top are my current skis with strap-on climbing skins attached. Asc...

5/21/06 1:06pm

Monika

Certainly covered a lot of distance, up and over that many long cols, almost made me dizzy :)
Would definitely like to ski Benzarino again.

Thank you Paul for another great trip in new terrain.

5/21/06 9:54am

JibberD

author=Lowell_Skoog link=topic=4768.msg20222#msg20222 date=1148100844]
The snow was wet and a bit dirty, so I used strap-on climbing skins for the tour.

Lowell, what is the benefit of a strap-on skin in wet and dirty conditions? I've actually never heard of a this type of skin. Can you explain what they are and where you got them?

5/21/06 7:45am

davidN

May 19, 2006, Iron Peak

author=Larry_R link=topic=4774.msg20244#msg20244 date=1148215911]

How did you get across the creek going up?

Larry, the stream was also mid-thigh when I crossed. A little intimidating, yes. I took my boots off and went slowly. You must have done a loop. Did you go in Bean Creek? Also nice to have met you.

5/20/06 9:51pm

Larry_R

May 19, 2006, Iron Peak

David, nice to have met you as I was skiing out.

How did you get across the creek going up? John M. said that on the Sunday before, the water was barely deep enough to seep into their boots, but when I crossed on Thursday the flow was amazing. Even crossing at the widest spot, at one point the water was up to mid thigh in one spot and flowing so quickly that I had to inch my feet along the bottom, both poles braced downsteam. Not all that safe in retrospect! :)

5/20/06 11:43am

GregLange

Sheispiste:
What a great way to swab middle school kids off of your mind! Or did you take the day off from work!!!

Thanks for the beta. I'm headed there some morning soon.

5/20/06 2:00am

Jerm

http://www.cascadesfreak.com/gallery/Alpental5-17-2006/DSC_0086

I'm really excited about this. My search for the perfect concealed weapon has ended ... this thing fits right between the credit cards in my wallet. Watch out evil-doers!

5/20/06 1:38am

Lowell_Skoog

author=Paul_Russell link=topic=4768.msg20225#msg20225 date=1148105291]Did you do the Mt Adams circumnav this week?

No.

5/20/06 12:59am

Michael

Awesome pictures Paul and great TR! Glad you were able to hit it in such perfect weather conditions after your wet weather experience a couple of weeks ago.

5/19/06 3:09pm

Kenji

Paul, sounds great!!, and nice photos!!

You guys make me think about cutting back on my job :'(

5/19/06 3:08pm

Paul_Russell

Thanks for the report Lowell. Did you do the Mt Adams circumnav this week?

5/19/06 12:01pm

Paul_Russell

say, is that a red Hillberg tent?

Hey Kam, yes, that's a Hilleberg Nallo 2 tent that Rob and Sonya were using. Very nice tent. Made my Bibler I-tent look a little cramped for space (I think their vestibule was bigger)! http://www.hilleberg.com/Catalog/tents_47616_products.htm.

So we debated the +/- of the two tents. For this trip, the Bibler was nice for not having to dig a big platform and with good weather, no need f...

5/19/06 9:16am

cascadesfreak

Another fun after work outing indeed!

Daniel- Glad you had a good outing on The Tooth! (and also had excellent corn conditions for your early morning ski down).

5/19/06 5:35am

fheimer

Myself and ANdreas from switzerland were the other two on the tour. WE took four days and climbed a few more peaks. It was all in all a spectactular outing. I posted a TR on Cascade CLimber if anyone is interested. Probably get some pics up there eventually as well.

5/19/06 4:55am

tdave

May 18, 2006, Mt. Pilchuck

thanks for the great tr and photos. does anyone have an idea how late in the year this tour will remain doable? it has been on my list since i first read about it two years ago, but it will be at least a few weeks before i have that kind of time.

5/19/06 3:10am

Here are some pictures from a couple hours later.

5/19/06 2:47am

May 18, 2006, Denny Mtn (5,400'), Hoadley's Hollow

:) Thanks for the report and great pictures. Goodun on ya doing all that with heavy packs.

5/19/06 2:26am

ericfrench

Great TR. I'm new to the area, and this winter at Alpental, I often looked at that line wondering if it had a name and if people skied it. Thanks for the beta.

5/19/06 2:20am

Meadow_Skipper

totally rad. nice work.

5/19/06 2:19am

Daniel

Nice! I was up there Wednesday night also. We arrived around 6pm in the upper parking lot. I looked for familliar looking cars, closer to the lifts, but your crew hadn't arrived yet. Theron booted, and I skinned up the return track to Source Lake and then up the west side to Pineapple Pass. I was amazed at how warm it was. There was this nice warm breeze coming over the pass and I never had to pull on my long pants. I left my skis at the pass and we skirted around the west side of the small...

5/19/06 12:58am

jdclimber

Great work!
Great photos and fine trip report!
I am totally jealous, sounds like much good fun in Alaska, er, uh was that the Cascades?

5/19/06 12:41am

gregL

May 18, 2006, Mt. Pilchuck

Way to get it done, Paul!

5/19/06 12:20am

wickstad

I concur.

I have a feeling you were ahead of me. I peeled off at the little pilchuck divide to head back to the car. I was back to the car at 7:15pm and never saw a soul but judging from the tracks there was at least one person ahead of me on skis. Probably more.

There was a lone set of tracks across the gully where someone had traversed near the cliffs. Also there was fresh avi debris near the bottom of that side of the gully. The snow...

5/18/06 11:21pm

kam

Paul: lucky!! i'm glad it all worked out. very nice photos, especially the one of camp. say, is that a red Hillberg tent?

5/18/06 9:39am

wolfs

Earl Peak May 17

Re: Stuart - check out this 5/13 photo from someone else. (Jim Kuresman's site, which has superb TRs for meanders in the Teanaway - he apparently doesn't ski but he takes good photos and posts good directions!)
Jim's summit Photo w fine view of the Cascadian in BG

5/18/06 9:02am

Jason_H.

With my knee hurt again, I need to stop reading turns-all-year, et al.

;D

But after the jealousy, I'm totally stoked.

Those pics are great. Put a link up to others if you have them. Meanwhile I'll be taking more Vitamin I.

5/18/06 8:13am

JoeE

May 17, 2006, Mt. Baker Watson Traverse

Here are the sking pic's as promised

Cheers

5/18/06 5:09am

md2020

Earl Peak May 17

We were up on Earl Sun 5/14. We came from the Navaho side on the second day of an overnight trip. Did you all notice the thousands of lady bugs gathered in clumps on the rocks at the summit? That's the first time I've ever seen that on a summit, but I hear it's fairly common.

5/18/06 5:09am

Lowell_Skoog

Congrats on completing the trip! You picked rather difficult conditions, but stuck it out.

This week has given us the first sustained bout of really high freezing levels of the spring. There was a good crust last Saturday, but everything has turned pretty slushy this week. I expect that conditions will be much better for traverses like this after the cooler weather comes through this weekend. Although it would extend the season, I'd just as soon not see much new snow at this poin...

5/18/06 4:48am

Pete A

May 17, 2006, Mt. Baker Watson Traverse

congrats on pulling off the traverse! sorry to hear about the car....and that the long traverse out needed skins...yuck.

when I talked my friends into doing 'watsons' two years ago we had to stop repeatedly for redbull and coffee on the way home and finally gave up, sleeping at a reststop for about three hours. hard to do any kind of driving after an epic long day like that.

I'm hoping to do it again in a couple weeks, though my buddies and I already have pl...

5/18/06 2:36am

Pete A

Earl Peak May 17

glad to hear that the snowpack doesn't seem to be a knee deep pile of sludge with the warm temps.

get a good view of Stuart? think its still got enough snow to be a worthwhile ski this weekend?
I should've gone last weekend, but other mountains were calling up around Hwy 20.

5/18/06 12:30am

Paul Belitz

May 17, 2006, Alpental Mid Day Patrol

The ski wasn't as smooth as expected

Hey, what can you expect from moguls? ;D

Upper and Lower 'Nash corned up at 7am. And nobody was there from 5:45 to 7:15. Imagine that.

5/17/06 2:47pm

TonyM

May 7- 12, 2006, Mount Whitney Circumnavigation

Great TR. It makes me long for climbing trips in the Sierra Nevada. Thanks for the photo's ... I hope to retire in Bishop.

5/17/06 8:54am

iluka

May 14, 2006, University Peak, Sierra

Nice report... what a bummer to climb all that way up to just get rotten snow. We had really hot temps on our trip in the Sierra as well and even up at 11,600 feet one night, it barely got below freezing. We did manage to find corn but it was high up... the 2000 feet coming off Trail Crest on Whitney made for great turning. Skinning around, particularly near rocks and trees we found loads of rotten soft snow that just gave way under any weight. Lots of punching through.

5/17/06 8:46am

iluka

May 7- 12, 2006, Mount Whitney Circumnavigation

The snow is, in fact, melting fast. On the traverse around Mt. Young, which we did around 11,200 feet the entire way, there was sparse coverage in areas and a lot of spots that looked like they would be melted out in 1-2 weeks. Not sure how much longer this tour will go without lots of taking the skis on and off the pack.

5/17/06 7:38am

JMor

may 14, pilchuck

author=allyson link=topic=4725.msg20049#msg20049 date=1147649881]cass descended in sweet tele style, k wu always looks good, and me...well, let's just say we're glad i was the one videoing it all. ;)

Allyson don't kid yourself :), who was the one that skied down from the Crystal Fest with a Bar-bee-Q strapped to their pack and did not fall or even bobble once. Besides, you've just switched over to the other side and are doing fa...

5/17/06 7:06am

Zap

May 7- 12, 2006, Mount Whitney Circumnavigation

Nice trip. It is amazing how warm it has been in the Sierra and the snow is melting fast below 9500'. We were in Onion Valley over the weekend and things were soft below 12,000. Glad to hear plan B was an enjoyable adventure.

5/17/06 6:40am

skykilo

Wonderful photo. Now let's see a skiing shot! Cool you got that direct line like Sam did. Maybe that'll motivate me to do it early some year.

5/17/06 6:14am

philfort

Wow! Great pic... makes me feel like I'm there. A little shot of adrenaline at work.

5/17/06 5:54am

JoeE