TR Replies
author=bivywack link=topic=4783.msg20279#msg20279 date=1148328742]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.No problem! Glad you were able to complete your trip before the rain set-in as well 8)
I've tried both gulleys and they both can be a challenge near the top, depending on snow conditions.
...thanks
just to clarify, kitty is not female or male.
Kitty just is, like the Tao
;)
Way to go Monika! you continually amaze 8)
Nice job Monika and Miss Kitty, thanks for sharing your adventure.
Nice, I skinned up around 10pm on the 18th, watched the heat lightning over Alta with a beer at top then skiied The Shlutz via headlamp. Beautiful evening. Made it home at 1am.
nice photos, paul! way to take advantage of that great weather we had... 8)
Great pictures - way to maximize the use of the weather window by heading up North!
Went up to Pilchuk on Sunday (5/21) with my wife as some friends who were tired from their Saturday climb kindly volunteered to babysit our son. It's cool to have some tired friends on a Sunday ;-) It was a great short tour, when we were at the summit we saw dark clouds and rain slightly to the south so decided not to hang around for too long. Snow conditions were excellent off the back gully and we skied within 100 yards of the parking lot.
nice photos monika! and cute cat too. we may be heading down to the sisters this weekend, do you think i could borrow her?? ;) she seemed to bring you good luck.
you're a rockstar, you burly girl!! ;D
you're a rockstar, you burly girl!! ;D
Thanks PeteA for kicking the steps up to the pass. It was a surprisingly really great trip, particularly for a splitboard. After reassembling the snowboard it stayed together for the rest of the way out....very nice.
Oh, I thought you meant a rock step, not a snow step... :-[
Another great adventure!! Just you and Kitty?! Maybe I should get one...
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.
Old cornice.
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...
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...
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.
nice report Allyson. and great photos, Cass...
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
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
author=allyson link=topic=4783.msg20265#msg20265 date=1148306861">Always much better than being caught in the rain! The raindrops held off just long enough. 8)
yes! we beat the rain! and nothing finishes a trip better than a beer and gummi bears waiting for you at the end.
Another great trip in the WA Pass area!
The rest of the trip phot...
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.
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:
You might be able to see yourself up towards the summit in this pic:
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...
Very cool Lowell, thanks for the lesson!
Looks like I'll be sticking with the adhesive types for now. (pun intended) ;)
Looks like I'll be sticking with the adhesive types for now. (pun intended) ;)
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...
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.
Would definitely like to ski Benzarino again.
Thank you Paul for another great trip in new terrain.
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?
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.
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! :)
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! :)
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.
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.
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!
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!
author=Paul_Russell link=topic=4768.msg20225#msg20225 date=1148105291]Did you do the Mt Adams circumnav this week?
No.
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.
Paul, sounds great!!, and nice photos!!
You guys make me think about cutting back on my job :'(
You guys make me think about cutting back on my job :'(
Thanks for the report Lowell. Did you do the Mt Adams circumnav this week?
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...
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).
Daniel- Glad you had a good outing on The Tooth! (and also had excellent corn conditions for your early morning ski down).
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.
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.
:) Thanks for the report and great pictures. Goodun on ya doing all that with heavy packs.
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.
totally rad. nice work.
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...
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?
Great photos and fine trip report!
I am totally jealous, sounds like much good fun in Alaska, er, uh was that the Cascades?
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...
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...
Paul: lucky!! i'm glad it all worked out. very nice photos, especially the one of camp. say, is that a red Hillberg tent?
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
Jim's summit Photo w fine view of the Cascadian in BG
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.
;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.
