TR Replies

March 21, 2006, Formidable Glacier

:D Great report and pictures. Nice work.

Tony_Bentley

Nice! We figured that you were going to hit it. Justin and I ended up on Boulder-Park having an adventure tough to forget.

Congrats!

3/21/06 10:28pm

curmudgeon

... Did you see and use our tracks from chair eight? ...

Ah, so it was you who broke trail for us. Very kind of you, sir! We did use your tracks on part of the way in. On the way out I wanted to compare to the recommended route of skiing down to the logging clearing that ascends to the White Salmon road. Mistake. Huge mistake!! It took us five hours to get to the summit from the White Salmon parking lot, and four hours to get back...

3/21/06 10:05pm

Gregg_C

Great Job. I had my eye on that on Saturday while coming out from our attempt on the North Face of Shuksan. (Poor vis and snow was too deep to boot pack on the steep section of the route. A set of verts would have done the trick). Maybe Paul has some pictures. Did you see and use our tracks from chair eight? The White Salmon has always had an appeal since '94 when I descended it from a winter ascent and was kicking myself for not having skiis.

3/21/06 9:04pm

dalius

March 2-12 La Grave

That's some quality ski porn. Thanks for that 8)

3/21/06 8:47pm

curmudgeon

March 19, 2006, Tatoosh Range

Thanks for getting this posted, Steve.

I have turned browsing on for the folder hosting the pics. See more at:

3/21/06 8:34pm

md2020

here's a few:

http://www.telemarktips.com/Photopost/data/500/154_5411.JPG

http://www.telemarktips.com/Photopost/data/500/154_5416.JPG

http://www.telemarktips.com/Photopost/data/500/154_5418.JPG

http://www.telemarktips.com/Photopost/data/500/154_5419.JPG

3/21/06 7:51pm

ericd

March 19, 2006, Tatoosh Range

Thanks for the report. I'd love to see the photos but they are not loading on my machine. Anyone else having trouble?

Edit: They work now. I knew I wanted to see those pictures ;D ;D ;D Beautiful!

3/21/06 7:48pm

md2020

thank you all for allowing me and Brenda to invite ourselves on your tour. :) That was a fun day. Amazing snow! When I get a chance I'll link you to a few shots that I took.

3/21/06 9:11am

Jason_H.

March 21, 2006, Formidable Glacier

Nice work guys. I love that area! Thanks for the report.

3/21/06 7:31am

Paul Belitz

March 21, 2006, Formidable Glacier

The approach was quite invigorating. The route was remarkably moderate, but the scenery was absolutely breathtaking.

Dave gets major props for breaking trail all the way up the route. My excuse is that I was carrying the rope. Those extra two pounds really did me in. ;)

Since all photos of Dave were taken in full (film!) SLR glory, I'll be the photoslut for now.

-Dave, the Middle Fork just...

3/21/06 6:46am

iluka

March 19, 2006, Skyline Ridge

We were up in the same area that day and spent one VERY long drive back in the same traffic jam on Rt. 2. That was the worst I've experienced on that road. We were half expecting to see some big car wreck and lots of flashing lights somewhere along the way to provide some justification for the slow down but alas... it was just those darn lights in sultan! At least you and we both had the memories of some good pow to ease the pain of the traffic

3/21/06 4:48am

skykilo

March 19, 2006, Baring Mountain

Ross and I were just talking about that thing while looking at Baring on the way to Lower Town Wall yesterday. Way to go get it.

3/21/06 4:35am

cascadesfreak

March 19, 2006, Baring Mountain

Well played! I haven't hauled skis up there, but I remember that pass between the two summits quite well (while ascending to Baring's north summit via the standard scramble route from the west a couple years back during the summertime). I recall staring down the eastern side from that pass thinking "I wonder if that couloir goes" (as a ski descent), as I could only see the upper portion of it from that vantage point. The answer appears to be an astounding "yes&qu...

3/21/06 4:16am

dalius

March 17, 2006, Honeycomb Ridge/Twin Lks Pass-Utah

Alright. I just got the slides back and had a chance to scan a few. Yes, I live in the dark ages of film! What a weekend...

Ryan heading out into the Great White Open

Our ski trax.

Topping out on Ptarmigan Ridge

3/21/06 4:09am

allyson

you guys. always going places and taking pictures of each other. wonder where you'll be next...
;)

3/21/06 3:19am

ATjeff_h

Sorry, clicked the wrong button. Nice lines on Clean Slate. It was a good day the weekend before last. Hope to ski with you guys again sometime.

3/21/06 3:10am

ATjeff_h

March 19, 2006, Baring Mountain

Hey Tim. I met a bunch of your crew the weekend before last. They are all packing some strong lungs!

It sounds sort of ridiculous considering the location and elevation but "Clean Slate" is one of the finest lines I've skied around Baker. It's flat side-to-side, perfect angle for rippin and just an awesome location above the Nooksack. Just pick a nice cold day with a couple inches of new at the bridge.

3/21/06 2:50am

Kenji

Great work!! Always so rewarding to find a local hidden jem.

Thanks for the report.

3/21/06 1:25am

kam

March 17, 2006, Honeycomb Ridge/Twin Lks Pass-Utah

nice report, Cass. speaking of greatest suncrusts: check this shot of Skip relieving 'tension' in the snow surface

more pow:

more photos:

3/20/06 10:26pm

Chamois

The week we were there the avy scene was pretty good; a couple of yellow flag slopes but great otherwise. The last afternoon we were there a storm came in and the snow and wind picked up, so we stayed lower to play on the moraine features. Still got lots of vertical. I was impressed with the snow quality, quantity, and the varied terrain.

3/20/06 9:55pm

Matt

March 2-12 La Grave

I wonderd what upper La Grave looked like. I was there Feb 17th and all I saw was white, white snow, white fog, white wind and more white exept below the upper tram in the trees. There we found 12" on granite with good skiing between the rocks. Glad somone got it good.

Thanks for sharing your picts. ;D I've got to go back some day.

3/20/06 7:39pm

stoudema

Nice post and photos Klister :) I've been meaning to make it to the Eagle Caps for a winter trip at the yurts. I've had numerous weeks of solitude in the Caps in the summer while archery hunting, and am making it a point to go there for a winter tour (just gotta get that split board next year!). The terrain is endless and there's lots of tours available in different drainages if one wants to spend the time. How was the avy danger with all the recent snow? Thanks,

3/20/06 6:55pm

dberdinka

Hey Tim. I met a bunch of your crew the weekend before last. They are all packing some strong lungs!

It sounds sort of ridiculous considering the location and elevation but "Clean Slate" is one of the finest lines I've skied around Baker. It's flat side-to-side, perfect angle for rippin and just an awesome location above the Nooksack. Just pick a nice cold day with a couple inches of new at the bridge.

3/20/06 6:53pm

Chamois

Wasn't too bad when we were their either.

3/20/06 6:37pm

ericd

March 17, 2006, Shotgun Couloir Left

Hey motsies and dpasteris. Were you guys the first party out that broke trail? If so, thanks again! I think we ran into you all after our first run off the ridge. Which way did you return to the parking lot? We saw a party cresting over Herman Saddle at about 6:30 as we were packing the car. Was that you by chance?

Nice photos by the way. Great day!

3/20/06 6:36pm

Swooz

I want to reinforce that. We crossed slough's that had crossed your uptrack from the day before. We had an early start on Sunday, but it would have been better to have gotten an even earlier start as the trees were starting to unload and cause some surface sloughing on the approach above the upper lake. The climb out seemed pretty stable, but there is one section that had a small cornice hanging overhead that kept the pace up until we cleared its fall line. We also had to...

3/20/06 5:46pm

Double E

Twas some of the WORST Sultan/Gold Bar traffic I've ever had. >:(

On the other hand, on the upper part of Jim Hill, had some of the BEST powder I've ever had. Kinda like powdered sugar, or flour. :D

3/20/06 5:30pm

wickstad

I could see a skin track from the highway but was surprised to not see any cars at the pullout at about
6:00pm. Hope you guys missed the awful traffic (I think caused by everyone leaving Steven's at the same time now with what appears to be no night skiing).

3/20/06 9:17am

dpasteris

March 17, 2006, Shotgun Couloir Left

Hey folks,

Here's my link to more photos of the day:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/danp09/album?.dir=f894&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

3/20/06 8:08am

MW88888888

One thing I think that will make this area remain relatively quiet is the access. There were three unavoidable areas where I had to cross avalanche paths to make this tour work out. I would not recommend this trip to anyone when there is a question about stability. Exiting via Gold Creek would have alleviated two of those avy crossings, but would have produced another (maybe worse?) outcome - the slog fest.

The "more popular" areas I'm sure would be safer to ski than...

3/20/06 7:39am

cascadesfreak

March, 16, 2006, China Mtn., NE Nevada

[before leaving Twin, i dialed the Wipe (AKA Cass) back in Seattle to say hello. all i got from him was, "why are you calling me at 5:30 am...*#&$�&!!!?".

Thanks, buddy >:(
Nice desert touring though!
Glad you and the Skipper successfully made the drive through Nevada without getting stuck in the mud this time ;)

3/20/06 6:59am

allyson

March, 16, 2006, China Mtn., NE Nevada

sweet photos, toe. glad you could spend some quality time on the west side with the skipper. ;)

3/20/06 6:36am

Mjölnir

Sweet day out.
Here are some more photos from sunday

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjolner/

3/20/06 6:04am

OldHouseMan

March, 16, 2006, China Mtn., NE Nevada

They had a huge dump the week before that was a bit of a problem because it was extremely hard breaking trail in powder up to your chest.

I was at the Wing Ridge Huts the week when they had that big dump. It was the first time for me in the Wallowas. The terrain is huge and the snow was perfect.

Aaron

3/20/06 5:13am

kam

Kam - great report. It's hard to believe you couldn't find the largest mountain range in ID when you were in Twin Falls. The streets in Twin Falls must be confusing.

i wasn't the one driving ;)

bcpinhead: i chatted with someone from the Ruby heliski operation and he said the snowpack this year was by far the best compared to previous years.

3/20/06 2:50am

curmudgeon

Good work. I've looking at that stuff for years, but have yet to pull the trigger. It looks better than I thought!

3/20/06 1:37am

jersan

March 12, 2006, Rockdale Powerlines

Hello Charles

We were there as well. Some pictures here....

http://community.webshots.com/album/548744845YSFWXe/0

3/20/06 1:12am

prgsmall

Wow! I've always looked up at that run with longing.

Great you did it!

Greetings from New Mexico,

Peter

3/20/06 12:33am

KenR

March 2-12 La Grave

Great photos, great achievements. I'm additionally impressed with the quality of the guiding, because March 2-12 was mostly not a real good weather week overall in the French Alps.

I'm thinking of getting together a trip to the Alps (France and/or western Switz) sometime during first half of May or last week of April, to do some great and/or big ski mountaineering tours -- probably some with local French guides. If you might be interested in joining with that, by all means get in t...

3/19/06 11:11pm

Lowell_Skoog

Although this tour and a trip to Silver Peak a couple weeks ago have got me thinking about trying Lowell's "skinny skin" approach to get a little more glide on the flats and rolling terrain. I am now thinking the little bit of extra weight and transition time (thin skins to full coverage skins to no skins) might pay off on tours like this.

I used skinny skins on my last trip to the Ptarmigan Ridge area and they worked pretty well. The...

3/19/06 10:59pm

dberdinka

There are several lakes on the backside. Iceberg is the largest and most obvious. Hayes Lake lies slightly further north and is on the way to Barometer Mountain.

3/19/06 10:02pm

ericd

Nice!!! I saw that line from the highway on Sunday after an apparently rare XC outing from the Salmon Ridge Snow Park. I thought to myself - "I wonder how you get to that?". Now I know.

By the way - isn't that Iceberg lake on the west side of Herman Saddle, or am I reading my map (the small topo in Bergdorfer's book) wrong.

3/19/06 9:44pm

ericd

March 18, 2006, Chair Peak Circumnav

Good job. Nice rewards come to those who are willing to do a little horizontal for their vertical, eh?

Yeah! ;D Although this tour and a trip to Silver Peak a couple weeks ago have got me thinking about trying Lowell's "skinny skin" approach to get a little more glide on the flats and rolling terrain. I am now thinking the little bit of extra weight and transition time (thin skins to full coverage skins to no skins) might p...

3/19/06 9:42pm

Pete A

whoops, i had assumed you'd skied the upper face too :) ...sorry if i was misleading in my post.

3/19/06 9:32pm

gregL

March 18, 2006, Chair Peak Circumnav

Sorry to mislead you Sky, just the bottom half-

EXCELLENT trip report from Formidable, by the way!

3/19/06 9:18pm

Eli3

Mar 18/19, 2006, - Pyramid Peak area (N. Cascades)

Eric Contemplating the gully before we turned around & lapped the goods:
http://spcmanspiff.users.poppinfresh.net/snowfield/PA170027.JPG

View from camp:
http://spcmanspiff.users.poppinfresh.net/snowfield/PA170020.JPG

Eric coming up to the col under pyramid peak (foggy lense):
http://spcmanspiff.users.poppinfresh.net/snowfield/PA170021.JPG

3/19/06 9:16pm

lapaz25

March 18, 2006, Mt. Catherine

I don't think Jessica could have put it any better indeed :) While longer than expected, it was a wonderful ski tour. I have a few photos to post, but alas I'm out the door for a week in Whistler, so please be patient. They will post next weekend.

Have fun out there and be safe! Can't wait to tour again with Jessica, even if her inseam is 7" shorter than mine :)

I LOVE TO SKI!!!! Pow, pow, pow....

3/19/06 9:14pm

motsies