TR Replies

January 28-31, 2006, Wallowas

I have some fond memories of my time at UVM and days at Stowe. Not to mention Mad River, Jay Peak, Sugarbush and the annual pilgrimage to Tucks... Can't say the skiing compares to out here, but I had some good days in VT.

2/2/06 5:50pm

ericd

Hey Steve. Looks like I'm not the only one filled with envy. Those are some great photos. Just curious, what was the stability issue that kept you in the trees? Not that it looks like you missed out by being safe. It's more of a continental snowpack there, right?

Oh, how were the accomodations? Appropriate for a 4 month old?

E

2/2/06 5:27am

Matt C

January 28-31, 2006, Wallowas

Damn dude!

I will take those visibility issues any day. My buddy has been wanting to get in a trip down there for awhile now. Your pics make me wanna go there tomorow. Nicely done!!!

2/2/06 12:00am

bc_skier

January 28-31, 2006, Wallowas

Nice, Nice, Nice! Looks like you hit the killer Pow!

The shots when the sun came out are especially nice, better than what's on their web site.

You should submit a few to them...

2/1/06 4:36am

tytyler

I went ahead and posted the same report on the NWAC snowpack info exchange as well. Glad it was of use for some people. I'm always so surprised at how little people post pit info, do people still dig them? I like knowing whats going on out there, so I'll be out there next week and I'll post some more pit info. :)

2/1/06 3:11am

Lowell_Skoog

January 28-29, 2006, Â Hellmouth Couloir, Montana

Hey, you're famous! From today's NWAC avalanche forecast:

A fairly extensive snow pit report on Turns All Year from Tuesday at Paradise indicated some firmer slab surface layers had formed, or were forming, with some low stability test scores and clean shears beneath the slab layers.

Nice work. ;)

2/1/06 1:37am

skykilo

That sounds like a worthy adventure and the couloir looks nice.
Thanks

1/31/06 10:05pm

Garth_Ferber

Also a thanks for this sort of info from the NWAC. Info that is more purely snowpack info is great on the NWAC blog and no need to be a pro to post there. Or posting on TAY gives me an excuse to browse trip reports.

Sure was stormy at Paradise last night and this morning! :)

http://www.nwac.us/products/OSOPVC

Garth

1/31/06 9:03pm

David_Lowry

Thats great to hear! They're fairly intractable at that age.

Its really easy to make your own lines and save money. Mike Callahan has a nice how-to article here:

http://skijor.hypermart.net/line_article.html

1/31/06 7:13pm

ron j

Good info, CW. Thanks.
An additional location where posting this info would be helpful is on the NWAC Avy Blog. The avy pros post there and review other's posts there regularly. Their link is in the upper left corner of the TR pages here (then click on "Create Report" - upper RH corner of the Avy Blog page).

1/31/06 5:41pm

Robie

For Sale ; 90 Suburu wagon,Celtic Green ,plaid interior.Long in the tooth ,but still Braveheart.
Inexpensive but not cheap Good in snow with chains and manual.

1/31/06 5:10pm

Scotsman

So, how did the skijoring part go?

Going good. He's only 6 months old but already has this inbred desire to pull.Husky's are definitely a challenge though. Very intelligent and stubborn.I'm using a cheap harness I picked up and just some cord but I'm ready to buy one of the custom skijoring setups. It's tremendous fun. ;D

1/31/06 9:04am

weezer

:) I can chain so quickly that my wife thinks were stopping for a pee break, and that bump bump sound is such a happy sound :D

1/31/06 8:09am

peteyboy

Obviously, there are a lot of us out here who cut our backcountry teeth in Vermont and other Northern New England parts. The addiction led us here, to the gluttony of deep winters and the fun hog paradise of 8 to 12 month seasons, the high alpine of the Cascades and ridiculously long runs. Sure, I haven't forgotten how maddening it was to get 18 inches of super cold, dry powder followed by a hour of rain then plunging temperatures to lock it up (hell, I'm here now because of it...

1/31/06 4:57am

BrianLee

Arguing over silly shit!..... this is true online community now! ;D

1/31/06 3:07am

dberdinka

Lets make this clear. I have nothing against Subarus, I don't know why I even bothered to mention that they where Subaru's. I love frigging Subaru's. I am going to sell my truck and buy a SUBARU as soon as I get of this web site. I am changing my son's name middle name to Subaru. I am sending an e-mail to every SUBARU dealer in the county to tell them how much I love SUBARUS.
It was the dumbass, inconsiderate drivers that where the problem, NOT the SUBARUS. ???<...

1/31/06 2:20am

David_Lowry

So, how did the skijoring part go?

1/31/06 2:18am

ron j

Ok, So lemme get this straight, Scotty -- You're saying that Subaru's are Ok, is that right?

1/31/06 1:40am

Scotsman

Lets make this clear. I have nothing against Subarus, I don't know why I even bothered to mention that they where Subaru's. I love frigging Subaru's. I am going to sell my truck and buy a SUBARU as soon as I get of this web site. I am changing my son's name middle name to Subaru. I am sending an e-mail to every SUBARU dealer in the county to tell them how much I love SUBARUS.
It was the dumbass, inconsiderate drivers that where the problem, NOT the SUBARUS. ???

1/31/06 1:20am

BrianLee

Question here, was it so deep that the Subarus were boggin down, or was it a case of dumbass drivers? I have an Impreza, with tires of questionable traction, I deliver pizzas in Cle Elum-Roslyn area. i have encountered some very challenging driving conditions, but the Suby has only failed me once, and that was because the snow in this guys driveway was so deep and wet that my little car could not go. Suby's are the best snow car I have ever driven and can't seem to grasp the idea of having to p...

1/31/06 12:56am

Sam Avaiusini

Me? Tell a story ;D

We were actually Six, and I'd love to tell you more whenever you'd like.

What Jason meant to say was 'whether you'd like it or not'
;)

1/31/06 12:36am

ovrthhills

Mac, glad you came forward and wrote the trip report, representing the hordes in Bullion Basin(12?) on a high avalanche danger day. Now we can all surface and admit our folley. That SW slope sure skied well, even while scraping the ice layer occasionally. It seemed to be the only reasonable line under the circumstances.

1/31/06 12:17am

Scotsman

As Justin alludes to, it's a never ending source of amazement and amusement to me how fragile the direction of a thread can be.
It's like a perfect example of the chaos theory -- the potential directions are limitless. What with the shortcomings of the written word and much of the time not actually knowing the person who is posting, we, probably as often as not, don't really get the message the poster is attempting to convey.

I was thinking about this...

1/31/06 12:14am

Jason_H.

Jason - thanks for the memory. You told me another classic story once when we happened to converge coming down from Heliotrope Ridge, about your dad taking you and your brother on your first attempt of Mt Rainier - do I remember right that it was when you were about 5 at the time? I was amused by your comment to the effect of "we didn't make good time because my brother and I weren't working well together on the rope." Your dad gave you some amazing exper...

1/31/06 12:04am

Scotsman

Good Man TELEMACK, Exactly the point I was trying to make. You backed up to a pullout and did not impede others. I knew there was a reason I skied with you. ;D

1/30/06 11:51pm

telemack

My wife and I took the doggies to Snowbowl on 1/21 and I got 1 good lap below the point past the hut; long ski for 14 turns, tho.

We drove our SUBARU almost to the gate parking, but it got steep and I hate putting on chains so I backed 1/2 mile to a safe pullout. As we booted up the road several
SUBARUs passed us, as well as trucks.

We were the only ones with skins on that day; any other good turns to be had at MTTA?

1/30/06 9:17pm

Jerm

When I was at UVM I would occasionally cruise up to Mansfield just to get last run down Bruce. Any run that spits you out at a bar is pretty special. Especially when there is a few inches of pow on a faster/harder surface, the ~4 miles from Stone Hut to the Matterhorn just fly by. On deeper days, bang a left at a little arrow tacked to a tree and dive down Bruce Waterfall, a sweet old landslide scar into a wide open streambed. I can still the remember the day I discovered it, alone, late in the...

1/30/06 7:44pm

Jason_H.

(Apparently Jason, your vibe is way too positive for this thread.)

I like to be a positive influence 8)

While I personally don't have anything against subaru drivers, there was this apple weilding VW Van driver that I would like to have a few words with, but he passed me while I was stuck in my 4 wheel drive ;D

1/30/06 7:43pm

Jim Oker

Jason - thanks for the memory. You told me another classic story once when we happened to converge coming down from Heliotrope Ridge, about your dad taking you and your brother on your first attempt of Mt Rainier - do I remember right that it was when you were about 5 at the time? I was amused by your comment to the effect of "we didn't make good time because my brother and I weren't working well together on the rope." Your dad gave you some amazing experiences, apparently. I hope to h...

1/30/06 7:24pm

ron j

As Justin alludes to, it's a never ending source of amazement and amusement to me how fragile the direction of a thread can be.
It's like a perfect example of the chaos theory -- the potential directions are limitless. What with the shortcomings of the written word and much of the time not actually knowing the person who is posting, we, probably as often as not, don't really get the message the poster is attempting to convey.

I was thinking about this phenomenon just the o...

1/30/06 6:57pm

Scotsman

Dberdinka, there is nothing wrong with Subaru's, and that wasn't the point of the rant. What is wrong is when you effectively block access to a public area because you have not taken the time to learn how to put chains on or had the consideration for others to do it in a place where it does not impede others plans and outings.

All the people who got stuck or blocked the road ( with one exception) where completely unworried that they had spoiled other people's plans and acted like it ...

1/30/06 6:39pm

powscraper

(Apparently Jason, your vibe is way too positive for this thread.)

1/30/06 6:17pm

dberdinka

CLEARLY YOU ARE MUCH SUPERIOR TO ALL THESE FOLKS. Particularly people who drive Subarus. I believe I speak for the masses when I say we all stand in awe of your perfection.

1/30/06 6:33am

ski_photomatt

Sweet, thanks for the stoke. I have vivid memories of skiing the front four at Stowe as a wide-eyed kid, dreams of Warren Miller and Scott Schmidt dancing in my head. It's about time I re-visited those mountains and learned what the real skiing was about.

1/30/06 5:49am

Salal

Nice...Makes me miss the birches!!!!!!

1/30/06 4:12am

Jason_H.

January 29, 2006, Blewett Pass

I'm glad people still get up on the MTTA. My dad was the first president and one of the founders (though we didn't cross country ski much and haven't been a part of the organization since the very early days). I spent several years building High Hut and the Yurt as a kid (which at one point was on Champion land by Golden Lakes. From there we had access to the silver forest and Colonade on Mount Rainier). We had a good time building those. In fact we set out on a ski traverse from hut to hut thro...

1/30/06 3:07am

infamous

I was out there yesterday as well. Took Mama Bear on her skis and Baby Bear in her pack. We hit the Wenatchee Ridge trail from the snopark. There were some nice tracks already layed down for us (good practice for Mama Bear!), so the going was easy even with the precious cargo. Like you said, lots of nice safe glades filled in with the velvety smooth! Perfect for family fun. Quite a snow storm on the way home, but plenty of coffee and some bockwursts in Leavenw...

1/30/06 2:19am

Scotsman

author= Hi Scotsman! Now close the window and get back to work. TELEMACK

Nice work TELEMACK. Glad you found some safe freshies.Went lift skiing on Sunday due to high avy danger. Woops, got to go, boss is looking over my shoulder. 8)

1/30/06 1:50am

JibberD

Seems ominous to me...

...and...

What? (we were all caught in an avalanche, or we had hot dogs and Kool-Aid near a big stump...) What could it be?

I've been waiting to see if any reports would appear since I sat the weekend out.

I'll drop in another dime to read more.

1/30/06 12:30am

telemack

Sorry about the accidental half-post. ???

1/30/06 12:15am

Jason_H.

Jan29, Hwy 12 White Pass

Just because you failed once just means that it will be that much more enjoyable when you actually get it right ;D

-Spiral Butte is nice.
-The bowles on Hogback by Devils digit are fun.
-Twin peaks are great

1/29/06 11:49pm

fheimer

Jan29, Hwy 12 White Pass

I was out there saturday and attempted Round Mountain. Got lost and discouraged by a long slog to nohwere. ANy other ideas for white pass backcountry?

1/29/06 11:19pm

kuharicm

What a great report! Thanks.

Reminds me of my good old days nearly (or really) missing ski races and such while skiing Tuckerbrook at Cannon or various hiking trails at Wildcat or Waterville... :-)

1/29/06 7:36am

peteyboy