TR Replies
Thanks to TAY we were able to connect up a solid group of 8 skiers to share trail breaking duties in some awesome snow conditions! As Iain stated, should you approach from Nason Creek be sure to keep a healthy distance from any Yodelin cabins or one of the owners in particular might make you a snowcat speed bump.
The old avy debris field served as a great reminder that the slope could let go in a big way. Given Sunday's avy forecast of 'moderate' combined with the less...
The old avy debris field served as a great reminder that the slope could let go in a big way. Given Sunday's avy forecast of 'moderate' combined with the less...
Like two ships passing in the fog....
Zap, In our attempt to ski as many different aspects in one day, we came upon the trail breakers you speak of near the end of our tour... Nice young guys lapping their stash.
We had an elder couple that seemed to always be two uptrails behind us and spooned our turns as to not waste any powder.
I was thinking that they reminded me of senior ladies at a casino waiting for us to get tired of playing the slots, so they could quickly move in cash i...
Zap, In our attempt to ski as many different aspects in one day, we came upon the trail breakers you speak of near the end of our tour... Nice young guys lapping their stash.
We had an elder couple that seemed to always be two uptrails behind us and spooned our turns as to not waste any powder.
I was thinking that they reminded me of senior ladies at a casino waiting for us to get tired of playing the slots, so they could quickly move in cash i...
Nice to hear from you again Eric, Ron and I were wondering where the heck you have been hiding ;).
You may not recognize him.
Eric shaved his beard and now looks like the ASB president of the local high school.
Joe ;)
The flu sucks - I had the 'en all' last year for the first time ever >:(. It knocked my ass out.
Agreed, the to-mountain-traffic was absurd, but it was well worth it.
First time exploring the buillon basin goods; plenty to tour. The backside of the 6700' knob north of the basin had unbelievably tasty snow, as did the shots heading east to Union creek. fun it was... The late day sun breaks and views on Rainier were great.
First time exploring the buillon basin goods; plenty to tour. The backside of the 6700' knob north of the basin had unbelievably tasty snow, as did the shots heading east to Union creek. fun it was... The late day sun breaks and views on Rainier were great.
a shovel handle was found in Bullion Basin Jan 15. send a pm to arrange return.
I knew something was amiss with TAY; Welcome back Eric. I was a bit worried about the winds and decided to head for the Tatoosh instead of the Paradise lot...wind crust up top, but the steeps below were as light as it gets in Washington with nothing but snowshoe folk to avoid. Everything seemed suprisingly stable, though I was still too nervous to ski any of the main chutes.
Nice to hear from you again Eric, Ron and I were wondering where the heck you have been hiding ;).
Cool picture of a nice looking line! Sounds like a great trip.
We were not far from there. The forest floor is finally getting some nice cover up at Snoqualmie.
The steeps above 4500 today gave that wonderful weightless feeling. Skiing in the trees was especially nice. Surf was up!
The steeps above 4500 today gave that wonderful weightless feeling. Skiing in the trees was especially nice. Surf was up!
Nice report Andy.
Hey lookee here, You live close and have lots of extra time. Why don't you volunteer to give those rangers some supervision! :-)
We would be eternally grateful!
Hey lookee here, You live close and have lots of extra time. Why don't you volunteer to give those rangers some supervision! :-)
We would be eternally grateful!
My mom loved video too! she worried about me skiing under cornices with some guy named maddog though ;) Thanks for great adventure!
Hi Jason! Nobody passed me on Sunday either but I don't think it had anything to do with speed :)
Eric
Eric
Does this hipystix happen to have the first name, Erik? As I remember it (and it has been quite a few years), you didn't let too many people pass you. ;D
Thanks for the report!
Thanks for the report!
Fixed the links, much more better now.
Thanks, Charles
Thanks, Charles
Excellent stuff JW.
You are the Spielberg of Trip Videos. :D
You are the Spielberg of Trip Videos. :D
Over the river and through the woods......... and a great time was had by all in Pickhandle basin ;D.
Fun video J.
Fun video J.
Nice report, hipystix, thanks.
And welcome to Turns-All-Year.
Hope to see more TR's from you.
And welcome to Turns-All-Year.
Hope to see more TR's from you.
Kenji, it looks like you took this picture after I checked the snow pack by using my head. Next time I'll clean off my hat.
Thanks for the great route finding through the trees. It turned out to be better exit than going back to our uptracks to the Castle saddle.
Thanks for the great route finding through the trees. It turned out to be better exit than going back to our uptracks to the Castle saddle.
Hey, Jerry that's a fun video. So was the clip I had of you from my little digi-cam too grainy for the final cut? I think it was the best skiing of the day...by Mr. JW.
Nice work!
Nice work!
Thank you Chris 8) Sounds like 24 hrs and a little snow helped. To be honest though the skiing was still pretty grabby....Jerry
As the following will show we got Pickhandle....handled pretty well....Jerry
Nice viddy Jerry! The skiing looked much better than Ally, Cin, and myself's outing there the day before...we must've missed that particular "stash" ;)
Glad we missed the "waterfall bad chute" as it looked like we were heading for something that fit that description on our ski down...
I had a really good time on that tour! When the snow is not so great... all you need is some old friends, some new friends and somewhere you haven't been to make for an excellent day/evening 8) As the following will show we got Pickhandle....handled pretty well....Jerry
definitely wasn't bomber up there. We were at Paradise on Sun and there was obvious wind slab. I don't remember coming across any 8-10" layers but 4-6" was common. Backbowl was all wind slab towards the top half but down below was nice fluff.
randy--fantastic photo! looks like it was a great day. i've been curious about the blewitt area for some time, and those clearcuts and glades you speak of on the north and south aspects seem tempting...
thanks for the report! :)
thanks for the report! :)
Your welcome. Given talk of such "bomber" layers on Sunday, I thought it would be educational to bring this up. Yes. 8-10 inch crown with a velvety smooth bed surface. Things have probably significantly changed up there by now...
yeah skip, sounds like you found some sweet snow! way to get it. ;)
Good report Doug, and excellent update Blitz.
As I told Ron earlier, I actualy enjoy the min-epics more than an uneventful day, builds character and experience
IMO.
I have never used a GPS unit in the BC( map and compass guy). but Ron's ability to inform to group that the waterfall bad chute is .1 mile to the East of us was very impressive. I'm a convert and will have to join the 21st century and invest in a GPS unit. Going out with RonJ and his GPS unit is like havin...
As I told Ron earlier, I actualy enjoy the min-epics more than an uneventful day, builds character and experience
IMO.
I have never used a GPS unit in the BC( map and compass guy). but Ron's ability to inform to group that the waterfall bad chute is .1 mile to the East of us was very impressive. I'm a convert and will have to join the 21st century and invest in a GPS unit. Going out with RonJ and his GPS unit is like havin...
Great TR, Jibber.
And very nice emblelishment, Alisa.
In the spirit of kindness we won't disclose the indentity of the elderly klutz that lost his boards... it was also very kind of you all to wait for me while I searched for the elusive gliss tool ??? and of Jerry to help solve the mystery 8)
And very nice emblelishment, Alisa.
In the spirit of kindness we won't disclose the indentity of the elderly klutz that lost his boards... it was also very kind of you all to wait for me while I searched for the elusive gliss tool ??? and of Jerry to help solve the mystery 8)
ajjenkin, Thanks for posting this - it's always good to hear about avy activity. Glad no one was caught in it.
So was that the thickness of the slab/height of the crown... about 8-10 inches?
So was that the thickness of the slab/height of the crown... about 8-10 inches?
Nice one, Skipster.
Col pic of some gnarly terrain being caressed by mother nature, too.
Col pic of some gnarly terrain being caressed by mother nature, too.
Thanks for the report and links to those nice photos. Making the links be text of your own choice is one of those little secrets...but here's how to do it (don't know why it's not well documented in the official forum help, but it is described here)
The easiest way to do this is to first click the button for the URL YABBC tag, which puts in:
Now, right after the first "url" inser...
The easiest way to do this is to first click the button for the URL YABBC tag, which puts in:
[url">Now, right after the first "url" inser...
We got there shortly after 9 am; and a ranger said it should be open in 45m, or sooner. I said, no way it would be 10 or later. The gate opened by 9:30, I think. I guess they are right sometimes.
====================
Here is Rich skiing (sorry about bad lighting; but the snow was good)
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Here is Rich skiing (sorry about bad lighting; but the snow was good)
JibberD
Scotsman is out of pocket today, so here is my try.
This was my third BC trip and if snow wasn't memorable - scenery and company were.
We skinned up a well planned trail (thanks RonJ and Maddog and JW) to ridge crossing near Bear Gap. Compression test failed after multiple whole arm swings and shear test revealed the three inch crust from last week's rain and 18 inch Decmeber crust, both well adhered to adjacent layers (c/w Allyson's findings from day before...
Scotsman is out of pocket today, so here is my try.
This was my third BC trip and if snow wasn't memorable - scenery and company were.
We skinned up a well planned trail (thanks RonJ and Maddog and JW) to ridge crossing near Bear Gap. Compression test failed after multiple whole arm swings and shear test revealed the three inch crust from last week's rain and 18 inch Decmeber crust, both well adhered to adjacent layers (c/w Allyson's findings from day before...
Kenji ,
Thanks for the nice report. Sorry you were caught eating when the gate opened! Due to that you must have the exact time the gate opened. Please tell me as I'm curious and keeping a mental track of gate opening times.
We opted for Hogsback due to the amount of snow. Of course we were rewarded with good skiing but a longer drive.
Thanks for the nice report. Sorry you were caught eating when the gate opened! Due to that you must have the exact time the gate opened. Please tell me as I'm curious and keeping a mental track of gate opening times.
We opted for Hogsback due to the amount of snow. Of course we were rewarded with good skiing but a longer drive.
I also went to Bear Gap yesterday, coming up from the lake.
I'd say it was 1/2-2". The only places with 4" were collection spots from wind transport or avalanche, etc.
Crystal ski patrol called avi conditions "low" and "dust on crust". I'd call it dust on breakable crust. Good avi conditions for going into the area, which I agree can have nasty potential otherwise. I think coming up Quicksilver and from the lake has less avi pot...
I'd say it was 1/2-2". The only places with 4" were collection spots from wind transport or avalanche, etc.
Crystal ski patrol called avi conditions "low" and "dust on crust". I'd call it dust on breakable crust. Good avi conditions for going into the area, which I agree can have nasty potential otherwise. I think coming up Quicksilver and from the lake has less avi pot...
Thanks for the TR Randy -- that's one of my favorite mellow tours. A great XC tour as well. Glad to hear it's filling in.
It's the Swiss version of Source Lake Basin!
Kam's crossing Source Lake. There's Chair up on the left with the broad gully/fan leading to it. You can leave it early on the right, to head towards the Snow Lake divide.
Kam's crossing Source Lake. There's Chair up on the left with the broad gully/fan leading to it. You can leave it early on the right, to head towards the Snow Lake divide.
Kam and Greg,
great reports from an incredible trip. Thanks for getting your pictures up while travelling.
Btw, Kam: nice form on the AT gear.
great reports from an incredible trip. Thanks for getting your pictures up while travelling.
Btw, Kam: nice form on the AT gear.
Kam skiing down with a LOCKED heelHell has frozen over ;D Way to turn back to the dark side Toe!!...
Great photos Michael and Kam!
Nice pictures Kam! It was a fun day - Christian always manages to add some spice to these types of trips ;-)
Here are my pictures:
Kam skinning up to Bel Oiseau
Greg enjoying the ridge
Kam and Greg on the ridge with a nice view on Mont Blanc in the back<...
Here are my pictures:
Kam skinning up to Bel Oiseau
Greg enjoying the ridge
Kam and Greg on the ridge with a nice view on Mont Blanc in the back<...
Very nice! sounds like a fun time folks.
I went lift-skiing up at Crystal today... killer weather, visibility, views... and snow wasn't too bad either. Kinda icy in the afternoon i suppose.
Also kinda "gloppy" in places too.... which believe it or not I was going out my way to seek out now and then!! Definitely need more practice with that glop stuff. :)
Ethan
I went lift-skiing up at Crystal today... killer weather, visibility, views... and snow wasn't too bad either. Kinda icy in the afternoon i suppose.
Also kinda "gloppy" in places too.... which believe it or not I was going out my way to seek out now and then!! Definitely need more practice with that glop stuff. :)
Ethan
Sounds cool... I'm headed to the Alps in April. Keep writing the TR's, it's building stoke.
kam--even when you're gripped because the terrain is sketch, you still seem to have some laughable moments. here are a few of my favorites:
yeah, ouch.
the tip of my ski swung up and clocked me in the pr*vate area. ouch. note to self: watch that tip.
yeah, ouch.
i think i can't wait to go back to Virginia and sit in my office in front of the computer for 10 hours a day, where it's flat. ;)<...