TR Replies

Nice post Tony! And great video work as well. I knew those were pretty epic conditions requiring sequential dawn partrols, and the video sure brings it back!

As for all the differing viewpoints it's good to see and discuss.

B

12/26/05 8:58pm

moeglisse

December 19, 2005, Silver Creek, Wenatchee NF

Wow!
I think some people need naps.

MW....Great Photo.....Glad you were there to get the shot! 8)

12/26/05 8:27pm

Jim Oker

:)

I'm with ya on the logs, Sky. One of my only two ski injuries of note (as in needing some pro medical attention, both were at lift areas, by the way - perhaps something about risk calculations when there's a clinic a short slide away) was due to log-impact while being one turn too greedy for freshies in the trees. Kinda cool in a way - I saw I was in trouble, butt-planted, but had gone just a little too far so one of my arms smacked against a log. PAIN!! I put my weight on the arm to s...

12/26/05 7:43pm

allyson

December 10, 2005, Sahale Peak

paul and monika--nice trek! and awesome photos to show for it. you guys are such rockstars. 8)

oh yeah, and way to attack that alder!

12/26/05 6:33am

Monika

Dec 23, 2005, Near the banks of the Mississippi

funny, that's right where I grew up. made trips all winter by bike to that Columbia golf course for classic and skating and sliding since I was little.
Nice hills there for those Minnesota plains
:)

12/26/05 6:30am

Blake

December 10, 2005, Sahale Peak

Nice trip! I love that photo looking east with McGregor and Oval.

12/26/05 5:04am

curmudgeon

>:( Ah, well. There's goes a beautiful relationship!

12/26/05 4:53am

dfscott

I come from the Winthrop side.

12/26/05 4:11am

curmudgeon

December 19, 2005, Silver Creek, Wenatchee NF

Well, Mr. Scott, you just claimed first place in the all time best-first-post contest! From which side do you access WA Pass?

12/26/05 12:06am

skykilo

Charles,

I'd like to hear more about your decision-making process. Did you take any precautions between using the 'fish scales' and eating your next snack? ??? I wouldn't want to see you catch Salmonella. However, this is unfamiliar equipment to me so maybe my thinking's just not quite right. I just want to understand.

I think I've had more close calls with logs than just about anything else. Tripping, slipping, getting skewered, catching a tip, YIKES!...

12/25/05 9:49pm

dfscott

Wow, huge change from Thurs, when I did not see any avalanche debris at the hairpin. I am hoping that things settle down there for next weekend. BTW, if you frequent the WA Pass area, I am looking for a backcountry skiing partner(s). I have a Yamaha Rhino side by side atv with tracks, and so can get up to the WA Pass/Rainy Pass areas with relative ease (just a bit noisy). David

12/25/05 6:05am

Skier X

It was raining soooo hard,I had a new digital camera,not knowing its tolerance for moisture resistance,I decieded to protect it until I was sure . Sorry.

12/25/05 5:47am

Jerm

Dec 23, 2005, Near the banks of the Mississippi

Pictures? Video? Sounds like quite a show!

12/23/05 10:24pm

GregLange

Lowell:
Similar conditions exist in Milwaukee, WI. Glad to hear others are enjoying skiing in the Midwest. Beats not skiing all to hell!

12/23/05 5:53pm

Double E

December 10, 2005, Sahale Peak

looks fun!! I'm actually in Charlottesville, VA right now for a few days... unfortunately we wont be skiing, as my bro and his family are busy moving into a new house and all, but.. it's cool to hear about Seattle folks gettin the goods nearby! 8)

Merry Christmas all.

12/23/05 5:47pm

Double E

VERY nice! I'm gonna have to go there sometime. Anyone want to join me for it, some time in January?

Oh yeah.. hope ya don't mind I used one of your pics for my desktop wallpaper. ;D

12/23/05 9:55am

David_Coleman

Hey Kam - what's this about grabbing thorn bushes? Your too good to be dumpin' speed - don't give me that ;)

Hey that coverage is what our lower level snows will be looking like if these temps keep up....definitely a sad sign............

12/23/05 12:53am

GregLange

Jess, Lara, and ladies:
Nice job on the tour. (Jess: Nice writing! Great stories are tough to come by.)

Are you planning a water ski trip for this next weekend? I'm hoping that this pattern of frigidity, followed by liquidity, isn't a portend from last January!

Ski soon...GregLange

12/22/05 9:38pm

JimmyO

tony, that is a fantasy video - awesome stuff! I knew there'd be a horse somewhere under this pile of manure!

Hey, relax, only kidding. great thread! mw888888888, sweet post that started it off, keep em coming. love that peek inside the turn-hungry-head's internal monologue. enjoyed most of the avy danger discussion too. solo travel requires some real thought and measured risk assessment.

everyone who tried to be funny, you were. anyone who got a...

12/22/05 8:24pm

kam

... I'm still waiting for the Patches all year calendar to come out...

ooh, be patient.... muuuhhhaaaa...

12/22/05 10:16am

Tony_Bentley

It is coming "round midnight" and Coltrane is playing on shoutcast. Go figure.

Money see monkey do sometimes. Look at the trend of skiing in the last storm. A few friends make a skin-track after getting kicked out of Alpental and move their self propelled skiing to the face on the other side of the lot.

Conditions were excellent but began to degrade after 4 days of snow falling. Sky and Ross hit the slot and broke trail for the last thousand or so feet to get it. They ne...

12/21/05 9:15pm

carter

November 15, 2005, Schweitzer ID Dawn Patrol

Nice job getting in the Virginia turns, Kam.
ps. I'm still waiting for the Patches all year calendar to come out...

12/21/05 9:36am

rob_d

Does anyone have any good links to info on touring in Idaho near Boise? I'm there for work & may bring the skis for the weekend if I can.

12/21/05 7:20am

lapaz25

December 20, 2005, Veterans Park, Milwaukee, WI

Due to low battery juice due to frigid weather, only a few pics were taken (most unfortunate-no shots of us in our bikinis!) Enjoy!

http://static.flickr.com/41/76148764_b80a3fd1d5.jpg Stevens Pass

http://static.flickr.com/39/76148759_a1f426a9eb.jpg Good Morning Jessica

http://static.flickr.com/43/76148760_0c3950be1b.jpg Lara’s Powder Push Attempt

http://static.flickr.com/42/76148762_e61cc35008.jpg &nbs...

12/20/05 10:34pm

lapaz25

Fantastic to hear you're getting some goods while in Wisconsin-way to go! I never expected anything less from you. Merry Christmas to you and the family!

~Lara

12/20/05 9:08pm

snowdogs

December 12, 2005, Mt Hood, McNeil Point Face

nice pictures. They reminded me of when were in that area about 3 years ago, when we circumnavigated Mt Hood on skis, clockwise from Timberline. The northwest corner of Mount Hood feels very wild, even in summer. About as far from Meadows as you can get I suppose!

12/20/05 8:17pm

Jim Oker

December 20, 2005, Veterans Park, Milwaukee, WI

You guys are almost (almost) making me miss the golf course and adjacent woods in Salem MA where I used to get in my quick fixes when the weather had smiled.

Love the one you're with, indeed.

12/20/05 8:13pm

Jim Oker

December 19, 2005, Silver Creek, Wenatchee NF

I don't know, sounds scary. You might have slipped a ski tip under a hidden log...
;)

Way to keep up the spirit of the quiet tour, Charles! I wonder if the "belly dragger" was an animal dragging another (presumably dead) animal? Would that fit what you saw?

12/20/05 6:47pm

kam

December 20, 2005, Veterans Park, Milwaukee, WI

nice Greg!

12/20/05 6:28am

ricardo

December 12, 2005, Mt Hood, McNeil Point Face

Nice pics, Jeff! Sounds like a great outing!
About the trees...
The most likely options are Noble Fir, Hemlock (that elev is near the western and mountain transition), White Pine or Grand Fir. The crown looks like classic Noble Fir but the bark looks more like White Pine or Grand Fir. My money would still be on Noble. The comparison photo is mostly Doug Fir (Pseudotsuga menzesii) with what looks like a White Pine in the lower left. Of course I haven't b...

12/20/05 4:56am

Jeff Huber

Oh - that essay is great! Thanks for posting that Lowell, and nice report sheispiste and Lara.

12/19/05 10:34pm

sheispiste

oh, i can't wait for the next dump to fill up this gem!

Kam, looks like powerlines/firebreaks could be your east version of patches? ;) I can see the calendar now...sweet!

12/19/05 10:12pm

Kevin Steffa

I'll go back there with you next time the conditions line up. It looks like there is an interesting sequence on couloirs and ramps that link high up on Del Campo. Morningstar in particalar has some unique slabby rock formations at the head of the valley, a bit reminiscent of that peak we saw in New Zealand above the Aspiring trailhead.

12/19/05 10:11pm

kam

This sorta reminds me of the year I spent in St Louis, skiing on frozen golf courses...

hmmm...you just gave me a good idear...!

oh, i can't wait for the next dump to fill up this gem! ;D

12/19/05 9:58pm

allyson

hey nice photos everyone! that place looks pretty sweet. the glittery snow, the shining sun...you guys look like you should be in a catalog! ;)

12/19/05 9:54pm

allyson

You know what grandma always said, "everyone is laughing and having a good time until someone gets their eye poked out". :D

thankfully there was no eye-pokage issues on this trip...though it was close a couple times. ;) with a couple more feet of fresh pow, that hill would have some real potential! not bad for for va though, glad i brought my skis afterall--at least just to say we skied a not-big-hardly-bald knob...

12/19/05 9:48pm

Jim Oker

Dec 18 Bullion Basin

Nice job, guys. It definitely wasn't just crust and doom out there this past weekend. Good job proving it!

12/19/05 9:42pm

MW88888888

Dec 18 Bullion Basin

There was powder in the hills. Very well hidden, but we're just the guys to find it.

Note your rooster tail, Ron.

12/19/05 9:37pm

MW88888888

Dec 17 Van Trump

Good TR, Ron. He's a photo of the Glacier. A fine view day, if you could stand upright.

12/19/05 9:34pm

JimH

This sorta reminds me of the year I spent in St Louis, skiing on frozen golf courses...

Glad you're still getting out in VA. Way to keep on keepin' on.

12/19/05 6:17pm

Zap

Lowell,

Thanks for reminding us of Hope and Kathy. It rekindled the memory of my first visit to Whistler with Hope and Sprague "way back when." They pioneered numerous firsts. Sprague's whitewater kayak adventures were legendary. It appears that Sprague and family will return to the Northwest from his assigment in France.

Zap

12/19/05 6:16pm

Sam Avaiusini

Dec 17 Van Trump

Is there anything harder on the eyes than Spanaway after a day in beautiful MRNP? Nails, Loans, Bail Bonds, 7-11, Repeat, Nails, Loans, Bail Bonds, 7-11, Repeat...

yes...south hill, Puyallup!

12/19/05 5:16pm

ron j

Way to bag 'em & tag 'em, Kamster.

12/19/05 5:14pm

JMor

Way to go Kam and Allyson. Yikes those thorny shrubs look nasty. In addition to your kevlar vest, it might not hurt to wear your helmet and goggles on the next outing.
You know what grandma always said, "everyone is laughing and having a good time until someone gets their eye poked out". :D

12/19/05 1:16pm

gregL

Cool picture . . . you weren't going to try to call this "patch skiing" were you?

12/19/05 8:53am

Jim Oker

How sad to lose folks like Kathy, Hope, and Miss Dish at such an early age.

I hope that we're finally at a point where the culture that incented that great piece by Miss Dish has largely disappeared w/in the mountaineering community.

And I think Ron has it right - don't be doing too many "all women tours" or else us guys will be in big trouble...

12/19/05 8:49am

cascadesfreak

Thanks for the additional info. Phil...
Looks like the snowshoe track didn't stay in the ravine, but rather cut SW steeply up-slope to the top of Morning Star Peak...

12/19/05 8:22am

sheispiste

You may enjoy this...

Lowell, I always enjoy your contributions and the wisdom of others you share with us all. Thanks.

12/19/05 8:15am

Lowell_Skoog

We walked across the highway for a beer at the pass to celebrate this first (for us) all women tour.

Great report! Congrats on your trip.

You may enjoy this essay written by Kathy Phibbs. Kathy was one of the founders of Women Climbers Northwest. Kathy created an alter-ego called Miss Dish who was the author of some of her best essays. Here's one:

12/19/05 8:12am

philfort