TR Replies

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

I walked into that area once in summer, to check it out. I started going up that ravine, and it sucked. I went into the dense trees to its left (exactly like you did), and soon gave up.

Then I walked back to the fork, and hiked up the other branch (to the east). Much easier travel, but then you end up kind of high above the valley, caught above cliffs.

It's a jungle in there

Probably the...

12/19/05 7:42am

Jim Oker

Nice. Thanks for sharing. Was it the sort of crust that could cut your face if you fell and broke it? If so, extra points.

12/19/05 7:22am

cascadesfreak

Way to bag the knob! ;D

12/19/05 7:18am

cascadesfreak

December 12, 2005, Mt Hood, McNeil Point Face

..did you get to the midpoint where the stream forks? There looks to be a brushy median (east side of stream) and cliffs on the west side from Morningstar. I wonder if the stream bed itself ever gets completely covered past that point...

Not sure which stream "fork" the midpoint would be (as the crow flies, we were over 3/4 of the way to our initial planned destination from starting at the Mountain Loop Highway), our turn-around point was...

12/19/05 6:47am

AndyP

Nice report and pictures, Jeff. Too bad we were not able to stay longer in the area around McNeil Point.

12/19/05 5:50am

Meadow_Skipper

cool photo. reminds me of the Jerry Garcia with banjo shot...

12/19/05 5:49am

Meadow_Skipper

I'll stick to my original thoughts: a litre of coffee and a good report is excellent style and I applaud this person. The rest of this discussion is a bit too "arm-chair quarterback."

12/19/05 5:44am

Jim Oker

Paul - I think we agree. If he has the skills and made good judgments along the way, then no problem for him. Of course.

If you travel well w/o much water, I'm envious, as that doesn't work out as well for me. I tend to dehydrate easily (I sweat a lot, could be the extra fat layer I carry around), and am mindful of what the CO SAR guys told me about how often dehydration figured into hypothermia which factored into more acute injuries or other accidents. Plus I just feel crappy w/o hydrat...

12/19/05 5:18am

TeleRoss

A three hour tour....A three hour tour.....
we all know how that one ended.....hahahahha

12/19/05 5:16am

Paul Belitz

Wow, Jim, you sure seem to be getting awfully fired up here. TAY is far more civil than most boards, but snide comments are still just that. There's no need to be so defensive.

My opinion is that if MW8888 has the skills to assess the snowpack and terrain to his satisfaction, I don't have any reason to think that his dawn patrol was unduly risky.

As for the water issue, I skied for seven hours yesterday and drank less than a quart of tea. I would not turn back from a three hour tou...

12/19/05 4:53am

Salal

Good conversation....Having gone up snoqualmie several times on my own also...I can see why people do it. Accidents and avalanches can happen anywhere as we all know. Its a good thing we have the internet to help make choices a bit easier....but there will always be an "incident" factor out there no matter the conditions. Experience can help in controlling the factor but not remove it.

12/19/05 4:29am

Jim Oker

I agree with that. Otherwise I wouldn't have much fun making untracked turns!

It's interesting to watch folks go through changes after taking an avy class - at first everything is scary, but then people often seem to cross into a zone where they are perhaps too confident of their assessment ability. Then if they're lucky, they have a near miss and rebalance a bit back toward caution, but with at least guarded optimism that lets them have lotsa calculated fun. I've both read this from the...

12/19/05 4:18am

powscraper

Anyway I think we can all agree that lots of snow means you assume high avalanche danger until you know otherwise, from firsthand experience or from a trusted source. But there are specific signs and symptoms of avy potential, and it's more valuable to recognize these than to go around with a nonspecific sentiment of apprehension. If you think everything is dangerous, then you don't actually know what is dangerous. It is like the Tao of avalanche.

ps. I bought an avalung...

12/19/05 4:17am

kam