TR Replies
Martin at Pro Ski (425 888-6397) ordered toepieces and volcanoes for me.
I decided to just replace the stock volcano (and not use the modified type shown at Wildsnow) because I do not want to add stress with a higher post. Twisting the heel while using brakes stresses the volcano. I plan to no longer tour with brakes- I just slip them on if needed or use a leash.
The Pro Ski folks have been very good to me.
FYI- For the 1st and 2nd year Tristeps: if I put my boot in the bind...
I decided to just replace the stock volcano (and not use the modified type shown at Wildsnow) because I do not want to add stress with a higher post. Twisting the heel while using brakes stresses the volcano. I plan to no longer tour with brakes- I just slip them on if needed or use a leash.
The Pro Ski folks have been very good to me.
FYI- For the 1st and 2nd year Tristeps: if I put my boot in the bind...
A few pics from the trip (no actual ski photos, since too busy "survival skiing" down the ridge to take out the camera); some nasty snow conditions for sure yesterday...
http://www.cascadesfreak.com/gallery/green-mtn-11-19-2005
With regard to the tri-step bindings; I've noticeably been having much more trouble lately with the toe piece of the binding (pops out twice as much as usual...yes, it's been annoying for quite some time, but only pops-out while skinning and not wh...
http://www.cascadesfreak.com/gallery/green-mtn-11-19-2005
With regard to the tri-step bindings; I've noticeably been having much more trouble lately with the toe piece of the binding (pops out twice as much as usual...yes, it's been annoying for quite some time, but only pops-out while skinning and not wh...
Like folks have noted, the Tri Step toe piece works poorly. My thoughts are that the red plastic volcano heel lift is weak as well on the newer Comfort binding. I've seen two break. The original TLT still seems to be flawless.
Allyson and Co. i'm glad you didn't get "wiped" out... ;).
..ahh yes, now i remember why i gave you those bindings, still new in the box.. ;)
ps--any of you dynafit folks have suggestions on how to tighten the toe pins on the old tri-step bindings? seems they are known to have this "pop-out" problem, but wondering if there's anything i can do about it...
..ahh yes, now i remember why i gave you those bindings, still new in the box.. ;)
Just last month, I bought "new" toe pieces- the Comfort type, and added them to my (unused for 3 years) Tri-Step heels. It reduced the price by around two hundred dollars when compared to new Comfort bindings.
I bought the first and second year Tri Step binding. The second year was usable for three seasons, and still works with caution (I lock the toes on hard snow or steeps). The original was so bad in regard to popping out, I used them for a short season only. The first year b...
I bought the first and second year Tri Step binding. The second year was usable for three seasons, and still works with caution (I lock the toes on hard snow or steeps). The original was so bad in regard to popping out, I used them for a short season only. The first year b...
ps--any of you dynafit folks have suggestions on how to tighten the toe pins on the old tri-step bindings? seems they are known to have this "pop-out" problem, but wondering if there's anything i can do about it...
The first generation Tri-step had a problem in which the toe of the boot could cause the locking lever to unlock (so I've been told). The second generation Tri-step corrected this problem, but the locking lever was stil...
We were also up there on Saturday -- gorgeous day. I think getting in the chute a little earlier and sticking to the less sun exposed (west facing) side paid dividends with better snow -- even some decent corn in spots. But still breakable and heavy in a lot of places. All around a very nice day in the mountains.
You meant 19th right?
Wops - I meant the 19th! Thanks for pointing out :)
Jeff nice pics. I didn't know it was that good last Friday. All we found was windblown powder and crust. ;D You meant 18th right?
In my stoked state of mind I musta forgotten some other details of the day. Such as slope observation throughout the day. Seemed everything pretty much below Pan Pt appeared to have runnels. Specifically Golden Gate/Edith Creek, west side of Mazama Ridge and east side of Pan. However it still looked really soft. Also the snow above Pebble Creek was smooth and corned up nice early afternoon. Not that it matters since some of you are already on your way up.
OOPS
Mooshy in the sun. Breakable crust in the shade. What could be more fun. The views were great.
We had similar conditions a ways further north today (Green Mountain; Suiattle River valley); a cautionary note for those heading out on Sunday: the solar aspects may not be refreezing overnight (and/or are thawing rapidly even in the early morning); we set off a small pinwheel on the descent of the spine of a broad topographic rib, which t...
Sounds like some good times, thanks for the report.
I was looking at the Paradise telemetry this afternoon and saw 60+ degrees. Might need shorts on Sunday!
I was looking at the Paradise telemetry this afternoon and saw 60+ degrees. Might need shorts on Sunday!
Thanks ,that helps my choice for tomorrow.Looks like it never got cold enough to crust up to supportable.
So clearly you must not really be all that much of an 'altasnob' if you are enjoying our traditional winter corn???
Corn sounds nice. All I can get in New Mexico right now is fresh corn tortillas. ¡ Quiero maize con nieve!
Corn sounds nice. All I can get in New Mexico right now is fresh corn tortillas. ¡ Quiero maize con nieve!
Even more appetizing in the spring snowmelt (check out the river trail in Revelstoke in April sometime...). But not quite as wonderful as having your own dog go and eat all the frozen human turds in all the tree wells on the way up toward Artist Point in the springtime.
But did your dog poop in it?
;D
On Sunday, seems everyone else's dog let loose within 6 feet of the skin track . . . pretty appetizing phenomenon, to be sure.
Nice company morale event, guys! I'll hook up with you one of these mornings . . . BTW, thanks for the plugs and screws, the Dynafit re-mount went fine!
"Noticed someone had skiied th gut of Nertz, nice."
Thanks, that was me. It was very nice conditions but I was still worried about hitting submerged rocks which took away from the enjoyment a little. I did hit one rock.
Last weekend 11/13 I was up there again. Conditions were much heavier due to a warm front but the denser snow is providing a great base. I did several real fun laps on central park and never hit any rocks.
Thanks, that was me. It was very nice conditions but I was still worried about hitting submerged rocks which took away from the enjoyment a little. I did hit one rock.
Last weekend 11/13 I was up there again. Conditions were much heavier due to a warm front but the denser snow is providing a great base. I did several real fun laps on central park and never hit any rocks.
because it was short and cute looking and now Brian Lee knows. Brian , glad you wern't hurt and thanks for sharing with all of us.
The slope he rode was of the same angle, elevation and aspect as the slope he saw slide. In fact, it is on the same ridge, maybe 100 ft away! My question would be, why did he think it would be any safer?!
read through the lines: he is saying he thought the slope he was riding would be safer than the slope he saw slide. And it would be easy to think that given the obviouos anchors (trees) in the photo. Luckily the run-out zone is small, if almost non-existant, and it looks like the debris piled up 15 feet from the crown.
Yeah I like that gunmount-to-kante method, but even that has one particular exposure that can point-release on you in particularly bad conditions or slide out under you while you're above some slight exposure, about 300vf worth between crossing under the chair and reaching the orange cargo net at the edge of the run as Corey describes. Reaching the gunmount itself is still quite worthy, if in doubt.
But, if two of our most dedicated dawn patrollers endorse this, how come I never find a pre-ex...
But, if two of our most dedicated dawn patrollers endorse this, how come I never find a pre-ex...
But he also said:
I definately learned a valuable lesson about how even small slopes can get ya.
... This is a picture of a slide that I caused and went through, miracously ending up on top of the snow ... We opted to ride this because of the slide we had seen that had buried someone earlier in the day...
This makes no sense. You opted to ride the slope because you knew it was dangerous, having seen a burial on an extremely similar, adjacent slope earlier in the day?? You wanted to be caught in an avalanche?
Are...
Indeed, no route is 100% and even walking up the steep sections of Debbie's I'm looking for indications of foul play. And turn around if at all worrisome. Hell, if I'm worried there's usually Pow below so it's not like it's a bad choice!
I've also adopted the gunmount route as Alpentalcorey has suggested, with variations depending on the snow. I enjoy sunrise in Edelweiss, but that bowl can be very nerve-wracking, especially under the cliffs.
The current...
I've also adopted the gunmount route as Alpentalcorey has suggested, with variations depending on the snow. I enjoy sunrise in Edelweiss, but that bowl can be very nerve-wracking, especially under the cliffs.
The current...
The ascent route that I feel is safest is to head up chair 1 towards Eidelwiess bowl, but then cut up lower Gunmount to above The Fan and then head up Sideslip & Kante to the top (assuming I got all those run names right). Basically that's the spot where they put up that netting during the season. I've been by myself and had a large glide crack open up as I skinned to the top of the Bowl, so now I mostly always take this route. Going up Internationale is very direct but inv...
. . . stepping out of our rides and eliciting the responses that we do from coworkers w/lattes in tow just getting a start on their day. . .
I like that part, too. Welcome aboard, Jake!
We are talking about Alpental, so by definition people should assume there's no completely safe-from-avy-route. That has got to be the safest way though. What do people think of avy danger up there this weekend? Looks like it's going to be pretty warm and no precip. No wind I don't think either. I'm not sure it will get that cold at night, so things might be mushy and not frozen. If it's blue bird weather, I might obligate myself to go Muir though. Hmmmm.....
looks like it's worth going back there sometime just for the views!
You mean all that was under those clouds?!!!
Yes, we'll have to head back there.
Charles, thanks for sharing the spring views. Cass, thanks for sharing your photos too.
Jessica
Debbie's Gold is the main run under the Armstrong Express (quad) chair . . .
http://www.summit-at-snoqualmie.com/info/winter/alpental_lg.asp
That route, along with the Edelweiss Bowl side of the upper chair, tend to be relatively stable, with the exception of the last 700 vf of Upper Edelweiss Bowl, which is slide prone. Both Upper and Lower International are inclined to slide even during the season; on Saturday there was the additional threat of debris falling from the cliffs over...
http://www.summit-at-snoqualmie.com/info/winter/alpental_lg.asp
That route, along with the Edelweiss Bowl side of the upper chair, tend to be relatively stable, with the exception of the last 700 vf of Upper Edelweiss Bowl, which is slide prone. Both Upper and Lower International are inclined to slide even during the season; on Saturday there was the additional threat of debris falling from the cliffs over...
It kind of looks like your nice turns were on the steeper part where the ridge drops down to the ~3800 foot saddle?
Yup...
We stopped at the 4,761-ft benchmark on the northwest portion of the ridge (next to a flat area which Kevin referred to as "The Ballfield"). We skied the steep SW-facing slope below that point, then traversed west-northwest back to our up-tracks to ski the trail (in thick trees) back down to the ~3800-ft p...
New to the group - excuse my ignorance:
What's "Debbies Gold"? I thought I was familiar with Alpental but I've never heard of it. I ask because it sounds like this guys route was "safe" to skin/ski solo. Whenever I want to ski/train I skin up and ski down Summit West because I am alone and there is no chance of avy, however it's boring and not enough vert per run either. It sounds like MW88888888 was solo. So are there sure fire safe route...
What's "Debbies Gold"? I thought I was familiar with Alpental but I've never heard of it. I ask because it sounds like this guys route was "safe" to skin/ski solo. Whenever I want to ski/train I skin up and ski down Summit West because I am alone and there is no chance of avy, however it's boring and not enough vert per run either. It sounds like MW88888888 was solo. So are there sure fire safe route...
Wow, I was surprised to see this trip! I didn't know anyone else skied there, and I've always done this as a spring trip, but it looks like you made a good call. The bridge over the North Fork had been out for a while so I haven't been up there for several years. I agree that it typically is more of a tour than a trip just for turns.
I'm curious how far up on the ridge you went - do you have an elevation? It kind of looks lik...
I'm curious how far up on the ridge you went - do you have an elevation? It kind of looks lik...
Hmm I am not sure how to answer your question. After last year, and furthermore whenever skiing on a workday, I am not sure there is such a thing as bad snow...
The little sections of crust existed throughout Upper I but were small and avoidable. As I got closer to the occasionally windy breakover between Upper and Lower, they got more common, but still you'd be off them within a turn if you used proper realtime guesswork about how/where the good snow was likely to have been deposited. Lo...
The little sections of crust existed throughout Upper I but were small and avoidable. As I got closer to the occasionally windy breakover between Upper and Lower, they got more common, but still you'd be off them within a turn if you used proper realtime guesswork about how/where the good snow was likely to have been deposited. Lo...
Update: Despite my own jinxing, I went up this morning.
It was still very very good.
Once above C1, the wind has definitely been moving things around on top of the Sunday(?) rain crust, but it was not at all windy today at mountain level. This crust was particularly evident in Edelweiss Bowl. Most of the time the crust was punchable for purposes of skinning, and with care it was also possible to discover the more sheltered areas that hadn't been scoured. The wind deposited stuff is pr...
It was still very very good.
Once above C1, the wind has definitely been moving things around on top of the Sunday(?) rain crust, but it was not at all windy today at mountain level. This crust was particularly evident in Edelweiss Bowl. Most of the time the crust was punchable for purposes of skinning, and with care it was also possible to discover the more sheltered areas that hadn't been scoured. The wind deposited stuff is pr...
Weird that there was so little snow. Baker's microclimate really is amazing, isn't it? They're currently listing 69 inches at Heather Meadows (4200ft).
Nearby sno-tel sites show about half that:
32 inches at 3200ft
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl-datarpt.jsp?site=910&days=7&state=WA
38 inches at 4900ft
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl-datarpt.jsp?site=1011&days=7&state=WA
28 inches at 4200ft
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nw...
Nearby sno-tel sites show about half that:
32 inches at 3200ft
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl-datarpt.jsp?site=910&days=7&state=WA
38 inches at 4900ft
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl-datarpt.jsp?site=1011&days=7&state=WA
28 inches at 4200ft
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nw...
sweeeeeeeeet. love to see the pics of the pow-pow. ;D
Just went and skied International this afternoon. Face shots at 5pm. There was a smokin' skin track all the way to the top of chair 2, but all the tracks went back down the face. 12-14 inches of dry snow all the way down to lower International, 6-8 inches in the middle, and 3-4 down below, which also was nice and dry.
How is it on the other side of the rock (and further below)? We saw your tracks going around and wondered what it was like.
Here's 3 more pics of how deep it was:
Here I just dropped in below the trees & am located in top middle (hard to see where I am!):
Andy diving in:
Here's 3 more pics of how deep it was:
Here I just dropped in below the trees & am located in top middle (hard to see where I am!):
Andy diving in:
Yeah, I kept telling them it would turn to snow . . . :D
Wow, you guys went to the top even with Sunday's weather!? I broke the skin track in and as you saw stopped at top of chair 1. I left the lot around 6:30 in a driving rain. (I knew it was going to warm up, so I thought if I left really early the snow wouldn't be turning to rain yet. ha ha on that concept) Saturday was wonderful top to bottom, and Sunday was at least a good gortex test. 8)
Nice work! I suspected as much when I got up this morning and found it was crisp and cold in Seattle.
Though my timing seems to off by a day, this heavy snow/rain cycle is perfect for laying down a stable base, huh?
Wish they would get the cable and sewer done under the new bridge so the webcam would work . . .
Though my timing seems to off by a day, this heavy snow/rain cycle is perfect for laying down a stable base, huh?
Wish they would get the cable and sewer done under the new bridge so the webcam would work . . .
I knew you'd be heading up there...I just got your pm btw. Sorry I missed you. I had a feeling it would be good this morning too, but I was up until 3:00 am finishing up the weekends re-mod work so I didn't really consider it. Got my fix on Saturday up on Sykline Ridge (very good). Next time...looking forward to some nice Monday's this year.