TR Replies

Ron's got more jokes than a squirrels got nuts. ;D

No one I'd rather place ice screws with than Ron J. Well written report, Jessica, sorry I missed it!

Darryl

is there a chance you'll teach this technique for next's year GTCR class?

Kam - we won't use ice screws in the GS/S&CR class, but Ron and I tested a couple of techniques for crevasse rescue using shorter (35 meter) ropes.

We also discussed some ideas for the new glacier travel route finding course. I'll send some draft ideas out this week.

We'll discuss the ideas at the course improvement work shop which i...

9/12/05 5:51pm

ron j

....Jerry, you knew I was standing downwind and you did it anyway ;) 8)

Jerry - you're such a vulgar clod 8)

I also didn't have much luck with photography yesterday myself; aside from this shot of the exceptional views and ski conditions from Carter and I's turn-around point at ~9,300-ft on the Muir snowfield...

9/12/05 4:46pm

snoslut

Couldn't think of a better way to spend my b-day than screwing around on the lower Muir/PG. The humor in the air was denser than the surrounding whiteout. Ron's got more jokes than a squirrels got nuts. ;D

9/12/05 10:17am

JibberD

Nice report here.

And what a sweet thing to see some fresh snow up there given how parched it looked two short weeks ago.

After seeing the size of those crevasses on the Paradise Glacier I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to ski there...comfortably. Them big holes is gonna fill up and stuff, right?

I'd say the social setting of the joy-o-meter hit 99.9% on this one, with Darryl and Ron's safety course, Jeanette's grillin', new faces to known names and monikers. &...

9/12/05 9:33am

cascadesfreak

You can see a few pathetic photos here.

I also didn't have much luck with photography yesterday myself; aside from this shot of the exceptional views and ski conditions from Carter and I's turn-around point at ~9,300-ft on the Muir snowfield ;)

Great to see...

9/12/05 9:16am

cascadesfreak

Valley fog rose to cover our route in the early afternoon, but the sun burned warm through it.

Nice to see ya'll up there yesterday! Looks like your crew timed it better for the ski down with the visibility: About 10 minutes after you passed Carter and I on our way up the snowfield the clouds thickened and substantially reduced the visibility; Carter and I turned-around shortly thereafter near 9,300-ft and skied down most of the way in es...

9/12/05 8:48am

ron j

Jessica celebrates one of the many triumphs of the day.

Great TR, Jessica.

We just all keep learning, eh?
First we are reminded by seasoned glacier travel instructor Jeanette of her age old saying "a neat knot is a happy knot". Then former NOL...

9/12/05 6:06am

JMor

Even though the snow conditions weren't exactly the best, we made the best of this September day with some really cool anchor set-ups. Our new ice screws were very easy to use, the ice we were screwing into was fairly soft which probably makes a difference.

i can see the fliers for next year's Mountaineers class: "learn how to scr*w on the Paradise Glacier with the Mountaineers..." ;)

Kam, if all else fails, you can u...

9/12/05 4:56am

kam

so, were you piste about the whiteout? nice report. i can smell the new snow all the way out here...

Ron was eager to get busy with his threaded tools. He cleared the 4-5 inches of new snow down to boilerplate ice and set in his ice screws for some crevasse rescue practice. Jeannette set up a backup anchor and Eric helped me stomp snow to dig a bollard. We set up a few C and Z pulleys, looking for ways to maximize efficiency of a shorter rope. This was als...

9/11/05 11:13pm

lapaz25

Charles, I concur with Mark-go for Muir and go soon. HOWEVER, there's another system moving our way this weekend, so if you can wait it out, I'd say do so. The temps are remaining moderately cool-enough to keep the snow around, but not quite cool enough to make it an easier ride down :)

9/11/05 10:02pm

markharf

....not that I don't trust Silas' judgement...

Don't worry, Silas; Charles doesn't trust me either.

There is very good skiing in open areas on the Coleman Glacier above about 6800 feet, with some mixed awkwardness and (um, how shall I put this?) decidedly problematic areas lower down. On the plus side, I did get extensive practice in the "falling leaf" technique on pure glacial ice while wandering through fields of densel...

9/11/05 9:21pm

Charles

I am convinced that the only reason it snowed the past few days is because of the effort TAYers made last weekend to get a few miserable turns. Had no one gone "skiing" last weekend, it would not of snowed. That's the way Ullar works. ;)

Darn, and I thought it was due to the prayers I said to Ullar every night before bed. I told him/her that I wasn't going to ski in September unless there was new snow. This wasn't due to a disappointing Au...

9/11/05 6:31pm

lapaz25

Ah, yes...this was my day of redemption :) The glacial turns made last week definitely deserved a good snow fall to come. I described the snow as "8 inches or so of mank over glacial ice". The ice moguls were really few and far between, more of an undulating ski than a bumpy one. There's no doubt the snow was heavy, but extremely do-able. Incredible turns were had for an estimated 2200+'. Our JOM was approx. 48%-not too shabby!

After our regro...

9/11/05 2:36pm

sag

thanks for the news, at least something is falling up there, I'm sad I missed it.

9/11/05 10:27am

Jeff Huber

I am convinced that the only reason it snowed the past few days is because of the effort TAYers made last weekend to get a few miserable turns. Had no one gone "skiing" last weekend, it would not of snowed. That's the way Ullar works. ;)

9/10/05 3:02am

GregLange

I'll take that patch any day over the Paradise Pond Slide of last weekend!

Here's to a lowering of the snow level long enough to cover all of the boulders to a sufficient depth!!

9/10/05 12:29am

Gran_Blanco

I'm new to town and have recently discovered TAY. What a cool concept and website!!

This may be a really dumb question (like I said, I'm new to Seattle) .... Has anyone been up the Muir Snowfield recently? Reading through recent trip reports, I take it that the dry winter is making Sept tough this year. Is that correct? What about even hiking up to Muir? Is even that sketchy now?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!! ;D Thanks

9/7/05 10:06am

Joedabaker

Muchas Cassy Ass,
My brother lives in Coos Bay. I'm just going to need the waypoints and off I go! Good show!
Joe

9/7/05 8:52am

allyson

cass, you sure did sand it off to the base with this trip! nice report, and crazy viddy...now you just needed to put some of amar's stuff under the kicker, heehee ;D

9/7/05 4:42am

cascadesfreak

Oh and by the way check out (ouch!!!)

9/7/05 4:17am

wolfs

I've got a pretty good idea of where at least one good 'Silica Cup' location might be, although sand dunes are transient by nature and this could all look different than what I remember from at least 4 years ago.
Oh and by the way check out

9/7/05 2:52am

cascadesfreak

is that a pond at the base? a potential location for the Slush Cup perhaps.

Possible, I suppose, but likely to hit more brush than water...
The local "sandboarders" mentioned another dune somewhere nearby where slush cup-style landings are common (sliding down a dune into a small lake at the base of the slope), though I wasn't able to locate that spot during my brief reconnaissance of the area.

9/7/05 2:50am

sheispiste

Way to go!
Fun photos and and nice turns Cass.

9/7/05 12:49am

kam

is that a pond at the base? a potential location for the Slush Cup perhaps.

9/6/05 10:45pm

skip

Sept 3, 2005, Shasta- Brewer Creek

Atta boy, Wipe! Way to keep it real.
Talk to you when I get back at the end of the month.
-s

9/6/05 9:03pm

JoeMack

It was your pictures of the Palmer "glacier" that convinced us to head south!

9/6/05 5:01pm

JMor

Small patch = Big fun ;D. Way to go for being creative.

9/6/05 7:23am

smollner

err, I meant am. though I did pash people coming down who left at 2am.

9/6/05 6:48am

Jeff Huber

I started up the trail head at about 11:15pm

Wow - your alpine start is quite impressive!

9/6/05 6:10am

philfort

Looks better than what we have in the Cascades right now ;)

9/6/05 5:26am

cascadesfreak

Bummer, I missed all the fun last weekend! ;) Nice patch work!

9/6/05 2:37am

allyson

that was sort of like skiing on a popsicle! gotta love that hard stuff... ;) thanks for a fun day guys.

9/6/05 2:27am

Jeff Huber

I'm impressed! Your resolve for September turns is very commendable.

9/6/05 12:55am

ron j

Sept 3, 2005, Shasta- Brewer Creek

Nice report, Lara.
Now you "got that out of the way". (Geoffrey Lewis)

9/5/05 11:46pm

Jeff Huber

Kudos for making the trek down there. I drove past Shasta in late August, it had more snow on it then I've ever see in August before and it looked (from I5) whiter/less rough then it typically does. The week I was in the Bay Area it was also much cooler then in Portland!

9/5/05 10:35pm

gregL

"What the hell were we thinking?"

I think I know the feeling!

9/5/05 9:25pm

kam

Lara and Co. good to hear you got out for a hike on Sat. nice work on the patch skiing! you guys beat us by 10 vf. who would have thought there would be other patch-skiers in the area.... would love to see the photos ... i have a patch fetish. ;D

9/5/05 3:10am

skip

It would have taken me 28 laps to hit 560' with the snow we found this weekend. After 6 I was worked.

Well done.

9/5/05 2:44am

Jeff Huber

HB it was nice to meet you. Congrats on hitting the 10 year mark!

9/4/05 9:07pm

lapaz25

You guys were on the Pinnacle "glacier"? I can't think of what else that would be 'cause it's not "The Stash". I was checking that out on Sept 3rd and ended up "skiing" 30 ft of blue, dirty, crevassed to death ice on the Paradise (TR coming soon...)

Nice job finding some snow-much better than what we did.

~Lara

9/4/05 10:47am

kam

...for a Joy-O-Meter score of 21.71% (560/2579).

21.71%! you're right, that is MASSIVE. glad you guys found more than two turns... ;) by the way, nice photos.

9/4/05 8:29am