TR Replies

August 28, 2005, Coleman Pinnacle vicinity

Skiing water flowing over blue ice was definitely a new condition for me! I have to say, I prefer it to inverted moguls (or sun-bathtubs, as I heard them aptly named) filled with years of ablated dirt though. I would definitely recommend that anyone making the slog to the 10,000 foot mark, leave your dominatrix at home because you will be getting spanked! I haven't seen suncups that bad since I skied Adams a couple of years ago around this time. A few hundred feet down fr...

8/29/05 11:50pm

Pete A

hahaha...

"S-N-to-tha-izzow"
"Piznark glacia"
"hucklebizzles "

maybe all August and September TR's should be Gizoogled....

8/29/05 9:42pm

Rich_B

July 15, 2005, Mount Lassen, Northeast Face

Hello Matt. It was great running into you on the summit. Glad to hear had a good run down. Sounds like you guys had a great trip skiing the Cascade volcanos. Hope to see you guys again out in the mountains. Have may happy and safe turns.

Rich_B

8/29/05 9:34pm

Sam Avaiusini

August 28, 2005, Coleman Pinnacle vicinity

Glad you made it guys!
Bill, I knew you'd keep it going!
10 laps on a 70 foot patch, that does sound like a chore. ???
This gives it a more entertaining spin, I think...

8/29/05 6:59pm

Scotsman

JibberD
Oh , I was really there and I have the wrecked skis to prove it. 8) I saw your e-mail the night before but couldn't contact you as I was not logged in on the computer I was using. ??? Looked for you though!
See you up there in September. ;)

Ps. Any news on your Japan job? Latest issue of Powder has big article about skiing in Northern Japan. You might find it interesting.
Chris

8/29/05 9:42am

JibberD

Chris, you're a new form of animal spawned on the Muir Snowfield. How many times is that for you this year?

Sorry I missed you Sunday. I decided to leave the parking lot early because I thought if I slept I wouldn't be able to wake up...then poof...the infant streak is gone. Wondering how I missed you on the trail though...are you sure you were really there? ;)

8/29/05 5:40am

Buck

August 28, 2005, Coleman Pinnacle vicinity

I was there last weekend and skied the top of the zig zag -- surprisingly mellow suncups and not too dirty. Unfortunately it was dawn and rock solid when I made my descent. The Palmer was fun but certainly not much of a glacier. It is possible the weather front today brought some fresh snow in up there. Andy

8/29/05 3:50am

Bill f

I figured it must have been a group of TAYers heading out from that brutally small snow patch. Who else would pack skis out towards Coleman pinnacle on the August following one of the lowest snow pack winters for lower elevations. Nice to briefly meet you all.

Yes and it was another TAYer (me) headed in there in the afternoon on the last unworking day of the month. I didn't start hiking until 2:45pm as I was waiting for the sun and rain to soften up the snow patches. &nb...

8/29/05 12:51am

Scotsman

Yes Jeff, and she told me to bring my skis when I go to visit the jobsite this winter in Skagway and she'll take my skiing with her Whitehorse buddies.
I shall keep you informed and sing your praises to her ;)
Chris

8/29/05 12:31am

Jeff Huber

Kudos for getting out! Taiya says she spoke to you last week. :)

Cheers,

Jeff

8/28/05 10:49pm

Jeff Huber

It's, alas, a deception. The vast majority of the glacier is heavily broken. On the upper left fringe (where it isn't in the canyon) there would be some good turns for 750vft or so, but skiing down into White River canyon would neceistate many mandatory serac hucks.

On the drive up the Zigzag glacier looked okay and bigger then the Palmer, but I didn't feel like hiking over there.

8/28/05 10:39pm

powscraper

but is that a deception, or does White River Canyon look alright?

8/28/05 9:20pm

gregL

Way to keep it rolling, Jeff. The Palmer webcam looked pretty scary, and your pictures confirm it!

8/28/05 9:02pm

Scotsman

August 21, 2005; Boulder-Park Cleaver

Sorry, got my date wrong it was yesterday August 28th.
;D

8/28/05 7:33pm

kam

a JOM of 43%....!! that's like lift skiing... ;)

a very nice report, Mark!

8/28/05 6:27pm

ron j

August 21, 2005; Boulder-Park Cleaver

I agree with Sky on the quality of your report, Mark.
Up to your usual "great read" standards. Glad you're hanging in there.

8/28/05 6:24pm

ron j

August 28, 2005, Paradise

Good on ya for gettin' it done, Jibber.

8/28/05 6:21pm

ron j

August 21, 2005; Boulder-Park Cleaver

Wow.
Tks for the report, Jeff.
Looking pretty grim down there.
Pray for snow.

8/28/05 1:01am

skykilo

Nice report Mark. Love that route.

8/26/05 2:31am

lumenation

August 20, 2005, - Muir Snowfield andParadise Glacier

Yeah, we saw you resting on the side. Didn't realize you had boards with you :)

8/24/05 8:28pm

ultragrrl

August 20, 2005, - Muir Snowfield andParadise Glacier

We (snoslut, Josh & I) watched you guys down climb to the glacier near anvil rock. We were the 3 snowboarders basking in the sun. Yep,yep,yep. 8)

8/24/05 1:35pm

wolfs

Flett Russell should have been a fine call, it's one of three places that seem to come up again & again in August and Septembers in each years archived reports (I went to Flett each of past 2 Augusts, and also early this July, and unfortunately the July 4 coverage particularly on Flett was already looking more like a typical LATE August). I've been to the other two already in August (Muir+Paradise;Ptarmigan Ridge+Sholes) and the former is marginal, the latter is totally out. It seems like th...

8/24/05 7:27am

JoeE

Mark you almost make it sound like we tortured you. Just to set the record straight Mark was on point setting an aggressive pace both up and down. I wish you would reconsider only coming on every fourth trip or was that once a month ;D I had a great ski and look forward to many more with you. You forgot to mention the best part of warming down in the toasty North Fork of the Nooksack on the way out. Some more Pics not as good as Marks but…

Mar...

8/24/05 3:13am

JMor

It's a beautiful area, so I'll definitely return for the scenery, but until snow falls, this area is finished.

Even though you suffered some "torture points" there is no laughing in this corner. We too have had our share of carries and few turns in this area, but when the snow is good, as you can see from the photo above, the skiing is fantastic ;D. It truly is a beautiful part of the country, and you did get to see the p...

8/24/05 1:05am

Buck

August 20, Hood S. Side

No pics unfortunately Hambone. Wish you and Z-man were up there with. I did not spend the night. Actually, I left the pre-wedding party I was at to go to Timberline. Needless to say, I was not in top form at the start of my trek. There are many nice bivy spots above the Palmer for those who are interested. The entire trek up can be done in tennis shoes. Take it easy. Buck

8/23/05 11:10pm

hambone

August 20, Hood S. Side

Buck Nas ttttttttteeeeeeeeeeee!!!Nice report!!!!Did you take a picture?

Did you spend the night up there?

"I left Timberline at about 3:30 and made it up near the Bergshrund by dawn."

8/23/05 10:40pm

gregL

. . . and skinning from Spray Park!

8/23/05 6:15pm

ron j

It's kind of you to report, Tony.
Might save some of the rest of us from racking up needless torture points.
For an interesting reference, here's what the Flett looked like in August of 2000:

Pretty stark contrast to the conditions of your trip, eh?
Nonetheless, it shows that...

8/23/05 7:48am

jack

August 20, 2005, MRNP - Paradise Glacier

well as grueling as some parts of the decent were, i'm stoked to be able to kiss those ski-areas and snow shoes good bye and say hello to turns all year. allready can't wait to get my september tracks in. although i may be sore for an entire month after that trip! ;D

8/23/05 4:54am

lapaz25

Just curious...how much vert of skiing do you guys think will be left on Labor Day if we don't get any new snow by then???? I NEED Sept turns and fear waiting until the last moment.

~L

8/22/05 9:14pm

Jason_H.

Well, I know how it feels nomad. I felt pretty stupid, kind of like a herd of buffalo chased by hunters off a cliff. In fact I felt 25% more stupid than you felt (that's 102.5% right?).

8/22/05 9:05pm

nomad

August 20, 2005, MRNP - Paradise Glacier

Right after the mellow summit pitches there is a steeper (though not very steep) section with about 10 ft between the crevasses and the moat separating the glacier from the rock wall. On my second turn down that section my board suddenly slipped out resulting into a quick slide into the moat and maybe about 8 ft down into the rocks. Luckily my equipment hit first, saving me a heli lift out despite some core damage to my board. After prying my board loose from the rocks, I was a...

8/22/05 8:35pm

ultragrrl

Great trip report eric!!! It definitely was a mighty, mighty fine day! 8)

8/21/05 10:00pm

Jason_H.

August 6-7, 2005, BAKER, Park HW via BP Cleaver

I'm glad the mountain remembers us (petrified tracks) because I sure remember her. Maybe I'll have to go back for september turns ;D

Here is a picture of what we went off; mind you we were skiing towards where the photo (actually a video capture) was taken from:

http://cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/MountBaker/Routes/parkhw/parkhwaug2005/DSC00169.JPG ...

8/21/05 7:33pm

powscraper

Nice job man, those are some well-earned turns. Did the splitboard provide useful? How much did you skin?

8/21/05 7:31pm

Sam Avaiusini

August 6-7, 2005, BAKER, Park HW via BP Cleaver

Kudos to you for getting up there with skis this time of year! I prefer to do it when the boulder field is buried so you can start skinning right out of the woods, although I doubt the boulder field ever got totally buried for very long this winter ???

So spill the beans...tell us about your mishap! We all make mistakes from time to time. Just ask a Hummel! ;)

8/21/05 9:54am

markharf

FWIW, there are still (August 21) five sets of petrified tracks coming down the dirty snow next to the cleaver. There are still no suncups and just a few runnels here and there, but your tracks have somehow transmorgrified into giant, randomly scattered moguls. Otherwise, the skiing remains good.

I took a quick look for bloodstains, sundered body parts or fleshy remnants, but found nothing of any significance.

8/21/05 8:42am

allyson

August 7, 2005, Greater Muir Metropolitan Area

hey guys--
i know it's a couple weeks later, but i still have fond memories of our trek to the metro muir area. here are a couple photos:

dudes and a bump
cass schushin'

the descent

8/19/05 3:11am

Sam Avaiusini

Yeah, we took our sweet time, for sure...
However, this tour is a bit shorter than going to Muir, so maybe take your usual time to Muir and reduce it by 25% or so.

I bet it will still be doable over Labor Day. We could even get some snow by then...wouldn't that be a treat? 8)

8/18/05 9:28pm

lapaz25

Alright...that's not too bad-thanks for the beta! Welcome to TAY, by the way...

~Lara

8/18/05 8:03am

JMor

Also, does anyone know about how long in takes to do this tour?? We have a friend that wants to join in the fun. But is under some time constraints.

RT for us was 8 hours, but we were in no hurry, so enjoyed taking a break and having lunch when we got to the snow, and then took a short break at the top. But then again the "Geezers" always like to enjoy the WHOLE day ;D. That didn't include the BBQ time back at the c...

8/18/05 6:02am

ultragrrl

We're going to head up there this weekend. So, watch for the report. :) Yep,yep,yep.

Also, does anyone know about how long in takes to do this tour?? We have a friend that wants to join in the fun. But is under some time constraints.

8/18/05 5:20am

skiing_addict

4+ miles and 2000 feet to hannegan pass, another mile and a half or so and 1000 feet to the snow, then 1000 to the top. The elevation is net elevation though- lots of ups and downs, probably another 500 feet added to the day.

8/18/05 4:41am

lapaz25

Maybe I missed it, but how many miles/vert was it to the bottom of the glacier from the trailhead? Just curious for future endeavors...I did Sahale Glacier 2 weeks ago-14 mile roundtrip and I thought that was tough enough! :)

~Lara

8/18/05 4:35am

lapaz25

Does anyone think this will be worth hitting for September turns on Labor Day? I'm getting a little worried and not too picky :)

8/17/05 8:18pm

wickstad

Thanks for posting the TR Addict.

I had the good fortune to ski with Joe and Oyvind this year as well. After they warmed up by climbing SEWS they caught us on a tour in a nearby valley.

8/17/05 12:48am

markharf

Someone has obviously tried to make a trail on this side (the ruth creek side) of the ridge, but we weren't sure if it went back to the ridge to meet up with the 'regular' trail.

I'd guess that any trail on the west (Ruth Creek) side of the ridge was formed by returning skiers who dropped off the summit into Ruth Creek valley, skied until they ran out of skiable snow, then hiked out to meet the main trail. That would explain your report t...

8/17/05 12:38am

powscraper

Yeah I followed paths on climbers' "this" side of the ridge, and pretty much got "cliffed out" so you'll probably save time by just following the main trail. unless there's snow.

8/16/05 9:37pm

skiing_addict

We only took the shortcut on the way down, it goes from Hannegan pass (right near the south side of the little lake/pond at the pass) down to the campgrounds on the flats below the pass. If you take the shortcut, you still need to take the steep (crappy) climber's tread that markharf mentioned.

Markharf, I guess I am messed up with my compass directions. We took the north route you mentioned with the 40 degree sloppy footing, just because that is where everyone else goes. &nbs...

8/16/05 7:42pm

Sam Avaiusini