TR Replies

The low snow was the most noticeable at the lowest elevations. Seems like usually the road opens in late July and at that time the snow fingers in Spray Park extend lower and more linked up than they were on Monday. Cateye seems more snowbound usually too, the previous times I have been there. Higher up, between Echo and Observation, and the Flett headwall, things seemed more average. No glide cracks on the edges of the Flett headwall, for example. This may reflect...

6/23/05 10:57pm

Jason_H.

The NFNWR is looking very good for this time of year. In fact from the recent pictures I have seen, better than any spring over the past several years. The Adams Glacier may be a bit more broken up but otherwise other non-glaciated routes look good i.e. stormy monday, Lava HW.

6/23/05 10:10pm

Boot

How does the direct glacier route look? Many crevasses? How about the NW ridge above the glacier? Would love to see any pics you have of that area from yesterday. Where did the snow coverage start? Thanks!

6/23/05 10:07pm

ron j

I hear you, Bandit. There's a very special feeling for the world that can only be attained (at least as far as I know) by experiencing the mountains by yourself. And I guess the risks -- and the extreme consequences of failure -- are maybe something that contributes to that feeling. It certainly heightens my awareness and makes me think things through much more carefully. For me it's quite invigorating, really.
My thoughts usually drift back to Corwin, as well, when th...

6/23/05 7:20pm

Bandit

One of my favorite trips were a bivy on Mt St Helens , a couple of years ago. I like traveling light, using a pad, down jacket, bibs, hat and gloves, and the required poly and fleece. But with the clouds , I figured there might be some overnight precip, and didn't like the idea of waking to a wet, cold start.

I like solo trips , sometimes just to clear the mind, but then when you approach the crevassed glacier, reality sets in, and alarms start going off in your head.

The thought...

6/23/05 5:20pm

ron j

Yeah, it's like a completely different world out there when you're solo. Sounds like you made a good call. That mountain will be there, waiting for you, next time.

6/23/05 4:46am

Jeff Huber

There was less snow up there than on a normal Aug 1...waah

Wow - do you mean just on the lower Flett?

6/22/05 9:32pm

dkoelle

June 13, 2005, Lassen Peak, Manzanita Creek

Knapsack looked pretty darn dry from the Spray Park side. One tiny tiny snow patch just below the col. There were fingers of snow below Cateye that we trudged up. It seemed environmentally better to maximize walking on snow and minimize touching the bare meadows on the way up as the area gets heavy use, so we hopscotched between snow fingers going up. The ski down basically terminated soon below the lake, which we kept to our left as we passed it skii...

6/22/05 4:11am

Zap

Amar, Thanks for the excellent report and photos. The Manzanita approach has been of interest and we'll try for an early spring tour. It is amazing how much snow still remains at Lassen. Zap

6/22/05 1:13am

Paul_Russell

Thanks for the report Robie. Glad you got some good skiing after the recent snow. Amazing what the conditions are going to be like on Shasta for the next month or two. Already thinking about another road trip.

Paul

6/22/05 12:20am

Amar Andalkar

Robie, thanks for the timely report after the huge snowstorm. I'm glad you got some good turns despite the winds. It's good to know that the road is driveable so close to the trailhead, the official USFS report still says 5 miles.

6/21/05 10:50pm

Salal

I'm assuming you didn't go over knapsack pass.....did you?? That seems to be faster to me.......I hiked out via the falls route last year and it seemed to take forever also......nice walk.....but I think I'm going over the pass from now on. If you did take the pass....was there snow? Imagine it's all melted out by now....seeing as you didn't hit snow until cateye

6/21/05 9:49pm

wolfs

Last year I got a VW Eurovan camper up that road (to point where snow stopped me, and everyone else, about 1.5 mile shy). A Eurocan is about as low ground clearance as you can get. In general I was pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the logging roads in the Shasta area (given all the rain though things might have changed in a year). The worst part of the logging roads was about 3 miles in on the road to Military Pass from US97, just after crossing the railroad tracks, and you'll only hi...

6/21/05 8:57pm

ron j

Am I to surmise from your "our trail" shot that you guys boot packed up that slope??? Say it isn't so! If it is so, I'd say that ronj is getting soft ;) 8)

The skins were "on restriction" so had to stay in the car. Maybe next time. ;)

A couple of the shots earlier up in the post are incredibly sharp and clear. Did I hear that Ron got a new camera?

I had been waiti...

6/21/05 7:59pm

JibberD

Am I to surmise from your "our slope" shot that you guys boot packed up that pitch??? Say it isn't so!

If true, I'd say that ronj is getting soft ;) 8)

A couple of the shots earlier up in Ron's post are incredibly sharp and clear. Did I hear that Ron got a new camera?

I had to send my Nikon into the shop yesterday...Eldorado took it out... 4-6 weeks of therapy and it should be rehabilitated, or at least so obsolete that it won't matter that it doesn't work right...

6/21/05 6:42pm

ron j

Great report, Robman, and nice work with the pics.
I'm glad you got some good skiing in.

6/21/05 6:33pm

Robie

It was my pleasure! the underlying road of red cinder is in good shape we needed high clearance trooper 4x4 to blast throughabout 4 or 5 snow banks to make it within 2 road mi. of trail. one last bank stopped us cold from another mi of clear road. All that should be gone in two weeks and a std. car could get in then.

6/21/05 6:14pm

Matt C

Thanks for the report Robie, that's the route I would like to do in a couple of weeks. Sounds like the road will be in better shape then. By the way, what shape was the road in before you hit snow...did you need a high clearance 4x4?

6/21/05 5:22pm

ron j

June 19, 2005, Mt Adams southwest chutes

Sweet pics, Jer.
I like the way the pano goes from Tamanos to Rainier.

6/21/05 10:56am

Jeff Huber

Nice job. So what route do you use to get back from the SW Chutes, and when did you encounter consistant snow on the way up?

6/21/05 10:06am

a1leyez0nm3

June 19, 2005, Muir Snowfield

LETS GO THIS WEEKEND YEAH1!!!@ !~$@#!DF#@$

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

pm me! 8)

6/21/05 7:54am

Here's a few shots from a stellar morning:
cloud pano
Mt. Adams
Jeanette climbing
Ron
Ron and Jeanette with Rainier

6/21/05 6:37am

I want you guy's to know Jeanette, Ron and I also racked up quite a few torture points Sunday..... Here we had to cross a talus field and then do some heavy bouldering 8) Great report!

6/21/05 4:41am

Joedabaker

Great pictures Jeff! Excellent report to boot. That may get on the to-do list some day in the near future.
Joe

6/20/05 9:33pm

Jeff Huber

Any idea when the seasonal bridge usually goes in?

It usually goes in pretty quickly after they open the road, so I'd suspect either this weekend or next they'll have it installed. You could call the Hood River USFS office to ask.

6/20/05 9:08pm

Jason_H.

Thax for the pics of the gullies. The one to the right looks interesting but the left one looks like the better ski. ;D

6/20/05 9:00pm

gregL

Great pictures as always, Jeff! I love the two tiny figures in the corner of the "crazy Northface gullies" shot.

Any idea when the seasonal bridge usually goes in?

6/20/05 8:54pm

Zap

Jeff, I enjoyed your TR and photos. A few years ago Jill and I skied the same route and as we skied past the waterfall down to the Timberline trail we encountered numerous wildflowers. It is a great memory that remains to this day. Excellent choice of stops for a post trip refresher. I have developed an addiction for Blizzards at DQ.
Zap

6/20/05 10:47am

Michael

June 18, 2005, Mt. Daniel

WOW!! When I talked to Kam on the phone and he told me about a f$%*$# boulder field, I did not expect THAT! This make the boulder field at Eldorado look like a walk in the park ;-)

Guys, if you are into this S&M stuff, there are some good stores on Capitol Hill you may want to check out - you don't even have to drive 3 hours ;-)

Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun though...and nothing beats getting out to ski - regardless of how big the boulders are...

Here is a pictur...

6/20/05 8:46am

Jason_H.

Mightaswell, I'm glad you had fun ;D

Here is a ski photo to remember the time you didn't have skis ;D 8) http://cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/daniel/routes/westsummit/westsummitjune2005/dannyflyboy.JPG

6/20/05 8:16am

Matt C

Thanks Jason, I may try to stitch them together with floss or some strong thread...hopefully they stay together when I pull them apart...these BD skins are tough to seperate when its cold...Cheers...

6/20/05 7:47am

Paul_Russell

Thanks for the report Allyson, looks like you guys had a fun trip as always and really pegged the JOM with that approach! Great pics Kam, thanks for sharing. Gotta love skiing those patches.
- Paul

6/20/05 7:41am

Paul_Russell

Thanks for the great report and pics Jeff. I've been wanting to ski the Snowdome and climb the Sunshine route for sometime now. Looks like its in good shape and might have to get down there for an Adams combo trip!

6/20/05 7:25am

Joedabaker

Good job gang! RJ-I did eventually get out of the house for a hike on Sat and got chased off the hill by a monsoon and lightning of tropical propotions. I am glad to hear that it really was good!
Joe

6/20/05 7:21am

kam

...I think I'm going to categorize Kam in the same group as the Hummels and Philfort; the one to be extremely wary of if ever invited to join in an adventure ;D But seriously, I'm not interested... ;)

what do you mean you didn't bring skis!?

Kevin: Spickard was much thicker, i thought. and more fun :).

Casswipe: i'll try to come up with a better JOM that takes into account schwacking, etc... even so, i thought our 25% this...

6/20/05 6:37am

Kevin Steffa

Kam, Cass - that looks like Spickard all over again!

The skeeter-brush combo is certainly one of the more insidious of backcountry tortures - I am going to Alaska in a few weeks so I might get to share some similar tales...

- Kevin

6/20/05 4:57am

JibberD

"Climbers Path" I became familiarized with that term two weeks ago in an aborted attempt on Eldorado.

My personal interpretation of the term "climbers path": a geometrically efficient path rammed through thick forest and talus by twenty-three starving goats that have heard the Goodwill has dumped its unsold inventory of used leather hiking boots on the top of the mountain in question.

From the looks of your photos, it has been an easy year on...

6/20/05 3:31am

cascadesfreak

Good times with a fellow masochistic crowd ;)

Photos are posted here.

Fortunately the brush-schwacking "battle scars" seem to be healing quickly (though I probably lost more blood through mosquito bites; ouch!!, my eyeballs!!!).

Possible quote of the day: "It's a 'climber's path'!" (i.e. slightest hint of a clearing in the slide alder, dense huckleberry, dry place in the swamp, e...

6/20/05 3:29am

md2020

After watching Charles and Co. ski off deeper into what was for us uncharted territory, Brenda and I decided that the slopes just before Coleman Pinnacle were fine. Great lines and great snow – none of the sticky, rotten stuff we’ve been skiing down south this spring. We skied out by way of the remaining snow below the Ptarmagin Ridge trail along Table Mt. The scramble up the bare loose slopes to the trail was a bit of a chore - it didn't look that far down on the way in, h...

6/20/05 2:32am

Jason_H.

I've stiched my skins together. I bought a new pair of skis and the old skins were too short and I still had the left over pieces. I took some thread and stitched it together, then duck tape over the top (stitched in). More over that ;D, but you can't do that in the middle. I would just stitch it. I once ripped a pair in half, taking them apart ???

6/20/05 2:18am

June 19, 2005, Muir Snowfield

Tod didn't just keep up - he was usually either ahead or far ahead.

6/20/05 1:47am

Scotsman

Doug, Thanks for the photos and company.
Look forward to skiing with you again, soon. :D
Today has been such a beautiful day tha it's taken all my will not to bag work and go skiing. Ahh well, only three more months till fall ;D

6/20/05 1:41am

jdclimber

Good trip kids!
Fortunately the skin grafts were successful, so I am back to having no excuses for being so funny lookin'. ;D
Next time can we napalm the approach before we go up?
Cheers-
Justin

6/20/05 1:03am

carter

Allyson et al.,
looks like a typical epic kam designed car to car. Wish I had been around to join you. I would say Burgundy is faster, but it's much steeper. Looks like it was a beautiful day up there.

6/19/05 11:56pm

allyson

jon--not sure why we picked the silver star creek route instead of the burgundy col route. perhaps to rack in some of those torture points ron j speaks of? ;) we did see another group of 6-8 folks on the snow up there, however there were no other cars parked down where we parked. so there's a good possibility they took the easier/faster route over burgundy...maybe next time we'll heed such examples! :D

6/19/05 11:48pm

skykilo

Glad you had fun, and wow! thanks for posting that picture Jeff. Those gullies are looking really good for this late in the year. Too bad I have so much to ski in Washington, or I'd head down there and ski one of those puppies. Life is rough. ;)

If you do Snowdome again in a few weeks or a month, post another NF shot eh?

Thanks
Sky

6/19/05 11:24pm

kam