TR Replies

Looks like you had a good late July snow slope up there in the Tatoosh (Looked like a nice line below Unicorn Saddle when I viewed it from the Muir snowfield on Saturday....funny when I saw that snowfield I was thinking "I wonder if Ron J. and others are on that snowfield today" ;D)
Cheers!
--Chris

7/27/04 7:40pm

ron j

July 24, 2004, Nisqually Chutes, MRNP

Thanks for getting your link fixed, Stefan. Very nice pictures, BTW. You also go some great pictures of Robie's sweetie (I mean the goat, in this case).

7/27/04 7:36pm

ron j

Nice report, Chris.
Looks like you pretty well squeezed the last dregs out of that line :)

7/27/04 5:53pm

wickstad

an explosion of alliterative grace
Mark

Indeed!

7/27/04 11:07am

markharf

Thanks for the reports. I'm trying to decide whether to head out that way this weekend or save it for the dog days of September.

to ski tour in July with corn and cantaloupe, wildlife and wildflowers in silence and solitude.

Such an explosion of alliterative grace can only mean you're no longer working endless hours, yes? I call that good news.

Mark

7/27/04 8:34am

Alan Brunelle

Got a count on the goats. They should rename the lake 36 goat lake! That is plus or minus a goat!

I will try to post a picture once I set up a free web site somehow. Will take me a day or so to get the time to set it up.

Mark, I did the trip so that I could scope the Sholes and the east slopes just past the Portals. I could see the slopes clearly, but ml's report should be trusted. Note, I could see some cracks opening on the Sholes from my views near...

7/27/04 6:42am

ema

In older hiking books, the melt-out lake on the sunny side of Coleman Pinnacle is refered to as 14 goat lake. So, two dozen sounds like they are doing well!....I skied on Sat. evening and it was O.K.... the night on Table Mtn. and the amazing Northern Lights were definitely the highlight. (although smokey!) Anyone have an update on the fire?

7/27/04 6:02am

Toured to the Sholes with sb on the 21st. While one aspect was akin to skiing on frozen cantaloupes, the fall line from the Portals and the higher adjacent slopes produced grins. Also found delightful slopes northwest of Coleman Pinnacle.

Twenty or so goats were beating the heat on the snow near the junction of Lasiocarpa & Ptarmigan ridges. It was a day to remind one how special the Cascades are: to ski tour in July with corn and cantaloupe, wildlife and wildflowers in silence and s...

7/27/04 2:44am

gregL

How about a picture of the goats, BigSnow?

7/27/04 1:16am

markharf

It is odd that access to the Cougar Divide area has been limited because of wild life sensitivities, yet in an area such as the Coleman, where there is tons of human activity, that these goats seem to be thriving. I accept that I may be wrong, maybe there used to be a hundred goats ten years ago, but it is hard to imaging the area support much more animals at that elevation and in those winter conditions.
Alan

I've wondered about this, too....

7/27/04 12:24am

Alan Brunelle

I have some photos of them at a distance. I'll make a count. I would say that there were at least two dozen. It is interesting that there happened to be an article in the Seattle Times (Sunday?) on how the goat population in the North Cascades has tumbled, yet stabilized after skyrocketing in the Olympics.

These goats seemed to like to stay on the snow while I was there. My guess was to stay away from bugs or stay cool. They were high on the snowfields just to the...

7/26/04 11:17pm

gregL

Mad Dog and Stefan with soul patches is one for the ages!

7/26/04 10:35pm

David_Coleman

that's funny...I've been along Ptarmigan Ridge many times skiing, and I've always seen a fair number of goats...in fact when Scott, Ben, Charles and I were there in 9/01, we saw what amounted to probably 2-3 dozen in a herd along the trail where the snow is (closer to Coleman Pinnacle & further west).

7/26/04 9:34pm

ski_photomatt

Sounds like nice skiing, way to get after it Amar, John and Phil. Congrats on the summit. It's great to hear everything worked out.

7/26/04 9:05pm

sag

we all apreciate robie bringing his goat along, just wish he would have turned of the radio when they had their alone time.

Great pics JW and Ron

mine are at
http://community.webshots.com/album/168035530FEAztR

7/26/04 6:29pm

ron j

Wondering what the "UniBrow Saddle" name is all about?
Well, Here's you answer:

(note the residual nose hairs eminating from the left nostril)
More shots of mature adults acting like 12 year olds at:
http://groups.msn.com/WildHeartsSkiing/tatooshrange72504.msnw

Jerry,...

7/26/04 4:44pm

snoslut

Hey Jerry it was more of a torture for my partner. Was it worth it...always. The bugs, well after a drink from me they were probably asking themselves the next morning what in the hell is in that stuff. That's some potent @#$^ . BTW Nice pics, especially of the talking goat and the goatie. From your pics it look liked alot of snow had melted in a days worth of time. Slush cup is just around the corner.

7/26/04 8:11am

Robie

Yessiree , another fun trip. by the way that's my goat.
Lost a OR crampon bag up there if anybody goes back. Just a couple days left than the run will segment.
Probaly the pool for the "slush cup" is filling right now.
Robie

7/26/04 2:16am

David_Coleman

yeah, but it looks like you had 8) type weather on your decent of Sherman Peak a couple of weeks ago, so it must like you some of the time.

7/26/04 2:07am

Jason_H.

Wait a minute, I'm not to blame for that. I haven't skied the Emmons since July 1999, so it must be somebody else that said it was great last year. You gotta know how to pick the weather too, I'm a big fan of stable high pressure systems with 14000 ft freezing levels. Anyway, I certainly wouldn't encourage anyone to follow our footsteps onto the Emmons this year (at least not for skiing), the route is rapidly deteriorating in the hot weather and crevasses a...

7/26/04 1:29am

wolfs

That's interesting, and made me think about something I've always wanted to ask - is one any safer crossing crevassed terrain on skis as opposed to foot, or is that more superstition than fact? Started a thread

7/26/04 12:43am

Amar Andalkar

Ha. I remember reading a report of you skiing it in near perfect conditions a week or so before I went on that trip, so maybe the key is to not follow in Amar's footsteps. ;)

Wait a minute, I'm not to blame for that. I haven't skied the Emmons since July 1999, so it must be somebody else that said it was great last year. You gotta know how to pick the weather too, I'm a big fan of stable high pressure systems with 14000 ft freezing levels. Any...

7/25/04 11:44pm

Jason_H.

I did this last year and it was the worst descent I've ever done. The sastrugi was 1 to 2+ feet deep, the wind was blowing me off my feet and throwing rocks in my face, so I crawled to the summit. I was happy to summit and even managed to enjoy the challenge of the descent in a whiteout. Ha. I remember reading a report of you skiing it in near perfect conditions a week or so before I went on that trip, so maybe the key is to not follow in Amar's footsteps. ;)

7/25/04 11:09pm

David_Coleman

Congrats - now you can stop whining about having not skied it in 5 years ;). Good thing you had a safe trip...doesn't sound like all did on the Inter this past weekend based on the crevasse rescue that occurred there (see cascadeclimbers for details). Sounds like there wasn't even a noticeable sag - yikes!

7/25/04 10:43pm

GregLange

July 25, 2004, MRNP - Paradise Glacier

Amar: Congrats on a full summit descent! I'm not clear as to how often this occurs, but I don't hear of many per year. And, to be able to do it in late July is quite a feat, especially finding the conditions you did.

I love your adventure journal. I'll keep riding vicariously, as long as you'll allow. Some day, though...

GregLange

7/25/04 10:23am

Jeff Huber

Mr Slut, based on your TRs your moniker seems very appropriate. :)

7/25/04 6:22am

gregL

July 20-21, 2004, Mt. Baker, Coleman-Deming

Mark: Most of credit goes to the Thunder Glacier, it's one cool looking chunk of ice!

7/25/04 6:15am

markharf

July 20-21, 2004, Mt. Baker, Coleman-Deming

Nice photos, Greg. The silhouettetted photographer in front of the Thunder Glacier is particularly striking.

7/25/04 2:46am

DonnellyM

July 24, 2004, MRNP-Tatoosh

Bugs >:( I hate them insect bites, I'll take road rash anytime of a serious amount of insect bites. Other than the bugs, sounds like a fun day.

Don't forget the bug repellent!!!!!!! :D

7/22/04 8:18pm

gregL

July 20-21, 2004, Mt. Baker, Coleman-Deming

Some additional pictures here, more to follow:

7/21/04 12:07am

DonnellyM

It didn't look to badly suncupped. With the warm temps I imagine the snow is going to be soft especially by mid morning. Just be weary of weak snow bridges (more safe on skis, I think) and the top 500 vertical feet from the summit is blue ice in many spots.

7/20/04 10:39pm

ski_photomatt

July 17, 2004, Mt Adams, Gotchen/Mazama/SW Chutes

How was the skiing on the upper mountain? Some friends are trying to talk me into skiing the Emmons this weekend, but I'm skeptical about snow conditions.

7/20/04 8:30am

Paul_Russell

I skied the White Salmon / Avalanche Gl the weekend before last with Jack McDonald from Vancouver BC. Yes, we had to downclimb the steeper upper section due to lack of snow coverage and rotten snow (large suncups mixed with dirt). It appeared that if we had stayed higher, rather than dropping to the notch by the Pinnacle, we might have been able to ski (or side slip) down where there was more continous snow, but I'd guess that may have changed by now. After downclimbing about 100ft, we were a...

7/20/04 4:39am

DonnellyM

Well done!

I enjoy reading about trip reports from other states. :)

7/20/04 4:19am

DonnellyM

Lower Ingraham to the Ingrahm flats. Followed by crossing the Cowlitz to Muir. Finally, just the standard way down from Muir, staying to the far right, away from the boot path.

7/20/04 3:27am

markharf

Kam, when are you publishing the Turns All Year illustrated calendar? You've got some very memorable shots there.

7/20/04 3:18am

gwest

Glacier snob. That's alright, I'm a powder snob.
It was a short 6 mile hike from the parking lot up 4,300ft. Apparently there is ice under it that remains all year long. I've definitely skied on a lot less. My august skiing experience looked a lot more like some of Kam's pics.

7/20/04 12:23am

JimmyO

Nice work, you were flying! What was your ski route home?

7/19/04 10:54pm

kam

did someone say patch?

my friends (Skip and Chris) and i live for patches, see. oh, here's another, and another....wait, one more,

7/19/04 10:05pm

snoslut

That sure was a nice run underneath the waterfall uh. I regret not bringing a camera. That ribbon of snow to get to it was exciting as well. Nice pics Jerry and Ron. Those steep sections above Golden Gate were a treat on the way down.

7/19/04 7:21pm

JMor

But there's risks to climbing with old people; before long many of us had forgotten why we were there, where we were going, and when we had agreed to turn around.

Party like a "Rock Star!!!" 8) 8)
20 years ago it was a whole lot easier ;)

7/19/04 6:15pm

Not the longest tour on record, but still way fun! My pics are at

7/19/04 3:07pm

ron j

Jeffey - Thanks for reminding me... I guess I need to give that camera another whack; I noticed the last couple of pics on adams were dated that same date. Maybe I bumped it on the hike out. Must be the default date of the operating system, eh?

Mark - A nomination like that from anyone else I'd take with a grain of salt. But from the TR Master? I'm smitten and blushing at the same time. My life is now complete. It can't get any better than this.

Yeah, Robie, skiing that water...

7/19/04 2:57pm

ron j

Nice snow patch.
We have a special place in our hearts, here in the PNW for patches like that, especially if they endure for weeks or even months and they are close to the car.
How long did you have to carry to get to it?

7/19/04 9:36am

Robie

That's ok I'll send em the pictures and tell em it was 5000' .Them kentucky relatives will figure I'm lying for half of it so I'm still ahead 500' or so
Ended up Mt biking with Gary VOgt till dark.
Nice sky in the pics. That, the waterfall,and good friends with beer made my day.

7/19/04 8:28am

markharf