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hey Corey,
I'd look at other options tomorrow besides Red...we considered heading up the west face despite the debris, but Lundin was looking so smooth in comparison we just couldn't justify skiing such a bumpy, chewed up line.
Sorry, but I don't really know what is going to be the best aspect to head to tomorrow. We didn't get on any north facing stuff, and everything that got in direct sunlight seemed to be skiable almost immediately and was quickly on its way to being bottomless mashed...
Urg!  We were thinking about hitting that line tomorrow, maybe we'll have to think of something else.  Bud, based on what you saw today, which aspects (in general) do you think will be best in the Alpental area?  Trying to think about other ideas if Red is a no-go.

Thanks,

Corey
Good call, Pete.
See you in the mountains.
Plenty of snow down to the parking lot.  I'd say a good four to five feet.

By the way, thanks for the advice over the phone last Saturday, Ron.  We decided to forget about Hood and opted for St. Helens as the safer bet for decent snow and safe conditions.
infamous, congrads on your summit.
Is the trail still snow covered all the way down to the parking lot?
How much snow is at the parking lot?


I thought you never fell, and a big cratering face-plant in addition!


Well, you see, actually what I heard is that there is this new "snow" facial that keeps you looking young.  Every once in a while you have to ski down and dive in the snow, planting your face, leaving it there until it goes numb.  It's suppose to open the capillaries and give your skin that nice healthy glow.  :D

As far as the Jarvis Jelly, the snow was...
Your correct Ron.  It's time to head south to OR and CA for awhile.  Plan to stop at Shasta, Lake Tahoe area(Carson Pass) then for some spring skiing along the eastern Sierras. :)

Zap
I suspect that Jerry knocked her over from behind just to get the shot.  
The fabulous ski concoction seems to be "back burnered" due to lack of "fire" for the product.
Working your way across BC, eh, Zap?
Sounds like a fun tour.  
Seems like you'll have to head back south, soon, however.  ;)
Nice to hear you're back on the slopes, Charles.
Stay in touch.
Not sure about exit no.  Parked at Summit West and walked back under I-90 (like towards Alpental) and hiked up to the summer Pacific Crest Trial north parking lot. Probably only 100 yards of walking here before skis on.  From the lot, contoured east, gently rising, and avoided entering the valley east of Guye that the Crest Trail itself enters. Instead, continued a gentle east contour until hitting the lower clearcut of Kendall, then switch-backed, partially on road, to the humplet.  I think thi...
But Mad_Dog, I thought you never fell, and a big cratering face-plant in addition! Nice position on those skis - I guess that's what you'd call keeping the tips down? And can it be true that nobody remembered to bring the Jarvis Jelly (details)?
Which way did you go in?  Via the exit 54 gold creek sno-park and logging road -- or from exit 53 / Yellowstone road ?

Wow, what a weekend. ;D  Good thing there wasn't a full moon, or I might have had more than the chin thing going on.  Needless to say, growing chin hair and praying to the snow gods made no difference whatsoever in helping with those awesome conditions ;D  Jerry, you thought I was posing for photo #6, shoot, I thought I was gonna have to have a boom truck get me outta there  8).  Even though the ski conditions were challenging, and skiing the trees down to Narada was like going into the car wash...
What a sport Jeanette is - to grow hair and to pray to the snow gods.  Her hearing isn't as good as it used to be.  We said kneel NOT KEEL.  Great pictures and great fun.  Picnicing with the gang is entertaining but NOT something a minor should do.
Nothing undermines the very foundation of one's skiing ego like a breakable crust over nice, deep, cascade cement.   >:(
From the looks of my pics
http://groups.msn.com/WildHeartsSkiing/paradise32804.msnw
it looked like the only ones negotiating passable turns were Darryl and our boarder/new darkside skier convert, Stefan.  What's up with that??  ???
I'm just glad Jerry was busy extracating himself from his craters when I was slippery side UP.  :)
Thanks Mark. Rather sporting of Jeanette to hold that pose while I got the camera out ! :)
Nice photos, as usual.  Number 6 is a standout.
CW, good to hear that you are on skis again! Regarding your log-in problem, check your TAY instant messages.

I was up near Source Lake when the big slide went off.  Was quite loud but slow moving.

I was heading up there to give the S face of the Tooth a go (though we expected it to be a crapshoot)  Things looked ok until we got to Source Lake, at which point we dug a pit before commiting to skinning any higher.

Top 12 or so inches was heavy but recent, with a slight ice layer underneath it, then 18 inches or more of nasty corn before getting to some solid stuff.  Shovel...
Landru and I repeated your trip to Skyline ridge today.  Bright sunshine was glopping up the south facing open slopes skining up the ridge.  But in the shade of the old growth trees on the North side the snow was still good and new snow overnight had nearly filled in your tracks from Sat.  A few forays into gentle open slopes revealed wet sticky snow that dragged on the bases.   So we stayed deep in the trees.  Later skiing out on the south side was far better than expec...
I have to admit I got a few good turns in where there was adequate space to turn, but since I was cowering in the trees that wasn't often...
No.  

The skiing was surprisingly good on SW faces where it seemed the wind slab had't occurred as on the N aspects.    
That wasn't you guys hanging out below Bryant Peak was it?  Looked like the slide paths might have been a better ski than the deep mashed...
A testament to the conditions at the pass.  Tricky, sloppy, and sometimes down right GOOD - Matt samples some of the not so good snow.

MW88888888 and I skied at Snoqualmie Pass today too.  Above 4500 ft the snow got better, until above 5000 ft it could almost be called excellent.  The old crust got harder with elevation;  the new snow seemed to be bonded pretty well to the crust.  The most sensitive layer was only 6" or so down, basically the snow that has fallen since yesterday.  We found some protected glades and made some enjoyable powder turns between 5400 and 4500 ft.  There's a lot of ne...
Thanks for the post, Justin.  Josh, Jason and I bailed on our plans to head to Stuart early this morning after seeing the overnight snow totals and heightened avy conditions.  Instead, we opted to rendezvous at Crystal for some lift service.  We had some great runs off The King into A-Basin, but anything that was not north facing had the consistency of mashed potatoes (with the exception of upper Exterminator).  Heck, even the mashed stuff was fun though.  I think we end...
Hey that was fun! What a gorgeous day.   Glad Heidi and Moe had a good time.  Ol' Stefan tears it up on the skis! 8)   Good photos, I have none to share thanks to battery neglect.  See you Sunday  JW
Yeah, I think so. The main deterrent was the narrowness, because you so few options about where to turn. In better snow conditions (winter), of course, it would most likely be more dangerous, but probably more fun too. So under really bomber winter conditions, it wouldn't take much convincing to get me up there again. With the snow that's just fallen yesterday and today, of course, it's probably totally different up there (way more dangerous, I'd guess right now, and then it's supposed to warm u...
Sweet!  Way to get after it!  Nice job.
Very nice!  Ross, it sure seems like your timing was absolutely perfect, both with your weather window and especially getting to skip 24 miles of slogging.  Amazing and inspiring!
Here's the link to the pics....sorry they're not in any kind of order.
Gregg,

You're past trip reports from Rogers Pass have been  great. You certainly have selected some great weather windows for your past trips. Whenever you plan another trip, please drop me an email, I'd like to follow your uptrack. :)

Zap
Would you do it again?

I've looked up there and wondered about the line, but the avy debris that is clearly visible from the highway has always been an effective deterrant for me.
Great TR Michael.  You made the day come alive.
Sorry we missed you Zap.  We would have stopped in for a hello on Sat. after Little Sifton had I known you were there.  The Asulkin looked busy on Sat!  
Mike-I want to talk to you about Shasta sometime.

Gregg
Nice work Zap. the Silver Fox still remains my hero. lets get together for some turns before the year is out.

Mike
I just skied Helens the other day and fwiw my gps read the distance from the top to the Marble Mountain parking lot as 4.98  miles. Am I a geek or what?! ;)
Charles usually doesn't mind if the photos are terrain related...I hope...

yup, the Sharksfin:



I came down the right side of the scoop.  Very fun!

And this time I was snowboarding.
Nice work.

I'm confused, were you boarding or skiing?

St. Helens is definitely in this month.  I just did my third trip in a month there last Sunday! (unemployed ;D)

The fees start April 1st, right?

I don't want to hijack your thread with my own TR, so here is just a photo that may look familiar:

Sharkfin?


thanks for the great report Zap.  Skiing with Chic Scott, nice!
Phil -- with your excellent photo, the snow levels expected this week, and the melting out of the GC Road, I expect that we will see a Muir Circus effect on Heliotrope Ridge this weekend.

The Roman Wall might be in primo shape for early risers. In fact, I think that camping at about 8500 ft Friday night would allow for the Roman Wall to be skied in "pre-slop" conditions on Saturday. 8)
It must be noted that Charles has a real knack for finding the perfect terrain for waxless skiing.  Most people would have plodded along on skins but we were always able to find the perfect terrain and moved much quicker.  

On top of Polallie Ridge there was a definite demarcation between the corned south slopes and the wet powder on the north slopes.  The skiing on the south side of the ridge would have been better, but would have required a climb out.

Also, we disc...
A most interesting report Charles! I suppose if one wanted a real thrill, you could ski from Diamond Lake over to Cone Mtn. and try one of the avalanche chutes that go all the way to the valley floor. :-)

Larry
Phil, I gather a soft slab.  He is highly experienced, and he said he noticed no warning signs and did not feel at all at risk.  The fact that he was slid on a relatively moderate pitch just as he was about to drop onto a far steeper slope is interesting.

He also said he was tired of explaining to everyone, so I tried not to press too hard for every last detail.  What most interests me is that a great many people skied similar lines that day, including some that are pretty...
Glad your friend was ok.  Do you know if it was a slab, or wet sluff?
Picture from high point of ridge.



More Photos at:
http://groups.msn.com/RandysSkiTripsII/haneymeadowloop3212004.msnw?Page=1
Regarding releases on The Arm: see my recent edit at
Anyone suggest or have beta on doing this tour from the Nisqually Bridge? I'm planning on making the trip from PDX soon.

tia  ;D