TR Replies

Jim - Thank you, I have been searching a long time for the expression "squared off" to describe the phenomenon you found at the Pass yesterday. Funny, I feel more and more like an eskimo everyday.  

Anyway, as you can see from the photo take...

I think we must have been baking in a little oven where we were.  Aspect was SW.  (original destination was the north slope of Chair, but we couldn't pass up this slope as we passed by - and then we decided with snow like this, it's better to yoyo than to break trail for a few hours). Our lunch break, during which the powder->glop transformation happened, was very warm: I was comfortable with my hat off and only polypro + thin shell.  The only time I was cold was zipping back t...

didja ever notice how old people never quite make it to the front of the line to break trail?
The thanks go to Darryl, Ingrid, Stefan and Jerry for breaking trail through two ft of ootah pow (uphill, both ways!) to get us there.  Nice job, gang.  Great group.

;D

Thanks for the info.  I guess a lot of times these things are like that telephone game that we played as kids.  I had heard a rumor of patrol stumbling upon a similar "situation" in shot 6.  Maybe it's all just permutaions of the same story having changed by the time it reached my ears.

Folks, I'm jealous.  Nice pics!

-kam

My current understanding is that the guy climbed up from piss pass towards pinapple but instead of curving around towards great scott bowl he skied down into the Denny creek valley (rather than back into the Alpental valley)via a run known as "fucked bowl".  This run offers great skiing but is called that because there is no way to return to Alpental except of course by climbing/skinning back up.  My understanding is that he then climbed over Low mountain to the next valley w...

Honesty compels me to admit that I had a bit of trouble keeping up with this trio of AT skiers, who always seemed to be waiting patiently for me far below.  

Mark, how is that possible, I remember a time last summer, at Mt Adams, when Ron and I had a three hour head start, you came running up the hill, over snow, in those super fast tennis shoes of yours while almost passing us, but you did stop and chat for a moment ;D and then took off...

Ah -- the waiting game!

It was nice of Steve and Jeff to wait for me and Mark on the way down, and all three of them to wait for me on the way up! Hey, "they also serve who ony stand and wait". Milton said that.

Truth be told this was the last of a series of days of "Chugach Snow" -- the kind of stuff Baker gets a few times a year which proves stable at any angle you choose -- save for a slab of a few inches of wind-drift. My only regret is leaving behind so muc...

Thanks, but remember Madoggy, next time I'm bringin the liquid courage so we can see you fly! ;)

Mark,

And when I grow up I want to write entertaining trip reports like yours.  I too have perfected the "Hey folks, where are you heading " partner needed come on. Although it failed me for the first time at the pass when I approached a couple on the trail near the hut.  Dude coped an attitude with me and told me with a mocking voice and a laugh to leave my shovel and beacon at home since I was alone and wouldn't need it. " I will tell you what, I said, I will le...

Thanks Ron.  Glad that you enjoyed it.  Had not planned on hitting the road but on the 19th the conditions locally were horrible.  Remember high 50 F. temps?  Mazama and the Pass ended up being great given the west side conditions.  The hut trip had been in the works for a few months.  

Forgot one other stat from this road trip:

Total Feet of Descent:

35,300 ft. over ten days. (60 k for the year so far)  

Russ, I day-skied out of the Salt Creek snow-park at  6,000 feet, climbing to about 8500 feet on Wing Ridge for two runs.  McCully Basin looked tempting, but I slept late and was skiing alone, so decided to rein it in.  

Ridges were wind-scoured, but sheltered areas facing east and northeast were fine powder over a surprisingly dense base (recent warm temps).  The surface powder was totally unconsolidated and sluffed harmlessly at about 45 degrees.  It skied very...

You are the man.

Sorry, Ron.  All I noticed was that it looked remarkably like the one in the photo (though substantially larger in real life), and contained not one, but two of the largest 12v batteries I've ever seen.  You could jumpstart a battleship with one of those machines.  I mean, should you find yourself so inclined.

I sincerely hope that helps satisfy your curiosity.  

I have not managed to get that much computer time over the holidays, but yesterday finally did set up a new board for non-backcountry skiing reports. It is in the "Hot Air" section and is titled "Lift-accessed Skiing Reports - non-backcountry". Here's the link for it.

I decided that "lift-accessed" might best describe the difference between reports that should go in the new board a...

When you say that you took the Mountaineer trail, was it the one that starts by crossing the creek?  If so, how easy is it to cross now?

Ron: If I've learned anything since I was a young, callow fellow, it's that Google.com will answer almost any question with ease (c.f., http://www.winnmarketing.com/parkbully1.htm).

Great report, Mark, and up to your general level of readability.
So what's this "Pisten-Bully" that these guardian angels... drive?

One sinificant detail Sam left out:  The curse of the man who ate everything.

The night before I read an excerpt from a book where the author reasoned (using flawed logic) that he could eat more raw oysters if he gave up skiing because the risks injury from skiing far outweight those from eating raw oysters.

Well, those risks of skiing caught up me in a bad way after Sam and I completed our backcountry run.  We headed over to Alps for a few runs after our backountry fresh...

what was the David Lynch line - "I don't like pictures, I want to remember things as I want, not how they actually happened." Or something like that!

What?  No pictures?  Rookie. :)

Gregg,

Thanks for a great report. Timing is everything.  I'll be touring at Roger's Pass later this season and touring over to Glacier Circle hut if conditions permit.

Zap

AlpentalCorey has never skied the Slot Couloir, but skykilo skied it a week ago and it was really great.  Conditions at the ski area were horrendous, rain crust action happening, but the couloir was just sweet pow.

Skykilo would like to second Sam's assessment:  do NOT go ski the Slot Couloir!  It is all mine!  If I catch you there, I will sick Panama on you...

Nice day to be out, huh? Did you get some of the sunbreaks in addition to the squalls?

Gotta love the low snow level.