TR Replies
Brief conditions update from Sunday June 11:
Some patches of snow before the big area of avalanche debris but not worth putting skis on until a few hundred meters after getting through the debris field. Once the skis are on, it's continuous snow with the exception of a few short patches until Steamboat Prow.
The Interglacier remains well filled in with the only issues being a system of cracks opening up climber's right/skier's left as you get up higher...
Some patches of snow before the big area of avalanche debris but not worth putting skis on until a few hundred meters after getting through the debris field. Once the skis are on, it's continuous snow with the exception of a few short patches until Steamboat Prow.
The Interglacier remains well filled in with the only issues being a system of cracks opening up climber's right/skier's left as you get up higher...
I went for a walk here in Vancouver, BC with Ron yesterday morning and he is doing well. I told him about this thread and hopefully he will add his voice so we can all learn from this. From what I heard a marker Kingpin pre-release might have had a huge part in the story. But hopefully Ron will tell the story from his point of view. Cheers. Be safe, stay safe. THANKS to everyone involved in the rescue, it is good to have my friend Ron back.
Hey John! I don't know if I'm going to get back into it, but we should climb sometime soon, Castle Rock? I'll send you an email.
Mosetick, Yeah it was a bummer to loose that camera, also felt foolish having dropped/lost anything, but as far as loseing something in the mountains goes, definitely not the worst thing that could have gotten away. I felt better when I made it back to my car just in time to catch the moon rise in the fading light.
Mosetick, Yeah it was a bummer to loose that camera, also felt foolish having dropped/lost anything, but as far as loseing something in the mountains goes, definitely not the worst thing that could have gotten away. I felt better when I made it back to my car just in time to catch the moon rise in the fading light.
Thanks for the story Lowell! Such a special place.
Thanks for the report and pictures Lowell, I'm glad you were able to go!! I was actually thinking of repeating it this year but didn't find the time, maybe next year :).
Eric
Eric
We were the party of 4 skiers that left after you. It was a fun day and we were happy that the weather held off.
We turned around at 8600' and found the snow more slush than corn but lots of fun.
It was great having the whole place to ourselves.
The tree debris area is definitely a mess. "Smells like Christmas"...
We turned around at 8600' and found the snow more slush than corn but lots of fun.
It was great having the whole place to ourselves.
The tree debris area is definitely a mess. "Smells like Christmas"...
Looks like fun! Thanks for the pics and story.
Looks awesome! Washington has so much beauty it boggles the mind.
author=tabski link=topic=38617.msg156295#msg156295 date=1497032756]
Noted a very substantial older debris track running out the remainder of the glacier below and out of sight in the woods below, likely from the rains the first week of May.
Yep, that's exactly when it happened!
Also, of note, is that the drop from the summit of Sherman onto the Talum is nicely filled in right now. Sometimes it can be tricky (for me at...
author=mtcunner link=topic=38539.msg156192#msg156192 date=1496712796]
Second ever descent of the Therm??
First descent. See this page for details:
http://alpenglow.org/ski-history/topos/mt-rainier.html
If you have any corrections, let me know.
Lower on the Talum, Joe skis the runneled steeps
author=danhelmstadter link=topic=38611.msg156275#msg156275 date=1496970722]
I had taken some photos along the way but my camera apparently flew out of my unzipped pocket high on the NWC.
Thanks for the report. Serious bummer to learn about your camera taking off! :(
impressive! your ventures never cease to amaze me, year after year after year. so burly
Bravo. She's a very special mountain.
Dan for the next Wheaties box.
Oh man! Almost makes me want to take the skis out of storage. Cool report Dan!
Are you going to start climbing again?
Are you going to start climbing again?
Another Olympus pic with the rock board. Time for a new setup I think.
Wolverine! Volcano shaman. Nice work on Shastina/Shasta in a day. Denali training in full force?
No picture of the bog but I would suggest it was 4wd territory over an awd. Deep ruts all over with soft bottoms. Lots of axle banging, diff snagging and under belly cleaning/breaking opportunities. Lots of overflow from the creek.That will change when it dries out. Just lots and lots of water around. Makes the bottom of the big bog wet and soft....
Michael Schumacher could probably get a prius through it??
We just reversed our ascent for exit, with the exception of some bo...
Michael Schumacher could probably get a prius through it??
We just reversed our ascent for exit, with the exception of some bo...
Looks like a snowboard remains in the crevasse too, so by my count your team is still up one snowmobile.
Your sled's gone, man.
(Actually, I really hope they pull that thing out!)
(Actually, I really hope they pull that thing out!)
...better get Ron's skis out of the crevasse on the other side of the mtn...
We observed lots of air travel (helicopters and planes) on Monday up there as well.
We observed lots of air travel (helicopters and planes) on Monday up there as well.
Pinch arguing snowmobiles "only leave tracks" in a convo about a crashed sled stuck inside a mountain is pretty rich.
I do feel for the responsible motorized rec users out there. It stinks when a few bad apples detract from your efforts at responsible use and access involvement.
Anyway, as Kam mentioned, the sled was still in the big hole on Baker yesterday.
I do feel for the responsible motorized rec users out there. It stinks when a few bad apples detract from your efforts at responsible use and access involvement.
Anyway, as Kam mentioned, the sled was still in the big hole on Baker yesterday.
We saw 2 helicopters circling the summit yesterday. One was I think the Coast Guard/Navy SAR helicopter from Whidbey. The other was blue and white and made multiple passes relatively slowly while we were in the area of the crevasse. Maybe they were the ones your friend hired? Sled is intact and in the exact same spot it was when it crashed. This is the usual crux crevasse of the Squak which is almost always open. I think it is here, but I neglected to drop a pin when we stopped: http://www.hillm...
Thanks for the update, Kam.
Turns out I know one of the riders of the crevasse-bound sled. Somewhat distant pal now but best buds in highschool... you met him in the shelter at Muir earlier this spring. I've been hassling him about it since figuring it out. He had a military pilot friend make a low flyover of the area recently but reported no visual, and assumed that the shelf had collapsed. I'll relay your sighting to him, as he's probably still keen to extract the ma...
Turns out I know one of the riders of the crevasse-bound sled. Somewhat distant pal now but best buds in highschool... you met him in the shelter at Muir earlier this spring. I've been hassling him about it since figuring it out. He had a military pilot friend make a low flyover of the area recently but reported no visual, and assumed that the shelf had collapsed. I'll relay your sighting to him, as he's probably still keen to extract the ma...
Neat looking trip, thanks for sharing.
A big loop indeed. Beautiful corner of MRNP - thanks for posting.
The sled is still down there along with what looked like a snowboard.
I've done this route about a half dozen times and it is among my favorite in the PNW - looks good for a while yet, thanks.
Here are a few images from Sun 6/4 and Mon 6/5
https://www.flickr.com/photos/11723786@N06/albums/72157684700521506
We are so fortunate to live and ski here!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/11723786@N06/albums/72157684700521506
We are so fortunate to live and ski here!
This is great beta, thanks.
Do you have any pictures of the bog? Or could you describe how bad it is? I have a small SUV (similar to a Subaru Crosstrek) and I'm wondering if I'll be able to get through it.
Also, on your return trip, did you just ski back to Peggy's Pond and then take the trail back, or did you find another way down?
Do you have any pictures of the bog? Or could you describe how bad it is? I have a small SUV (similar to a Subaru Crosstrek) and I'm wondering if I'll be able to get through it.
Also, on your return trip, did you just ski back to Peggy's Pond and then take the trail back, or did you find another way down?
Nice! Love that zone. And good beta on that bog on the road. It almost got me once.
On Monday we veered left in the lower clearcut, following a very nice opening down to the pond(s) and then stood on skis for a mellow right traverse back to the last little bit through the old forest back onto the road. Worked pretty well and seemed like it might hold up for at least a few more days, but it had helped that we looked over that way just a bit on the way up. That said the mainline uptrack didn't seem like it would have been that bad - it was...
Has anybody skiied from the summit of Rainier lately? Fuhrer Finger?
A few photos of the heli rescue here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=121068938476156&set=pcb.647082698817049&type=3&theater
We skied down directly south from Castle saddle 25 degree slopes which skied quite nice. No issues. We did not go up or down on south face of Castle. By all other indicators That face would have skied well with no issues. IMHO. Overall things have consolidated and corned up. Sunday night saw colder temps
Re motorcycle question. I skied Silver Peak at snoqualomie today and the motorcycle woulda been a much easier and funner ride up that road to Ollalie Meadows . I do have a ski tot...
Re motorcycle question. I skied Silver Peak at snoqualomie today and the motorcycle woulda been a much easier and funner ride up that road to Ollalie Meadows . I do have a ski tot...
Put my name in for today's 6/6/2017 body count . On the out i veered left but kept getting funneled back in.
Silver was pretty great this morning. Routefinding in the clear cut is getting interesting.
author=yuliadub link=topic=38596.msg156224#msg156224 date=1496765194]
Actually we discovered that they have been dropped off at the ranger station ;D
Great news! Hope I can still get out with you guys this spring.
My partner left some glasses in the Longmire bathroom, multiple calls and visits revealed much confusion about the existence and location of lost and found on the part of the park employees. Eventually visiting the office in Ashford, we were asked whether we had filled out a "lost item form" and ran through various bureaucratic hoops before being told they didn't have the glasses. You have been warned!
How was it skiing down the south side from the Castle? We were there on Sunday, and it looked pretty thin in spots/lots of glide avy activity.
Actually we discovered that they have been dropped off at the ranger station ;D
"pipedream"
You did a nice "Road Conditions" report for the access to Silver Peak. ;)
You did a nice "Road Conditions" report for the access to Silver Peak. ;)