TR Replies
Video of the adventure with more pics at the end here: http://thesnowtroopers.com/2017/hyak-wa-silver-peak-to-zipper-chute/
Really surprisingly fun skiing off the summit of Silver Peak!
Zipper chute was a bit more type 2 fun but we were all in good spirits getting to ski an aesthetic line we'd been eyeing for a long time.
When we were booting the along the west face above Annette lake it was still pretty firm and seemed like it would be really good corn wi...
Really surprisingly fun skiing off the summit of Silver Peak!
Zipper chute was a bit more type 2 fun but we were all in good spirits getting to ski an aesthetic line we'd been eyeing for a long time.
When we were booting the along the west face above Annette lake it was still pretty firm and seemed like it would be really good corn wi...
Great 1st photo, love that hat!
...that's the one. Look very familiar.
The snow looks kinda grungy this year though!
The snow looks kinda grungy this year though!
Looks like a fantastic day on Helens! Thank you for the report!
WNY is pretty far from the action, perhaps the Canadian destinations might be closer? If you are going to make the drive, Jay Peak is about the best place on the east coast: normally lower density snow, normally significantly more volume, excellent terrain, very reasonably priced lift tickets, they even have an awesome 85-degree water park. I heard this off-season they are upgrading their tram to handle more people and to travel faster - I think it was a 3-5x increase in volume. ...
Looks good! I just moved to WNY in the fall and am still in either the denial or bargaining phases of the 12 steps ;). There's some relief around here, but snow was more miss than hit this year. The Dacs are promising but not really day-trippable. It would be just as far to drive to the Greens. Beta is appreciated.
author=freeski link=topic=38158.msg154947#msg154947 date=1491170805]
Would it be safe to say that those folks standing on that Ruby cornice combined with other recent loads (energy input), even further if down the ridge, may have provided the tipping point for the energy requiried to trigger that cornice?
I don't think it would be safe to say that.
No one was standing on the cornice when it fell. The skiers on t...
Thanks! Is this the photo you to which you are referring? http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=35959.0
If so, (and relevant to the TR), here's a roadside view of the same slope yesterday, processed in a similar way:
If so, (and relevant to the TR), here's a roadside view of the same slope yesterday, processed in a similar way:
We did an exploratory sled trip out there on Fri to check out the conditions on Stu. I've never seen so much snow on the road this late in the season. It's going to be a long while before the road is drivable. Should be a great corn season in the range.
Still rocking the B&W! I had one of your Lichtenburg photos from last year as a screensaver for almost 12 months. My eyes were always roaming around. Thansk
Rock on Mr H
Rock on Mr H
Thanks for the TR! I'd considered heading that direction this weekend, but without a road report from the forest service (and no snowmobile), it wasn't worth the gamble.
Great to see that the sun arrived and that the snowmo was required :).
Great to see that the sun arrived and that the snowmo was required :).
That is one chill mustelid. Here is another pic for you buncha otterluvas. Especially on solo trips I find myself trying to interpret the different tracks and patterns in the snow. They tell some interesting stories of squirrels meeting death from above via owl or sometimes hints at how terrifyingly big a cat can get. This pattern had me stumped for a moment though but I think the story it tells goes like this;
The otter was in the upper pond tasting the fish and frogs there and then...
The otter was in the upper pond tasting the fish and frogs there and then...
Otter was ignoring you, haole, but you go near his/ her pond and you'd get a knuckle (paw?) sandwich.
Between the hidden animals and the writing (my favorite line is last sentence 3rd paragraph) this was like an Easter egg hunt TR. So many hidden gems. Wish I could have enjoyed the not-rain with you, Ron!
Great shot of the otter who seems to care less about your presence.
haha Locals Only, nice one. Worth it just for that. Looking way too comfortable like he's never thought about mowing the lawn... which (s)he certainly hasn't.
Wow, nice. Those are some blue skies. That place is amazing. I remember being impressed how something big like McGee just started right from the road.
author=telemack link=topic=38153.msg154918#msg154918 date=1491065196]
Watch it, bruddah runcle---in January it was a twig in the face....
I recognize the distinctive sweeping 3-pin GS turns in the photo 8)
Good eye Mack!
author=Mike Cheney link=topic=38153.msg154913#msg154913 date=149102581
I just talked to the "ranger" at the Parks visitor center and asked her what the official policy is regarding access past the locked gate.. Her reply was "If you want to walk or ski past the closed gate you are welcome to do so."
The dog training was below Sweet Little Annie's at the end of the groomed road
author=runcle link=topic=38153.msg154624#msg154624 date=1489971854]
abraded a nice chunk of skin off of my thumb. Put the gloves on stupid!
Watch it, bruddah runcle---in January it was a twig in the face....
I recognize the distinctive sweeping 3-pin GS turns in the photo 8)
author=runcle link=topic=38153.msg154635#msg154635 date=1489988669]
I asked the gate keeper this morning on the way up regarding April road access and she replied "It doesn't look good." From my experience, road access in April is intermittent and not reliable. But, having said that I have been pleasantly surprised to learn that it was open when I expected it to be closed. Not the best scenario if you aren't a local! Anyone else like to chi...
Definitely on my list. Thanks for the pics - yea, lots of elbow room in any of those runs. Good year to get there.
Looks awesome! I'm excited to get down there
Thanks for the really nice report and photos. Yes, it's fabulous terrain. I'd love to ski it for a week sometime. Given your short time there, your list of tours says you got after it!
Thanks, Charlie! I'm a LONG time lurker (41 months) I've just never posted. I'm happy to contribute to this great resource and hope to a lot more now - the posting process wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined, haha.
Welcome to TAY :). Thank you for bringing this excellent post over from the Facebook group. Threads on TAY date back to 2001, two years before Facebook, and when posted here, they'll remain easily accessible to all.
What a contrast one can sometimes find between sun and shade.
What a contrast one can sometimes find between sun and shade.
Thanks for the trip report and welcome to TAY 8)
That whole Table/Ptarmigan area has excellent accessible terrain in all seasons.
That whole Table/Ptarmigan area has excellent accessible terrain in all seasons.
author=Chuck C link=topic=38205.msg154860#msg154860 date=1490797107]
Somewhere I heard there was some avy dog training going on this weekend in the area.
There was, indeed. I found the stomped to shit training area they were using on my way out of GB Trees late Sunday afternoon / early Sunday eve.
Somewhere I heard there was some avy dog training going on this weekend in the area.
Phenomenal food and glamp-like digs
author=rlsg link=topic=38200.msg154805#msg154805 date=1490580194]
Looks great..hows the food and shelter?
Sounds like an adventure. I was up there two weekends ago. That cat road the DOT cut through the avy cones is really a godsend! Hoping to get back out there one more time before the plowing begins. Such a great winter!
thanks Kam,
looks like Googoo photos forces me to make an album in order to designate them public... won't do it for individual photos as far as I could tell
looks like Googoo photos forces me to make an album in order to designate them public... won't do it for individual photos as far as I could tell
Carry the water, remove the water....
TAY ! Thanks for a great discussion. It's been a pretty fantastic snow year. The last week of February and the first two weeks of March especially so with stable cold weather conditions and fresh snow almost every night.
In the North Columbia and Cariboo the Avy situation became much more of a concern around the fifth or sixth of March as all of the new snow stressed a buried rain crust. Avalanche.ca reported at that time that the snowpack had reached a "threshold"...
In the North Columbia and Cariboo the Avy situation became much more of a concern around the fifth or sixth of March as all of the new snow stressed a buried rain crust. Avalanche.ca reported at that time that the snowpack had reached a "threshold"...
I've seen ski tracks that started from a traverse onto a slope and below a short distance of cornice and have observed from the dropping of the cornice, pillow/slab immediately under the cornice, propagate resulting in the whole slope going. So glad nobody was below in harms way. That is a very common place from my experience, to find instability when everything else is "blower".. Not sure what a pit or compression test/ext column test would tell me about this very localize...
This time of year, for low elevation skiing in particular, I would be more reluctant to ski south facing slopes that are wind slabbed up than N ones.. Wouldn't they be more susceptible to instability due to more heating?
ditto persistent deep pack issues that could be stepped down to...
ditto persistent deep pack issues that could be stepped down to...
Detailed profiles take time, especially for proper documentation.. It gets introduced in a formal way in the (now-changing) level-2 AIARE courses.
The procedures are nicely documented in the SWAG guidelines, viewable in PDF form here: http://www.americanavalancheassociation.org/swag/ Snow profiles start on page 22. Make profiles as clean and square as you can; you know you're getting there when the structure is easily visible.
A great time to practice is a day when the...
The procedures are nicely documented in the SWAG guidelines, viewable in PDF form here: http://www.americanavalancheassociation.org/swag/ Snow profiles start on page 22. Make profiles as clean and square as you can; you know you're getting there when the structure is easily visible.
A great time to practice is a day when the...
I altered my weekend plans partly for weather but also due to the warnings here. I am still a little puzzled by the take away from this discussion. The slides do seem unusual. Is it due to the year being wetter with more sub zero days than normal? Are more of these unusual slides related to the February or November storm layers? Ultimately how long and what am I looking for to feel more comfortable? Is a couple of good freeze thaw cycles in the area I want to ski what I am looking for?
Thanks to Charlie for posting this, and to all who contributed!
There was also one of these near-Himalayan scale avalanches on the south side of Rainier back in the seventies. It left a crown fracture at least thirty feet high from Gibraltar across the upper Nisqually, covering most of the glacier with large debris down past the Wilson Crossing almost to the current terminus.
There was also one of these near-Himalayan scale avalanches on the south side of Rainier back in the seventies. It left a crown fracture at least thirty feet high from Gibraltar across the upper Nisqually, covering most of the glacier with large debris down past the Wilson Crossing almost to the current terminus.