TR Replies
This thread is apparently so important that it ate the two February trip reports.
Edit: they are there when I look but only when logged in. Buddy couldn't see it from link. Oh well.
Edit: they are there when I look but only when logged in. Buddy couldn't see it from link. Oh well.
Thanks for such a detailed tr! What a trip...shangrila!
Nice. And I bet the ski out even beat hiking out on the hard summer trail on a crowded August day.
Two's company, three's a crowd!
author=pipedream link=topic=37786.msg153237#msg153237 date=1486080761]
You weren't alone ;)
I still have not found the right line on Mt Catherine and its infuriated me on several occasions. And its a bit longer of an approach than other trails in the area although a hidden valley approach on Hyak is an easy way of doing it. But yes, its usually quiet out there.
Well done fellas, get that crap outta your system and come ski summit west with me.
author=kamtron link=topic=37753.msg153197#msg153197 date=1485970909]
Cool trip guys. Too bad it wasn't better snow. Think I'll opt for the overnight or alpine start if I head that way!
I've slowly realized that once it's dark, it doesn't get any darker. A good headlamp has facilitated quite a few after dark exits over the last few years.
River otters is a good guess. Funny, Kyle did hallucinate several times, although the rest of us were spared. Strange gravity abounds back in there.
A two day trip would be far more pleasant. I don't like camping, and I'd rather be faster and lighter, but it would lower the suffering. We were 14.5 hours car to car and that's without the last hour plus to the top.
A two day trip would be far more pleasant. I don't like camping, and I'd rather be faster and lighter, but it would lower the suffering. We were 14.5 hours car to car and that's without the last hour plus to the top.
Thanks Andy! Your website has helped me to achieve stuff in Washington/Rainy Pass areas. :D Oh and you updated the site too, cool!
Cool trip guys. Too bad it wasn't better snow. Think I'll opt for the overnight or alpine start if I head that way!
author=freeski link=topic=37687.msg153169#msg153169 date=1485915192]
There's a reason why some of us old codgers are still codgering, after hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds or so tours.
Maybe the op will share the snow profile and test results in the start zones that day with all of us. Maybe it was just to dangerous to top out from the bowl that day, don't know.
And...
author=blackdog102395 link=topic=37687.msg153181#msg153181 date=1485922161]
While discussions like this can have positive outcomes on peoples' future decisions and justify the effort, the above quote is the only reasonable conclusion. This thing could go on for 30 more pages and we could rehash the same arguments with the occasional bit of enlightenment thrown in and I would still arrive at dberdinka's conclusion and take it up a notch. Don't...
Yes, I saw this layer earlier during an avy class at the pass. It is definitely not graupel, but is instead sleet (i.e. frozen rain drops). With such a deep inversion layer when the warm front arrived, rain falling through the maximum depth of this layer refroze and resulted in substantial deposits at pass level. At higher elevations, the rain did not have time to freeze before reaching the ground resulting in a thick frozen rain crust.
This seems consistent...
This seems consistent...
So glad to see the humor of this thread rise to the top at long last. For awhile, I thought I was the only one laughing. Nothing left of this dead horse to flog. Move along.
author=dberdinka link=topic=37687.msg153160#msg153160 date=1485906565]
In the end you need to make an appropriate decision FOR YOURSELF and stop stressing over your inability to control the decisions others will make. Basically get up 45 minutes earlier and get the hell out of Bagely Lakes Basin.
While discussions like this can have positive outcomes on peoples' future decisions and justify the effort...
author=Good2Go link=topic=37687.msg153173#msg153173 date=1485918536]
Ha! Any way you can work in "participation trophy" into those lyrics?
Thanks for the feedback.... I'll try.
I'm a Millennial and I don't care, I'll put my skintrack anywhere,
the old codgers keep saying that skintrack setting is an art practiced by few,
but the participation trophy I got from my Mom says that&...
Ha! Any way you can work in "participation trophy" into those lyrics?
As Poet Laureate of TAY this wonderful thread has inspired me to compose the " Ballard of the Seattle Skintrack."
To be sung to the classic Monty Pythons " I'm a Lumberjack and I'm OK"
I'm a Millennial and I don't care, I'll put my skintrack anywhere,
the old codgers have got their panties in a twist,
They don't recognize how good I am at assessing risk.
Chorus.
" He's a special snowflake...
To be sung to the classic Monty Pythons " I'm a Lumberjack and I'm OK"
I'm a Millennial and I don't care, I'll put my skintrack anywhere,
the old codgers have got their panties in a twist,
They don't recognize how good I am at assessing risk.
Chorus.
" He's a special snowflake...
author=Jason4 link=topic=37687.msg153108#msg153108 date=1485822210]
Either way, too many people are dying in avalanches every year.
737 American's die ever year falling out of bed. So I'm happy to take my chances in the backcountry.
I'm of the Greg Cronn school of thought that on a stable day a skin track up Table is a great way to farm pow. These guys were out 36 hours after a nice...
author=Good2Go link=topic=37687.msg153146#msg153146 date=1485892278]
Helps the codgers get all the spray out of their system.
URBAN DICTIONARY
Codger
The origin of codger seems to lie in the complex links between cadger and codger (not as a contraction of 'coffin-dodger', as one of my more inventive correspondents has suggested). In some parts of England the two words were used interchangeably, whereas in other...
I'll keep this in mind :)
author=alecapone link=topic=37744.msg153132#msg153132 date=1485878506]
Sweet! Hallucinations?
No trip to the black hole is complete without them. Also, there are gravitational forces around the black hole that will cause one to be unable to set a straight skinner. Loops and figure eights are common.
Thanks for the report! My favorite line. Been wondering what the snow pack was like out that wa...
author=Stefan link=topic=37687.msg153142#msg153142 date=1485884599]
Maybe these people knew what they were doing.
Maybe they evaluated the risk being below the top of a potential skier and decided that was the risk they would be willing to take to do these laps.
It is their risk.
That's crazy talk Stefan! It's axiomatic that they couldn't know what they're doing, because what they we...
Maybe these people knew what they were doing.
Maybe they evaluated the risk being below the top of a potential skier and decided that was the risk they would be willing to take to do these laps.
It is their risk.
Maybe they evaluated the risk being below the top of a potential skier and decided that was the risk they would be willing to take to do these laps.
It is their risk.
Nice to run into you over there, Randy! Good looking turns. We got up on Yotei for a little tour a couple days after you, great fun!
Sweet! Hallucinations?
No trip to the black hole is complete without them. Also, there are gravitational forces around the black hole that will cause one to be unable to set a straight skinner. Loops and figure eights are common.
Thanks for the report! My favorite line. Been wondering what the snow pack was like out that way. Sounds thin.
In a few trips, I think the most enjoyable way was to ski in in the afternoon, camp at the base, climb ear...
No trip to the black hole is complete without them. Also, there are gravitational forces around the black hole that will cause one to be unable to set a straight skinner. Loops and figure eights are common.
Thanks for the report! My favorite line. Been wondering what the snow pack was like out that way. Sounds thin.
In a few trips, I think the most enjoyable way was to ski in in the afternoon, camp at the base, climb ear...
Excellent work. Quite a trek in. Well worth it though!
author=MGoodwin link=topic=37746.msg153084#msg153084 date=1485804257]
Thank you for the report. Can you elaborate on the initial approach below 3K? Were you able to skin the whole way or was there a lot of uncovered ground/debris? Thanks!
Coverage is great down low. It was rock hard starting below 2600 ft however from the thaw/freeze from last week and not even the heat of the day on Sat helped to make it tolerable.
Thanks for the great video and picture, don't let all the "discussion" keep you from poasting more of those great photos or video edits.
On side note, we ventured toward hidden peak but turned around about 8 miles into the road, our high clearance jeep could have gone further, but it was getting to about the end and had Ruby as the back-up. Be curious if anyone's driven further. 1-1.5' on the road at the point around 1400'
Good call out Amar, we came out as you described, though probably not as early as we could have. Have those tracks too, but on the map it's obvious what you mean. Below about 3500 was covered with limited sharks, but certainly some fallen tree features. . I'd guess guess 2-3' but pretty rock hard and covered with tree debris. Skied car to car. But certainly more survival skiing in the lower trees. Don't think I took any pictures lower down.
Just to fact check myself I played a bit with the link below:
http://avalanche.state.co.us/accidents/statistics-and-reporting/
At first the numbers look like the skiers are getting into avalanches more but that's with data going back to the 1950s. If you deselect all years and then start adding them back in from 1995 to 2016 it doesn't look so good for sledders. Then start taking...
http://avalanche.state.co.us/accidents/statistics-and-reporting/
At first the numbers look like the skiers are getting into avalanches more but that's with data going back to the 1950s. If you deselect all years and then start adding them back in from 1995 to 2016 it doesn't look so good for sledders. Then start taking...
author=freeski link=topic=37687.msg153097#msg153097 date=1485815892]
I'd guess that there are more skiiers venturing into avy and avy terrain start zones then snowmobiles.
We also go out on storms days where avys can and do happen in the tree line glades and terrain traps. Some folks even head to more serious avy terrain during high hazard.
Snowmobiles have a hard time in deep powder and no base.
You have to be a...
author=heinzsd link=topic=37746.msg153067#msg153067 date=1485794574]
You must be the snowboarders we met, thanks for the beta on the trainwreck, twas good. I put a few pics and tracks up incase thats helpful to any: http://www.medicalmooselabs.com/rubymountain
I notice that your track leaves the road at the Happy Creek trailhead, which is the same way shown in the Volken guidebook. It's much better to stay along the highwa...
author=Jim Oker link=topic=37751.msg153087#msg153087 date=1485807085]
I'd imagine, though, that it might be possible to ski the north glades of Wright and then simply ascend back toward the Snow outlet when it's time to head home for the day...
I think that is possible on the more due E slopes (generally gentle glades above feeding into some bigger avy paths). You'd either have to go all the way to the middle...
author=kamtron link=topic=37751.msg153086#msg153086 date=1485805453]
Good to see Wright peak getting some love. I discovered it for myself this season and have enjoyed skiing from summit to Gem, off the NE side towards Middle Fork in good glades, as well as the descent back to Snow Lake.
We saw you guys as we transitioned at the bottom of the N slopes of Chair run. That had very nice consolidated powder snow. Some squalls came through around 2 pm a...
author=samthaman link=topic=37753.msg153058#msg153058 date=1485753128]Despite all the challenges, this was a really fun outing and a much needed dose of wilderness-time. I've been having a lot of fun at the resort this year, but sometimes there is no substitute for hiking for 13 hours to ski 3000 feet.
Quoted for truth - nice to check this one off the list!
Nice report. I keep wanting to get up there but keep doing other things. Even went out to try for it last winter but when we got on Snow Lake we could see that the southerly slopes up toward Gem/Wright were hammered by sun but that the slopes up toward Roosevelt were still lovely powder w/o tracks. I'd imagine, though, that it might be possible to ski the north glades of Wright...
Good to see Wright peak getting some love. I discovered it for myself this season and have enjoyed skiing from summit to Gem, off the NE side towards Middle Fork in good glades, as well as the descent back to Snow Lake.
We saw you guys as we transitioned at the bottom of the N slopes of Chair run. That had very nice consolidated powder snow. Some squalls came through around 2 pm and it was lightly raining as we skied out at about 3 pm. I imagine the snow has crusted most everywhere n...
We saw you guys as we transitioned at the bottom of the N slopes of Chair run. That had very nice consolidated powder snow. Some squalls came through around 2 pm and it was lightly raining as we skied out at about 3 pm. I imagine the snow has crusted most everywhere n...
Thank you for the report. Can you elaborate on the initial approach below 3K? Were you able to skin the whole way or was there a lot of uncovered ground/debris? Thanks!
Matt
Matt
author=freeski link=topic=37687.msg153073#msg153073 date=1485797730]
If there was such a thing. Please realize that most of us are lying in a vat of goo suppling power to the machine world. ;-)
I wish that the beings who are using us as batteries would send in an illusion of one of those winters with well over 100" of snow depth on the Snoqualmie telemetry and non-stop powder days in the big trees up...
author=Good2Go link=topic=37687.msg152917#msg152917 date=1485472893]
I first bought a snomo 11 years ago and had a lot of fun learning to ride it. I went to most of the snomo version of ski areas in WA to learn, and found it striking that the snomo community has a much lower perception of risk in the WA snowpack. They cover way more ground than skiers typically do, often hitting every aspect and elevation within a large area. I came to realize that the skiing...
author=Jake the Brit link=topic=37751.msg153069#msg153069 date=1485795644]
Ha. I can imagine.....
Nice TR & pics, very evocative
I'm know i should know, but I don't...what is that lump of rock in the rear of photo #2
Yup, you should know Jake! Kaleeten Peak from the NE.
author=lefty72 link=topic=37687.msg153057#msg153057 date=1485749517]
The best martinis have a thin layer of ice on top and 3 olives, preferably with a garlic clove or stuffed with cheese.
You can prove this theory while bartending @17BBI.
author=John Morrow link=topic=37751.msg153050#msg153050 date=1485740890]
-People were everywhere
Ha. I can imagine.....
Nice TR & pics, very evocative
I'm know i should know, but I don't...what is that lump of rock in the rear of photo #2
Wow! Nice work getting one of the crown jewels in wintertime. Good for you.
You must be the snowboarders we met, thanks for the beta on the trainwreck, twas good. I put a few pics and tracks up incase thats helpful to any: http://www.medicalmooselabs.com/rubymountain
author=telemack link=topic=37753.msg153065#msg153065 date=1485793701]
Excellent work. Many have looked but few have skied.
We got to the base of the summit couloir in slide-y conditions once, but it was socked in and we never got the views.
What were the snow and trail conditions like between Lena Lake and Lena forks? Several winters ago the trail was badly washed out.
They weren't too bad actually. Only a few r...