TR Replies
The grass I'm imagining would lay down under the weight of the snow and has blades which provide a bed surface and would be extremely slippery with a thin layer of weak snow or facets over them. I suppose there are all sorts of grass and some varieties clumpier and stronger than others. We've got some Karl Foerster in the yard that's pretty sturdy.
Got a picture of what the butte looks like late fall before first snow? I'm having a tough time picturing large wildf...
Got a picture of what the butte looks like late fall before first snow? I'm having a tough time picturing large wildf...
Thanks guys.
Grass is a bad anchor - even if it is tall bunch grasses (very common here) and large wildflower remnants? I thought it might act like a webbing through the snow.
Grass is a bad anchor - even if it is tall bunch grasses (very common here) and large wildflower remnants? I thought it might act like a webbing through the snow.
Amar - congrats on discovering happiness and the informative posts and number 1000! Garth
What kamtron said. Grassy slope does not provide anchor, often the opposite. Observationally, it also seems pretty common for facets to persist in and around grass.
author=pabloson link=topic=37638.msg152515#msg152515 date=1484775025]
I'm confused about Avy risk in this terrain. I mean when I dig and probe, I usually go through to ground which is very grassy. I'm assuming the grass is a good anchor, but don't have much experience analyzing these shallow snowpacks. Therefore we skied on slopes less than 25 degrees. There are some big cornices and pillows. I just stay away.
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I think MRNP should carve out a permanent lifetime honorary position for you with a direct line of influence on gate openings/closings and weather data technology, in my humble opinion.
Thanks Jeff (and Kam) -
In the Land of the Six Sided Snowflake I think would be safe to say... which is certainly better than the current Land of Big Fat Globules of Water :-[ ;)
author=shred link=topic=37629.msg152481#msg152481 date=1484700375]
Main Island or Hokkaido?
In the Land of the Six Sided Snowflake I think would be safe to say... which is certainly better than the current Land of Big Fat Globules of Water :-[ ;)
Simply amazing. Wonderful photos. Thanks!!!
Should've skied to the hot springs for the full experience ;-)
Nice
Nice
Thanks for the kind words, folks.
I've just updated the TR to include days 2 and 3, which were left blank in the original report posted last night.
I've just updated the TR to include days 2 and 3, which were left blank in the original report posted last night.
Looks great! Main Island or Hokkaido? Sushi or Ramen for dinner? Double Arigato! :D
author=runcle link=topic=37626.msg152466#msg152466 date=1484673584]
If there is no one at Longmire to retrieve the key from will the rangers assist or are you there for the night?
The Longmire Inn is open every day of the year and the door is open all night, as far as I know. There is a buzzer by the front desk to call staff when they are not at the desk, so presumably that should work even late at night.
There is no e...
Congratulations! That is quite a milestone!
If there is no one at Longmire to retrieve the key from will the rangers assist or are you there for the night?
If there is no one at Longmire to retrieve the key from will the rangers assist or are you there for the night?
285 days on that route...wow. You must know where every exposed rock is at.....in a whiteout!
Congrats on 1000+
Congrats on 1000+
Congrats and thanks for the photos. Trenchtown is life.
Congrats on your 1000th day, Amar!
Too deep for the snowfield!
Glad to see you're getting after it
Glad to see you're getting after it
Thanks for the nice photos, Amar; those snow conditions really looked exceptional!
Our 2 cars arrived at Longmire at 6:15pm, long after gate closure, but getting out was no hassle at all: simply sign the log book inside Longmire Inn, leave your driver's license, and they hand you the key to go open the gate yourself (that last part was new procedure to me, the desk clerk used to come out and open the gate for you during the last few years).
Phew! What an amazing amount of snow, clear, no wind, what a day!
author=WhiteyWhite link=topic=37609.msg152443#msg152443 date=1484619900]
Sweet! What was the name of the sushi place? I'll be in Otaru in 1 week, and looking for any beta!
The last picture is of the sushi bar's business card. Maybe Google translate can help decipher it into some thing useful for anglophones
author=telemack link=topic=37614.msg152445#msg152445 date=1484624479]
Nice pix, and it's good to hear conditions are normalizing.
Two knee droppers = Traders of the Lost Art! :)
All four of us, telemack, thanks!
Weather Forecasts and Telemetry:
Extraordinary unusual deep-powder snow conditions on the Muir Snowfield should require extraordinary unusual weather conditions, right? But my normal viewing of the NWS Rainier forecasts and the NWAC telemetry throughout the 3-day snowfall period during the early part of the week showed nothing extraordinary or unusual at all, nothing that gave me a clue that snow conditions at high elevations like Muir would be so astounding and deep.
Extraordinary unusual deep-powder snow conditions on the Muir Snowfield should require extraordinary unusual weather conditions, right? But my normal viewing of the NWS Rainier forecasts and the NWAC telemetry throughout the 3-day snowfall period during the early part of the week showed nothing extraordinary or unusual at all, nothing that gave me a clue that snow conditions at high elevations like Muir would be so astounding and deep.
Continued from previous post . . .
Then a fast cruise on nice powder again for most of the remaining stretch to Paradise, as the flatter terrain here is too flat to get much solar radiation from the low sun this time of year, and only the steeper rolls and features had any crust.
Same view of Rainier as the morning, but in the twilight at 5:30pm.
As I c...
Then a fast cruise on nice powder again for most of the remaining stretch to Paradise, as the flatter terrain here is too flat to get much solar radiation from the low sun this time of year, and only the steeper rolls and features had any crust.
Same view of Rainier as the morning, but in the twilight at 5:30pm.
As I c...
Nice pix, and it's good to hear conditions are normalizing.
Knee droppers sharing laps and photos = Traders of the Lost Art! :)
Knee droppers sharing laps and photos = Traders of the Lost Art! :)
Sweet! What was the name of the sushi place? I'll be in Otaru in 1 week, and looking for any beta!
Inversion was quite something today (1/16). 10 degrees F at the parking lot, close to 40 at 5000ft. Still some nice snow to be found in shaded trees.
Leavenworth is the best ...Go get some before its gone !!! X
Two Brits skiing in Lundin. So appropriate.
Nice photos Jake!
Nice photos Jake!
author=Pete_H link=topic=37613.msg152414#msg152414 date=1484539811]
How were conditions on that aspect of cashmere? Wind effected at all?
No wind effect but still rocky. Thanks if that was your skin track up to the crest.
John, good to hear you are off the couch! Ran into one your partners in crime the other day, hope the turns were good.
Hey John, good to know you're out there.
I have not seen that perspective on the Enchantments before. It's a good view on Colchuck & neighbors.
I have not seen that perspective on the Enchantments before. It's a good view on Colchuck & neighbors.
How were conditions on that aspect of cashmere? Wind effected at all?
Love the 2nd pic. Saw on the WSDoT website that all the passes were sunny while we languished under gloomy, overcast skies in Ellensburg. Nice skiing at the golf course, teaching a lesson.
It's amazing how some people can manage to end up pissed off instead of joyful on a sunny day with powder snow.
Hey I also summited Rocky Butte this week! Then they ruined it with the gravel. There could be some decent tree skiing up there with another three feet of base.
author=discostew link=topic=37563.msg152290#msg152290 date=1484254035]
if i'm following in someone's track and i get a chance to speak to him/her, i will always say thanks and offer to take over, and the trailbreaker always gets to drop in first. if, however, anyone tells me where/where not to ride, and how to make turns, i will arc a few 100m long 100m wide trenches and do my best to make sure that he/she crosses them, cause f@#k those people
<...
Yes, completely agree with Onward, and agree that anyone who raises a voice or tone in the BC is violating the biggest rule of all: don't be a dick. I wish the original poster hadn't had this experience, and thank him for keeping it cool when he rightfully could have started a dust up.
Lower elevation trees 1/13 (skier compacted)
W and N facing treed terrain was great Thursday below 5000' there until getting low enough to hit a surface melt/freeze crust that was borderline merciless. Above was BTS.
Yes, Onward has nailed it. We all agree. Be nice. Have fun. Be considerate.
author=wingy link=topic=37563.msg152342#msg152342 date=1484341628]
i'm with Scotsman. my first year i the backcountry was 1993 on teton pass (50 days), and his rules and reaoning were generally the same i picked up that winter from my elders, and will certainly teach my children.
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i like the idea of older BC folk teaching the younger. it's a great tradition for back country travelers of all sorts
Thanks Zap - us working stiffs are with you in spirit - working on not-working soon. Cheers.
i'm with Scotsman. my first year i the backcountry was 1993 on teton pass (50 days), and his rules and reaoning were generally the same i picked up that winter from my elders, and will certainly teach my children.
beyond his stated reasoning, crossing skin-track has much bigger consequences as things get deeper (injuries to skiers crossing skin-tracks); micro-terrains block visibility and people lemming down such that many passes destroy the skin track (and/or cause someone to c...
beyond his stated reasoning, crossing skin-track has much bigger consequences as things get deeper (injuries to skiers crossing skin-tracks); micro-terrains block visibility and people lemming down such that many passes destroy the skin track (and/or cause someone to c...
Good season to be retired! (Is there a bad season for that? 8))
I was out at Lake Ann Saturday 1/7, and was kind of disappointed. Snow in the trees was good but anything open was highly variable (as in changing within in feet) from thinner/soft wind transport to full on crust (from the sun I assume). A wide spread thin breakable crust was most common. Overall a fun day out, but thought the slope following the summer trail drainage would have been more protected.