TR Replies
Well that looks unbelievable. I particularly like the flip book effect of the "anatomy of a face shot" series. Thanks for the post!
Some of us are out there every day. We know what the weekend warriors are up to. Let's strive to ensure we all have the max fun for all. I'll be breaking trail tomorrow and I hope others will also have a great time.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Roadside blowhards and spooning tracks. Yuck on both fronts.
Look fine to me, wish I was there. If you have to blow over the skin track then do a hop and its all good. If you climb up the slope then ski down it however you chose, this ain't the Augusta Country club.
author=bwalt822 link=topic=37563.msg152205#msg152205 date=1484102639]
We played hookey from work to enjoy the bluebird powder day that was promised and it definitely paid off. Took three laps in cold fast boot top powder on Herman saddle and then followed a skin track up towards the south facing slope of Mt Herman where we were in for a treat. For we were following the skin track of the Queen Regent of Mt Herman himself!
Normally meeting Bagley L...
I find spiritual bliss in free and unconstrained high-speed GS turns that respond to the seductive curves of glacially sculpted slopes. I could never find peace in the totalitarian confines of a scripted Zen garden. To each their own.
Scott
Scott
Like many issues in the backcountry I've seen lately, it's about manners, and common decency. These goals are elusive in the age of Trump, but I suggest the following:
- defer to those that have set a skin track for you to follow, you owe them your day of pow
- enjoy your freedom to do as you wish
- help educate others that don't know what you know
I usually don't spend much time in popular areas so I don't have to deal w...
- defer to those that have set a skin track for you to follow, you owe them your day of pow
- enjoy your freedom to do as you wish
- help educate others that don't know what you know
I usually don't spend much time in popular areas so I don't have to deal w...
A powder slope is like an Etch a Sketch. It eventually all gets erased anyway.
We went up further today, just below slot. Found that crust you mentioned which disappeared climbers right of your track. Other than that, excellent conditions once again. Nothing moved except some sluff on steeper terrain. 8F up top does dry the snow out quite nicely indeed!
Figure 8s waste too much pow. We all need to work on farming turns a la the famed agrarian of the Wasatch.
Typically my touring partner opens the 8s and I close them.
It's hilarious how some Baker locals view Herman as their secret stash. Keep shredding and having fun!
The winds weren't hurting the snow for the most part except maybe near the very top of Herman saddle. Before that they were helping fill tracks if anything.
Scotsman, I agree that when possible we should try to take up as little snow as practical. I generally try to make my turns nice.
I also dont want to blow this situation up to much, this wasn't a shouting match or anything, just some comments directed our way. I was just trying to write about a w...
Scotsman, I agree that when possible we should try to take up as little snow as practical. I generally try to make my turns nice.
I also dont want to blow this situation up to much, this wasn't a shouting match or anything, just some comments directed our way. I was just trying to write about a w...
If you can't handle other people being around the LAST place you should be skiing is Bagely Lakes Basin. And getting bent about turns over a skin track is ridiculous. $&@# that guy. Ski as you wish.
How were the winds affecting snow quality during the day?
How were the winds affecting snow quality during the day?
Well, thanks for the reply.
I must beg to differ on the question of crossed, irregular tracks taking up a large portion of a slope, "bad handwriting" as you so aptly put it.
It's not a question of turns being closely nestled as in classic farming but turns being nicely spaced and not crossing. I guess it's a question of aesthetics.
Skiing a slope with you and your partners turns looking nice I think enhances the mountain whereas I cringe when...
I must beg to differ on the question of crossed, irregular tracks taking up a large portion of a slope, "bad handwriting" as you so aptly put it.
It's not a question of turns being closely nestled as in classic farming but turns being nicely spaced and not crossing. I guess it's a question of aesthetics.
Skiing a slope with you and your partners turns looking nice I think enhances the mountain whereas I cringe when...
We didnt get a chance to thank them. We were shouted at from a couple hundred feet above. It was a very nice skin track however.
Everyone it there that day was a follower including anyone who broke trail as this it's a week used area even on a Tuesday. It was the tone that was at issue.
The picture above wasn't from the area in question. Everyone skis differently including the radius of their turns so its not always practical to nest them...
Everyone it there that day was a follower including anyone who broke trail as this it's a week used area even on a Tuesday. It was the tone that was at issue.
The picture above wasn't from the area in question. Everyone skis differently including the radius of their turns so its not always practical to nest them...
You could have used today's snow--assuming that Walker got any. N
You are of course free to go wherever you choose and do what you want, however there are a few rules of back-county etiquette and style that if would be good to consider.
#1 if you follow somebodies skin track , on meeting them you should first thank them for it and compliment them on it.. hopefully you did.
#2 Not excusing his grumpiness... but you were" followers".
#3 Looking at the picture above, skintrack has been crossed and turns are all crossed and over the...
#1 if you follow somebodies skin track , on meeting them you should first thank them for it and compliment them on it.. hopefully you did.
#2 Not excusing his grumpiness... but you were" followers".
#3 Looking at the picture above, skintrack has been crossed and turns are all crossed and over the...
Ha! Awesome.
I'm pretty sure Silas and I ran into the queen at Bear Gap a few weeks ago. Good to see he's getting out.
I'm pretty sure Silas and I ran into the queen at Bear Gap a few weeks ago. Good to see he's getting out.
We were hearing hoots and hollers from the other side of the valley - figured it had to be good everywhere. So much snow - waterfall exit was in as well, though I put a big ass-mark near the bottom of the last drop.
heh, nice to see a close up of the tracks across the way today!
Some beautiful geologic tectonics in this latest deposit that all seemed to cohere quite nicely (more so than recent politics in any case!).
A whole month of goodness over there is good enough for me!
Some beautiful geologic tectonics in this latest deposit that all seemed to cohere quite nicely (more so than recent politics in any case!).
A whole month of goodness over there is good enough for me!
Upright canister stoves really struggle at those temperatures. The water bath would certainly make a real difference. Even better and easier would be to use an inverted canister stove such as MSR WindPro II. This stove will work easily at those temps with the canister inverted.
http://www.cascadedesigns.com/msr/stoves/gourmet-cooking/windpro-ii/product
This is a good write up for using this stove in cold, winter conditions
http://andrewskurka.com/2015/gear...
http://www.cascadedesigns.com/msr/stoves/gourmet-cooking/windpro-ii/product
This is a good write up for using this stove in cold, winter conditions
http://andrewskurka.com/2015/gear...
Some Chilean mountaineering friends first told me about the idea of a heat exchanger using copper. They coiled the wire around the canister and had the other end near the flame. Even they, who were not the safest climbers to learn from, thought it was kind of sketchy. But necessary in the very cold, high altitudes of the Andes.
E winds ramped up fast last week. In in situ we trust.
A couple of scintillating shots for your viewing pleasure!
Awesome Randy - looks like fun. I was possibly going in February but an injury is making it not possible. Maybe next year. Keep the pics coming. Cheers and Happy New Year.
What fun! Skiing in Japan is as much about the culture as it is the turns. I am green with envy!
author=rlsg link=topic=37546.msg152155#msg152155 date=1484012806]
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were you able to get a lot of freshies?
Sounds like Japan is having another fine season with huge snowfall.
Interestly the locals have been apologizing for the low snowpack this year. I think getting a clear day like Sunday is unusual.
Hey Silas! Did you see any whacky instabilities after the winds recently or was it all good. Headed early tomorrow and debating location to go for a few hrs. Thanks!
Was that you I saw when departing? Perhaps I'll never know, but I suspect I'll be seeing you tomorrow morning :)
Fun report. Thanks for sharing!
That looks to be the absolute ticket ...starting and ending that way...nice affordable accomdations and hot springs to boot...living the dream!!!
were you able to get a lot of freshies?
Sounds like Japan is having another fine season with huge snowfall.
were you able to get a lot of freshies?
Sounds like Japan is having another fine season with huge snowfall.
The necessity of floating lightly is what sent me to West this morning after riding mostly East this weekend. Fingers crossed what lurks beneath is more friendly at Alpy...
Good to see that it actually goes all the way in the right conditions!
I'm glad you had a good time up there, except of course for the "Sultan Shuffle" on Sunday evening. It's all too easy to underestimate the chill when riding on a snowmobile or sled for that long. And it can be even colder when skiing down a 7% grade for 45 minutes!
It was under a bunch of layers (not sure how many), but the batteries were cold to the touch during the battery change.
I'm particularly surprised that the beacon failed to send, even on cold batteries. After the 12/18/07 Edith Creek accident, I put a running Pieps DSP in the freezer and checked it approximately daily. The beacon continued to transmit long after the display had died, long after reaching 0%.
Receiving, on the other hand, requires far more current from...
I'm particularly surprised that the beacon failed to send, even on cold batteries. After the 12/18/07 Edith Creek accident, I put a running Pieps DSP in the freezer and checked it approximately daily. The beacon continued to transmit long after the display had died, long after reaching 0%.
Receiving, on the other hand, requires far more current from...
I'm wondering, was the beacon worn under any clothing layers, or outside of all clothing layers?
It might not make any difference with a battery as low as it sounds like this was. But it seems like wearing the beacon underneath some layers would keep the batteries warmer in general and might be a reasonable thing to do as a general practice.
I typically wear my beacon under a soft shell with a full length zipper, which makes it easy to access the beacon when you need t...
It might not make any difference with a battery as low as it sounds like this was. But it seems like wearing the beacon underneath some layers would keep the batteries warmer in general and might be a reasonable thing to do as a general practice.
I typically wear my beacon under a soft shell with a full length zipper, which makes it easy to access the beacon when you need t...
No pics this year. Couple from Jan 2016: https://www.flickr.com/photos/koelle/albums/72157663420950665
This is the "High Country" that is best accessed during good weather, obviously. In 2014 we went up Tamarack, and in 2016, Baldy, which is right next store.
This is the "High Country" that is best accessed during good weather, obviously. In 2014 we went up Tamarack, and in 2016, Baldy, which is right next store.
author=ErikT link=topic=37538.msg152124#msg152124 date=1483981225]
Do you recall the % of that beacon's battery at the beginning of the tour?
I don't; we didn't do a formal beacon check at the beginning of the tour. It was judged sufficient by both of us at the car to have heard the startup beep from the beacon in question, a now-obvious oversight.
In response to your question, I just checked the batteries we...
Cool, would love to see some pictures of the ski touring in that area
Best/least wind-destroyed snow we found was below 4500' and on SW-SE aspects, although the NW facing runs to Snow Lake were holding up too.
author=Charlie Hagedorn link=topic=37538.msg152100#msg152100 date=1483926967]
Biggest lesson from the day: Before we entered committing avalanche terrain at higher elevation, we did a beacon check. One of the beacons in the party, which had worked at the car, no longer functioned, presumably due to the cold. New batteries brought us back to normal, and we were on our way.
Whoah, nicely done. Do you recall the % of that beac...
Thanks everyone! This wasn't Williams, JPH has it. JPH, it was partially your old TR that inspired this trip (and a summer hike when I first noticed it).
Nice Dick pics! I tried skiing this in the spring and got cut off by a waterfall near the top of the Luke...then had the privilege of skiing rock covered snow all the way back to the PC trail. It definitely gets filled up from the basin above!
Sweet! Good work. Looks like your adventure tour "plan" worked out. Is this on Wilmans?
I have peered up this chute several times with dreams of skiing it. Nice work!
A few thoughts to add - yesterday's surface hoar in sheltered locations below treeline was buried intact by today's storm. As expected, the new snow came in warmer and more dense than what lies below.
'Slightly-slabby' refers to instabilities at the surface, probably confined to the new snow and new windslab from today's winds. The deepest slabs that moved for us were <10 cm thick and limited in spatial extent to ~3m in size. We flirted near the edge of ins...
'Slightly-slabby' refers to instabilities at the surface, probably confined to the new snow and new windslab from today's winds. The deepest slabs that moved for us were <10 cm thick and limited in spatial extent to ~3m in size. We flirted near the edge of ins...