TR Replies
Nice! We were there exactly one week prior to you for 4 days. What an awesome place! We had weather and conditions all over the map, from hot and sunny, to rain, to wind, to... snow. Managed to find decent snow each day, but looks like you guys really scored with honest to god POW.
But don't tell me nobody hit the "shitkicker"?? Best line of our trip... and easiest access from the yurts, being only about 50 ft up the hill. :) (you can see the untracked run-in at 3...
But don't tell me nobody hit the "shitkicker"?? Best line of our trip... and easiest access from the yurts, being only about 50 ft up the hill. :) (you can see the untracked run-in at 3...
That tour qualified as "When you're in hell just keep going " and in a perverted way it was fun.
Mike your video is almost as fun as the skiing, fantastic, thanks!
Thanks for the write-up. It was a fabulous trip. Great snow and great company. Video here:
worth 3 minutes
thanks to our yurt neighbor Jason C for the across the valley clips of the Proboscis.
worth 3 minutes
thanks to our yurt neighbor Jason C for the across the valley clips of the Proboscis.
I hope your trip was one of those where "you don't have to be having fun to have fun".
Well, that certainly was a lesson!
Who knew it was possible for two experienced skiers to misjudge snow conditions so badly? And where did all those mega-runnels come from? The coral reefs under the trees were bad enough, but the tree wells were truly evil. That was an amazingly difficult thousand vertical feet of descent, especially considering it stretched on for two miles. I crashed six times, more than all the previous 39 days this winter combined!
Who knew it was possible for two experienced skiers to misjudge snow conditions so badly? And where did all those mega-runnels come from? The coral reefs under the trees were bad enough, but the tree wells were truly evil. That was an amazingly difficult thousand vertical feet of descent, especially considering it stretched on for two miles. I crashed six times, more than all the previous 39 days this winter combined!
yu a betta man dan Regine, Gunga Din; we turned around at the lot when the wind tried to blow the doors off the jeep and Regine could find nothing but hard ice crust under 2 inches of moving spindrift in the snow in the lower parking lot; I'm still playing it safe, as you know! Another injury could kill my bc skiing. How's YOUR knee? LOL
I lived at Irwin Lodge, just under Purple, for 3 years back in the 90's. I miss it...thanks for the pics! What a day....
Nice! You guys make terrible conditions into fun adventures... And awesome conditions into awesomeness!
Thanks for the great trip report. I've skied McCully Basin with Wallowa Alpine Huts but am always looking for other places to explore.
Looking good up there. Hoping to ski some San Juan BC before too long here! It would be good to hit the Elks and the CO Sangres this year too.
Great report! I looks like such interesting terrain. You can even see the Rim from the highway. 8)
author=danpeck link=topic=35970.msg146972#msg146972 date=1457561789]
Yeehaw! I'd have to say I've been lucky too lately hitting it just right. I should post more often ;D
Yes you should!
Thanks for the great pictures and post, what great fortune to get such a great picture of the Ptarmigan, that would sure make my trip.....skiing looks delicious too.
author=Zap link=topic=35981.msg147013#msg147013 date=1457666622]
Nice TR and photos. Is there a snow machine in the access? ;)
Hi Zap... not for this trip... the tour begins at the Slate River winter TH just out of town. I guess you could take a sled to the bridge (about 1.5-2 miles from the car), but most just skin out and back on the flat summer road.
ScottK of Seattle and I did do a trip a couple weeks prior where w...
Nice TR and photos. Is there a snow machine in the access? ;)
I cut two pretty decent wind deposits at the top of Diamond Bowl off Spanky's Ladder at Blackcomb one afternoon last week. It was snowing and blowing and I couldn't see squat and it was slightly unnerving. Decided it was time for the hot tub. Lift skiing can be sketchy too!
So ditto for BC, Glacier Chair danger obs.
So ditto for BC, Glacier Chair danger obs.
Wow. That looks like it doesn't suck.
Those corduroy groomers were quite nice yesterday afternoon and evening too, as were both front and back side runs where the new snow fell on smooth surface and no one had skied yet.
Sweet! I miss the easy access, great skiing, and beautiful scenery. I should have stayed a few more weeks to catch the powder.
Skiing is fun yep. You don't know if you don't go. Vertical farming Pacific Crest on perfect groomers was fine fun for an old geezer and a young Vertfester with excellent gear selection (just like mine, hehe.) Nice NE breeze kept the precipitation drier when it began around midday. Good exercise, but too slow to get to Silver Fir lodge in time for Bacon Blue Burgers. :(
Good way to start the day... far exceeded the vertical farming Hyak dawn patrol missions of late. Nice to get out amongst the trees. Here are a few images. Poorly edited video to drop later. Edit: still learning how to shoot video, evidently. all came out as photos.
Navigating up towards waterfall. Headlamps weren't actually totally required, DST will take care of that soon though, for a little while
Navigating up towards waterfall. Headlamps weren't actually totally required, DST will take care of that soon though, for a little while
Yeehaw! I'd have to say I've been lucky too lately hitting it just right. I should post more often ;D
Cuttin' slabs in Crystal turned out to be pretty good training for Fieberbrunn!
" should be as good or better tomorrow "
Not so quick
See todays NWAC forecast
http://www.nwac.us/
Not so quick
See todays NWAC forecast
http://www.nwac.us/
Erik covered most of it, but I thought I'd throw a link to the blahg, with a few more details and my own set of photos:
https://beyondtheranges.wordpress.com/2016/03/08/skiing-across-the-enchantments/
https://beyondtheranges.wordpress.com/2016/03/08/skiing-across-the-enchantments/
Front range and I-70 is tricky. Lots of people and rules. Not so different from the Pugetopolis side of WaWa really.
Northern New Mexico has a totally different vibe. Welcome. Go for a tour above Williams lake, ski to the Bavarian, then have a litre of good beer in the sun on the deck at 10,000 ft. Welcome.
Northern New Mexico has a totally different vibe. Welcome. Go for a tour above Williams lake, ski to the Bavarian, then have a litre of good beer in the sun on the deck at 10,000 ft. Welcome.
You think the "Ranger" was hostile to you? That's actually pretty nice for them that they didn't call the sheriff. Try not paying the $6 and see how nice he is after that. Vail pass still makes me mad. They want you to pay $6 per person to access public land with no trails. All the sno-machine trails are on the other side of the freeway. And the parking lot is maintained and plowed by CDOT, as there is a rest area right there. Its a c...
I dig the black & white photography of late. Brooding would be an understatement, unless I was a girl chicken!
Yeah buddy yes please sure you betcha sounds great thanks!
Great SkiSickness bump!
Want a helmet for the lil nugget?
Want a helmet for the lil nugget?
Thank you for the great story Lowell - and thanks for reposting the stories you shared at meany as well. There's little doubt that without your passion and interest this would be off of most people's radar. I feel blessed to have been able to participate in such a cool event.
A huge thank you to the patrol race committee, the mountaineers and the other volunteers -
Thanks for sharing the group shot of all of us jtack! I've been hoping that one of those woul...
A huge thank you to the patrol race committee, the mountaineers and the other volunteers -
Thanks for sharing the group shot of all of us jtack! I've been hoping that one of those woul...
We were wandering up Smith Brook rd mid morning Saturday enjoying the unexpected blue skies and bright Sun with no particular objective when the solar heating on the cliff bands on the S. Side of Union released some impressive tree snapping wet slides that sounded like a 747 taking off. We immediately exited the area!
FYI, some POS was breaking into cars parked at Smith Brook. We were lucky and did not get hit . Watch out along 2.
FYI, some POS was breaking into cars parked at Smith Brook. We were lucky and did not get hit . Watch out along 2.
There was plenty of parking in the Heather Ridge lot when we went by at 8:15, and plenty of parking when we parked there at around noon. I'm certain the lots never filled.
I don't think we waited longer than 3 minutes in any lift lines, and most were ski-on 12-5pm. The skiing was fun, but no different from groomer/bump skiing at any PNW resort.
I don't think we waited longer than 3 minutes in any lift lines, and most were ski-on 12-5pm. The skiing was fun, but no different from groomer/bump skiing at any PNW resort.
Actually there is useful information here though you don't give times, to get to yodelin from anywhere takes some time, and to decide it's not worth it takes some time, and driving back to the ski area takes some time. So the fact that you found a place to park at around 1pm I'm guessing is a pretty useful bit of information for a lot of late comers.
Throw in my two cents about an awesome day in the mountains. Thanks to all the volunteers that worked so hard to make this happen, pretty awesome. And a big thanks to Nigel and Pat for getting this thing resurrected for what will hopefully be a continued PNW tradition for many years. Also, nice job to all the other teams that slogged 20 soggy miles and arrived with smiles at Meany. Gotta say, no other skimo race that I've been to offers hot showers, in house massage, amazing all you can eat...
author=packrat link=topic=35914.msg146861#msg146861 date=1457202658]
I think you should post a video of you guys singing that song. :)
I'd love to, if I knew where find a video. Some folks were taking cell phone pictures, but I don't know if they were stills or video. I didn't keep track of who they were.
If anyone has a video, I'd like to get a copy.
nice pics J&J. sign me up!
and thank you for the report dbkiker
and thank you for the report dbkiker
Thanks for the write up.
I think you should post a video of you guys singing that song. :)
I think you should post a video of you guys singing that song. :)
...and a mere 1/2 day away over past the Dragon's teeth hotel, the N side of Temple Ridge
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Threadjack....I apologise.
But who wouldn't;t want to go here....
Coney Lake chutes
But who wouldn't;t want to go here....
Coney Lake chutes
That's what you get for skiing near the 1% ers. If only us backcountry skiers weren't such Trump-losers...
Jake nailed it. You pull the bandaid off quickly by going up Rat Creek. And you get to do fun things up there. Photos by Jake:
I could be persuaded to go up through the terrain in Rat Creek again, the exciting thrash up the initial bump beats that eternal road. I hate that road, almost as much as the Stuart Lake trail aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Above the bump, it's a peachy tour, past some radical ice features rarely climbed by the local wildlife!
Above the bump, it's a peachy tour, past some radical ice features rarely climbed by the local wildlife!
i really don't know how you stayed so calm and collected. gunna remember that condo thing.