TR Replies
Wow. Quite educational - thanks for the photos
Nice Jon, we had some good turns, but did not have the stable snow, I think I might have to go take a sample up that way, thanks for the report.
Surprisingly good turning snow with the exception of the heavily tree-bombed/dripped forest in the 4K-5K zone - I found the forest generally less bombed/dripped above, and softened enough by warmth below to also be quite fun. THe candyshell crust in the open made noise but was not too bad either. Good fun chasing the senior and his sitter all day; I was loving the light in the mid-afternoon; very layered cloudscape with great blues and grays.
author=kamtron link=topic=35516.msg145375#msg145375 date=1453217464]
So none of this, then:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1VqahPSEmk
Nope.
But we did see this on the way up the road:
Watch your back out there folks.
author=mikerolfs link=topic=35516.msg145373#msg145373 date=1453215138]
The valley in clouds with a skier above... So nice. Thanks for the report John!
Thanks Mike! Is it me or have we had am inversion pretty much all winter?
author=Pete_H link=topic=35516.msg145367#msg145367 date=1453184971]
You're poaching my pow stash!
That looks suspiciously a lot like the zone I've been hitting up a lot this year. In fact I almost went there today.
We probably recycled your skin track.
So none of this, then:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1VqahPSEmk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1VqahPSEmk
The valley in clouds with a skier above... So nice. Thanks for the report John!
author=avajane link=topic=35505.msg145358#msg145358 date=1453174388]
Those remotely triggered slopes didn't look very steep. What would you sat they were? Scary.
I wish we'd thought to measure the slopes. We didn't and I'm no good at guessing slope angles.
Nearby we found fog to 3500', blue skies with some clouds higher, east breeze (only on ridge crest), candy shell crust on open slopes below 4000', and soft but dense 6" powder above there on open south and west facing slopes. Tree bombs and drips had made craters and icy slopes. The views were nice in contrasty light! Nice illustrations Erik.
You're poaching my pow stash!
That looks suspiciously a lot like the zone I've been hitting up a lot this year. In fact I almost went there today.
That looks suspiciously a lot like the zone I've been hitting up a lot this year. In fact I almost went there today.
I did not dig deeply enough to find a layer "~50 + Sunday snow" down... pole penetration was much further than that, and quick visuals into those didn't reveal anything obvious, but I'd be surprised if that proved an effective method of looking for such a layer. I think our choice of aspect kept us away from the P.W.L., and the abundance of good snow kept us from seeking it out in isolated pockets where we might have found it. Small north facing steep rolls into creeks could...
author=Jake the Brit link=topic=35516.msg145359#msg145359 date=1453175250]
Nice to see some photo's from the Eastside. Looks great out there today!
Wish you could have joined us Jake! I even brought a bag of peanuts.
Thanks for the wonderful pictures and trip report, the snow looks fantastic!
Nice to see some photo's from the Eastside. Looks great out there today!
Those remotely triggered slopes didn't look very steep. What would you sat they were? Scary.
Good point, Kam. In a couple of spots, I dug into rolls/stumps/etc that would've reached a 50-cm layer, but no deeper. Not sure how deep Erik might've dug.
Your comment's gotten me pondering precisely where during the day we might've dug in a more targeted fashion. We toured all day on supportable snow less-than-boot-depth down, which may have been the warmer/denser snow. It's possible that we simply skied over it all, though we did ski emphatically at...
Your comment's gotten me pondering precisely where during the day we might've dug in a more targeted fashion. We toured all day on supportable snow less-than-boot-depth down, which may have been the warmer/denser snow. It's possible that we simply skied over it all, though we did ski emphatically at...
Up the valley in the Alpental backcountry I found it easy to release cohesive slabs confined to the recent storm snow on steep convexities and observed lots of debris in the gullies between the main knolls and exits from Stokes bowl.
Perhaps the different aspect (NE vs. south-facing) had something to do with it? Twas nice to see the sun :)
Perhaps the different aspect (NE vs. south-facing) had something to do with it? Twas nice to see the sun :)
Hi Charlie, I'm not surprised you didn't find hoar in hand pits. We found it was a solid 20-30 cm down on Saturday and probably much deeper since then. We didn't notice activity on that layer, either, just in the storm snow. It could also be that the solar aspect (as noted) and low elevation kept you away from the SH pockets, too.
Glad you got some good turns and sunshine up there!
Glad you got some good turns and sunshine up there!
Thermometer tells the weather story: Nearly the same temperature top to bottom, and plenty sunny (the measured temperature spikes whenever the sensor and backpack are exposed to prominent sunshine).
Wait a minute! What are these leathery looking devices Jamie is wrestling?!
Alpental resort proper was great yesterday. A thin rain crust down low early on but with the new snow this disappeared. Very sensitive layer 10" down though even in the sidecountry.
Nice report & very entertaining prose.
Nice tracks - I oogled them yesterday. What seemed like an abysmally crowded
weekend day matriculated into 3 fine Silver Basin runs and sweetly tired old legs. Like
the man said, "If you don't go, you don't know". Crystal had all hands on deck and
It was a fine afternoon.
weekend day matriculated into 3 fine Silver Basin runs and sweetly tired old legs. Like
the man said, "If you don't go, you don't know". Crystal had all hands on deck and
It was a fine afternoon.
Thanks for the information, all good stuff!
Nice report. It's good to read about wise choices and lowered expectations when faced with obvious hazard. Useful information and low ego move. Thanks.
Bruce
Bruce
You 're welcome Silas! Coming from you that's quite a complement :-) We skied perfect pow yesterday and hit the resort today. Was wondering whose tracks those were today. Glad you had a good day
cool pics, thanks for sharing. it was a beautiful day in the source lake valley looking up at Mt Snoqualmie.
Beautiful. My wife and I camped up there a few summers ago. Pretty good off trail travel up there during the summer. Special spot with some special effort getting up there.
Strong work! Not that surprising to see our skin track to the Elk-Obstruction saddle was gone - lots of wind activity there. Glad you got to re-use it elsewhere though!
Awesome use of a days light! That road is a nice toboggan run. I had forgotten the sprinkling of rocks, they just completed the tune on my old skis, and the limbo log.
Boy, that sounds ideal.
A couple friends and I skied in the Hurricane Ridge / Mt Angeles area on Saturday and can testify to the beautiful weather and snow conditions. Being able to ski all the way down the Deer Park road makes a fast day trip on the traverse sound really appealing.
A couple friends and I skied in the Hurricane Ridge / Mt Angeles area on Saturday and can testify to the beautiful weather and snow conditions. Being able to ski all the way down the Deer Park road makes a fast day trip on the traverse sound really appealing.
Nice work.. Sadly my dawn patrol days are over for now with a 7:00 am start time.
We was really lucky to use your trail for a while, but finally lost it ;(
http://mvkazit.blogspot.com/2016/01/meany-lodge-race-route-part-2.html
http://mvkazit.blogspot.com/2016/01/meany-lodge-race-route-part-2.html
Try dropping in mid bowl (near the sun 3rd pic). It's a great tour. We only had 1 car, so would stash running shoes at the slate river TH and have a cool down jog back to town/Kebler Pass (typically at dusk).
Pencil and eraser are also good. :)
I miss CB! Thanks for sharing the stoke!
Pencil and eraser are also good. :)
I miss CB! Thanks for sharing the stoke!
Nice trip report and photos. Your -11 temperature reminds me of a few/many years ago when we visited a couple in Fairplay,CO. Planning to go to Copper Mt and got up at -22. Waited until it got up to -10. Riding high speed quads is very, very, very cold. You and your buddies are "tough". ;)
Nice! Glad to see the report. These clear skies are great. But I'll take the storms on the way
Light was beautiful this morning, the turns were the icing.
author=ADappen link=topic=35437.msg145088#msg145088 date=1452556713]"It's amazing how long powder can last," Adam Vognild notes as we climb out of the hole we just sampled. It's true, the fluff we just skied fell over 10 days ago. Temperatures have warmed around the region and yet these north-facing slopes are coated with crystals as devoid of substance as the arguments of most political candidates.
We found the same thin...
Nice you will often be alone on that run as 5km-10km up the road with a sled is some of the best terrain on the Duffey and not crowds.