October 25, 2003, Pinnacle Glacier, Mt. Rainier
10/25/03
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
3530
5
Well,6 years of ski streaking has come and gone,as of October 25,2004. I can't wait for the real stuff to start falling out of the sky, and hanging around in decent quantities.
Lara Pazemenas, Dave Metallo,Adam Gorski, and myself took off from the bottom of the Pinnacle Peak trail early Saturday morning. We'd scoped out the Pinnacle "Glacier",and had high hopes of some reasonable turns. (Look it up; it's listed as a glacier as recently as 1984 USGS topos!). After an hour+ of hiking,with a quick bushwhack thrown in for good measure,we reached the basin, and found just a rock-strewn sheet of ice. It was our lucky day,however; the recent snows has left an 8-foot wide strip of skiable stuff around the perimeter. We made 3 turns, and skidded to a stop a hundred feet below, taking care not to bounce our asses off of the ice and rock of the "glacier".
We weren't finished yet, however. We trudged up the slope to the saddle between Castle and Pinnacle Peaks, and headed west toward Plummer Peak. We'd spied a "killer" snowfield on the summit. At least it LOOKED big from afar. (One of our discoveries about the Tatoosh is the size and distance inflation which occurs there.) When we reached the snowfield, it yielded all of a hundred feet in length, and 50 feet of vert! 3 turns, done, redo. We termed this trip one of the most amusing in the legacy of streakdom. At least the scenery was great, and the weather warm!
Lara Pazemenas, Dave Metallo,Adam Gorski, and myself took off from the bottom of the Pinnacle Peak trail early Saturday morning. We'd scoped out the Pinnacle "Glacier",and had high hopes of some reasonable turns. (Look it up; it's listed as a glacier as recently as 1984 USGS topos!). After an hour+ of hiking,with a quick bushwhack thrown in for good measure,we reached the basin, and found just a rock-strewn sheet of ice. It was our lucky day,however; the recent snows has left an 8-foot wide strip of skiable stuff around the perimeter. We made 3 turns, and skidded to a stop a hundred feet below, taking care not to bounce our asses off of the ice and rock of the "glacier".
We weren't finished yet, however. We trudged up the slope to the saddle between Castle and Pinnacle Peaks, and headed west toward Plummer Peak. We'd spied a "killer" snowfield on the summit. At least it LOOKED big from afar. (One of our discoveries about the Tatoosh is the size and distance inflation which occurs there.) When we reached the snowfield, it yielded all of a hundred feet in length, and 50 feet of vert! 3 turns, done, redo. We termed this trip one of the most amusing in the legacy of streakdom. At least the scenery was great, and the weather warm!
Hey Greg, glad you guys had such a fun day. With the left over snow being so pathetic, you guys seemed to make your own lemonade from a bushel of lemons. Kudos to you for the effort. Isn't that Pinnacle "Glacier" something ;D ;D
Yeah, it's something, as opposed to nothing, but not much of a discernable difference. Can't wait to try it when the basin's full of pow and not "ow"...Greg ;)
Nice save, Greg.
And heavy acolades for getting to six years.
(although sometimes at this time of year I get flashes of feeling like some sort of helpless, pathetic, drug addict ;) )
Those are fave Tatoosh destinations of mine too. Skiing "Plummer Chute" down the north side through it's hourglass at the bottom has always been at the top of our spring tour list. I'm getting juiced just thinking about it!
Come on Snow!!
And heavy acolades for getting to six years.
(although sometimes at this time of year I get flashes of feeling like some sort of helpless, pathetic, drug addict ;) )
Those are fave Tatoosh destinations of mine too. Skiing "Plummer Chute" down the north side through it's hourglass at the bottom has always been at the top of our spring tour list. I'm getting juiced just thinking about it!
Come on Snow!!
Hi neighbor. So, I'm sitting mid-point in a mountain of steel,conrete and glass today and reading your trip report....
You know..... even if your skies are gouged by lava rocks (but not lost), both poles are bent, most of the trip vertical is completed by sliding on various body parts, mosquitoes draw 4 pints of blood on the way to and from the "stash", you're lost for two days bushwacking because your GPS batteries died - and then another day 'cause you saw a nice snow field on the map that looked "good" - and then another day after you threw the "worthless" map away, your car dies - then gets nailed by a Semi on the way home, your dog bites you when you get home, you lose your job for being "late" to work.....
It's still all better than a desk job.
Live Long to Ski More
You know..... even if your skies are gouged by lava rocks (but not lost), both poles are bent, most of the trip vertical is completed by sliding on various body parts, mosquitoes draw 4 pints of blood on the way to and from the "stash", you're lost for two days bushwacking because your GPS batteries died - and then another day 'cause you saw a nice snow field on the map that looked "good" - and then another day after you threw the "worthless" map away, your car dies - then gets nailed by a Semi on the way home, your dog bites you when you get home, you lose your job for being "late" to work.....
It's still all better than a desk job.
Live Long to Ski More
Thanks, Bruce. Ask Lara about our tribute to you. She's got fotografik evidence to show. Good partners are not easy to find, so we carry you with us even when you can't be there.
I once heard, "The descent is funner than the ascent.", but you've got to find the descendable stuff to make it all worth it.
See you soon....Greg
I once heard, "The descent is funner than the ascent.", but you've got to find the descendable stuff to make it all worth it.
See you soon....Greg
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