Alpen - Dasz or Haagen - Tal, May 16
5/15/08
3516
1
Ice cream or slurpy? What do you find when it's 90 down low?
I was up at 5 packing. I had planned to connect with DCM and ski the whole day, but work got in the way. So I put in a frazzled half day at work, and all the while, I could hear the siren song from my skis and gear in the back of my truck. Finally most of the fires had been hosed enough, if not actually out, and at 1 PM, I went in search of 90 degree snow.
55 minutes later I was packing my skis across the Alpental parking lot. I figured it would be safe, though maybe slushy. I made two runs up and down. There were a handful of ski patrol and workers on the slopes, but I didn't see anyone else skinning up. You know what? Those groomers really know how to serve corn! It was a wee bit sticky, but what a treat to ski in shorts, no coat, and have the whole dang slope to myself! At the top of the chair, there was a hot breeze blowing over the pass that made me feel like Dorothy and Toto in the field of poppies.
The snow was so forgiving and turnable, it made me look longingly across the valley to Snoqualmie Mt, where I hear rumors of a secret stash, and wondering if this snow would allow even I, of lowly intermediate tele skill, ski the secret s**t.
A serious question (and maybe better in the random tracks section)
- how do we evaluate avalanche safety in spring/summer snow? Does a pit provide any helpful information? Are there any signs previewing a full catastrophic slide? I don't remember Gary Brill's class addressing warm spring snow...but then I am a forgetful old geezer.
Edit ( just saw this thread. http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=9866.msg39719#msg39719)
Today - Definitely Ice Cream. Soft corn flavored ice cream.
I was up at 5 packing. I had planned to connect with DCM and ski the whole day, but work got in the way. So I put in a frazzled half day at work, and all the while, I could hear the siren song from my skis and gear in the back of my truck. Finally most of the fires had been hosed enough, if not actually out, and at 1 PM, I went in search of 90 degree snow.
55 minutes later I was packing my skis across the Alpental parking lot. I figured it would be safe, though maybe slushy. I made two runs up and down. There were a handful of ski patrol and workers on the slopes, but I didn't see anyone else skinning up. You know what? Those groomers really know how to serve corn! It was a wee bit sticky, but what a treat to ski in shorts, no coat, and have the whole dang slope to myself! At the top of the chair, there was a hot breeze blowing over the pass that made me feel like Dorothy and Toto in the field of poppies.
The snow was so forgiving and turnable, it made me look longingly across the valley to Snoqualmie Mt, where I hear rumors of a secret stash, and wondering if this snow would allow even I, of lowly intermediate tele skill, ski the secret s**t.
A serious question (and maybe better in the random tracks section)
- how do we evaluate avalanche safety in spring/summer snow? Does a pit provide any helpful information? Are there any signs previewing a full catastrophic slide? I don't remember Gary Brill's class addressing warm spring snow...but then I am a forgetful old geezer.
Edit ( just saw this thread. http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=9866.msg39719#msg39719)
Today - Definitely Ice Cream. Soft corn flavored ice cream.
Rusty thanks for being the Test case. I was kinda thinking that ,if anything the slopes of closed ski areas would be a good bet this weekend . for a bunch of reasons.
Reply to this TR
Please login first: