June 7, 2008, Castle Saddle/Alta Vista
6/7/08
2195
3
Suffering from partner gaps that prevented me from going to St. Helens on a group permit, Skierlyles and I cut the losses and headed for Rainier. An impressive amount of fresh for June.
Very sticky in the trees, but got more favorable as we approached the saddle. Sadly, the vis. declined as snow improved. One short run with 3-4" penetration, back up, then out to the car. Lots of natural slide on the steeper shots kept us cautious. Cutting the convexity above the middle cliff band, I sent some pinwheels that turned into 4-5 foot chunks. Hitched a ride from the lower lake by sticking out my thumb with skis still on; quite a show for the West VA couple who helped us out.
We next headed for Edith Creek meaning to ski to the road, but the snow was so heavy and the clouds so dense we just skinned Alta Vista. Good snow on the ridge, then a short drop to the west and back. Skierlyles's can of stout was quite refreshing in the refurbished Paradise Inn lobby.
Very bizarre conditions. A couple of spots we were in 2' of new. If the guys we saw hitting the S side of Castle Saddle read this I'd like to hear how it was. It's anyone's guess how long this will take to consolidate. Looking like a pretty cool summer.
Very sticky in the trees, but got more favorable as we approached the saddle. Sadly, the vis. declined as snow improved. One short run with 3-4" penetration, back up, then out to the car. Lots of natural slide on the steeper shots kept us cautious. Cutting the convexity above the middle cliff band, I sent some pinwheels that turned into 4-5 foot chunks. Hitched a ride from the lower lake by sticking out my thumb with skis still on; quite a show for the West VA couple who helped us out.
We next headed for Edith Creek meaning to ski to the road, but the snow was so heavy and the clouds so dense we just skinned Alta Vista. Good snow on the ridge, then a short drop to the west and back. Skierlyles's can of stout was quite refreshing in the refurbished Paradise Inn lobby.
Very bizarre conditions. A couple of spots we were in 2' of new. If the guys we saw hitting the S side of Castle Saddle read this I'd like to hear how it was. It's anyone's guess how long this will take to consolidate. Looking like a pretty cool summer.
I thought that was you Telemack!!! I was up there with my buddy (splitboardgraham) camping for the weekend hopig to get some goods. I remember thinking to myself that you looked really familiar!! Saw you in the lot about to enjoy your stout apres....also noted your track off Alta Vista. We ended up camping above Mazama Back Bowl and waking up to sun shine this morning....eneded up hitting Nisqually Chute. Cool to run into you....I shoulda said something!!
Right on, Andy. I'll PM you soon.
author=telemack link=topic=10265.msg41387#msg41387 date=1213014963]
If the guys we saw hitting the S side of Castle Saddle read this I'd like to hear how it was.
Nice to meet you guys. We had a good run on the S side, especially through the trees which helped with the limited vis. We found wind packed powder up top with about 8" ski penetration lower down. Lots of new snow to push around, and really better than expected from the glop we found at the car. it didn't get sluffy until we were near the bottom on a steeper section where we decided to turn around. Some big tree wells to avoid. We made a couple runs on N side, and set off some big pinwheels on a steeper roll. Commented several times about whether we could have gotten above the clouds going higher that day. Had considered going over to Mt Ruth and the Interglacier, but with poor vis thought the Tatoosh would be better. Then saw Amar's pics later, oh well! Was still a great day for June.
Reply to this TR
Please login first: