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Topic: Mount Saint Helen's - 2008, June 16 (worm flows route) (Read 2892 times)
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skierlyles
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Posts: 270
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Ethan (doublee), Joe Bell (snowbell)and I headed out to MSH on sunday night and found a fully melted out parking lot/ road to marblemount (still no climber's bivy). We slept in temps hovering at freezing with a huge moon in the sky and enjoyed some beers with another foursome.
We awoke at 4:15 due to the diligence of Ethan and after a quick attempted cuddle by snowbell, a quick push off and we were all ready to go and mostly unscathed by the event. Joe sounded the horns which signaled the exit from the tent... after some slow moving, tent packing, gear arranging , we were on our way by 5:15.
Snow was continuous from the parking lot and no de-skiing was necessary. We made decent time to treeline and found the one patch we had to carry skis for (5 feet). The rest of the morning we experienced mostly agreeable snow for skinning and only experienced slippage early in the day before the snow had a chance to soften up and mainly in the hidden shaded spots. Lots and lots of switchbacks later and we were at the summit and totally stoked! Only experienced a few areas where skinning was a challenge- the beginning of the tour (shaded aspects) and the end of the tour( steeper line looker's right of the climber's staircase route near the moraine shoulder). This also was the best skiing of the day and proved to be the best "corn" we had all day. So from the summit we headed back over to skier's left near the moraine shoulder and dropped as close to the shoulder as we could. These turns were a buttery consistency just an hour or so past it's prime. Beggars we were, and we took what mother nature gave us- 5,000 vert of goodness! The descent line we took was scoped out on the way up and from my memory of last year... we decided to keep left and follow that worm flow down and search out the mostly untracked snow that lie within it. Beautiful halfpipe formations and dramatic backdrops of Adams, Hood, Jefferson, and possibly 3 sisters (if anybody knows what the faintly outlined mtn is to the right of Hood let me know) were everywhere, and they provided for a great environment on an amazing ski descent.
Along the way the snow ranged from too ripe corn, to sloppy snowcone, and everything in between. It was easy to ski and only became sticky for a 300 vert foot section somewhere around 6500 and then changed back until 6000 to heavy corn and seemed really sloppy below 5000 ish. Sorry no altimeter on me so could not be sure (Joe let me know if you have any corrections). We enjoyed the many meandering wormflows on the way down and even found a few overhanging formations to huck (pic below of joe and hood in the background). Once down to treeline we were able to find a perfect route right back to the normal route and thus our tree run began. Lots of poling and skating had us all the way back to the car and marblemount parking lot at 1pm. So almost an 8 hour day with lots of breaks on the way up and two summit breaks as well.
The getting is still good up there folks... also don't let the lack of weekend passes dishearten you. You can also check in with the lone fir resort to see if there are any cancellations and they will hook you up.
Thanks to Ethan for driving and to Joe Bell for nothing.
Good times were had by all!
Our trip was completed by taking a quick walk into the ape caves and since we had very little candle power we went in then left after 30 feet...
video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bd9E_sVjLQ
pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/christopherlyles/Msh?authkey=q6vTiXa0jxQ&pli=1&gsessionid=iWng2TdFRPZUUNEVsH6Pgg
Chris
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Stugie
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Nice gettin'! There's some really good natural halfs on the worm flows! Looks like a great trip!
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"The mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals; the houses where I practice my religion." - Anatoli Boukreev
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samthaman
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nice job guys, glad you got some great snow up there.
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Randy Beaver
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Way to get it! I'm looking for redemption now...........
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The mountain might get 'em, but the law never will
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skierlyles
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Way to get it! I'm looking for redemption now...........
and yes of course- thanks to randy beaver for some beta! awesome trip, thanks for making it safer too. all the climbers were glad that the slabs were already triggered.
c
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Scotsman
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We awoke at 4:15 due to the diligence of Ethan and after a quick attempted cuddle by snowbell,
Joe's cuddling attacks are definitely another danger one has to be on the look out for on trips with him!
Nice TR, and nice half-pipe steeze from the "mad cuddler".
Wish I could have gone.
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Snow Bell
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(Joe let me know if you have any corrections)
Nope.
Thanks to Ethan for driving and to Joe Bell for nothing.
Any time.
B.T.W.: for anyone who may be touring with Chris; he gets all weird when you try to cuddle him. Maybe his family was not very affectionate. Don't let this dissuede you. He'll come around and find that cuddling on ski trips is just another natural and beautiful aspect of the sport that we love. So remember to cuddle Chris every chance that you get. It is really a win-win situation. 
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Life is going to slide by you one way or another
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Snow Bell
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...forgot to mention not a sight or sound of a snowmobile all day long. Maybe we were lucky or maybe they all work full time for gas money and only show up on the weekends. Either way, the peace and quiet is a major factor in the enjoyment for me.
and:
Joe's sweet cuddlings are definitely another benefit one gets to enjoy on trips with him!
Nice TR, and nice half-pipe steeze from the "mad cuddler".
Wish I could have gone.
= JEALOUS
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Life is going to slide by you one way or another
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Double E
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Hella fun times, thanks again for joining me for this, guys! 
Sigh... *one* of these days I'll get my photos organized and captioned and uploaded to the interwebz ....
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GoldMember
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and yes of course- thanks to randy beaver for some beta! awesome trip, thanks for making it safer too. all the climbers were glad that the slabs were already triggered.
So I take it stability is good? We're looking at July 1 for a climb/ski day. Anything you can add to your already excellent TR?
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Charlie Hagedorn
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So I take it stability is good? We're looking at July 1 for a climb/ski day.
The snow will be different on July 1.
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GoldMember
5Member
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The snow will be different on July 1.
Undoubtedly. I'm just trying to get a sense of how conditions were compared to a week or so ago. Sounds like the warmth may be consolidating the pack a bit, or at least I'm hoping so.
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Snow Bell
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So I take it stability is good? We're looking at July 1 for a climb/ski day. Anything you can add to your already excellent TR?
Stability seemed good for us. No hollowness or sluffing. The slides that we saw (4) from the previous weekend were all on the same aspect (just south of east) and appeared to be a result of wind loading from the previous snowfall. I was not at all concerned on other aspects (nearly all south facing). I tend to think that what was going to slide, slid and that without new snowfall, stability will continue to be sound*.
*Past returns do not guarantee future results
Another bit that may be helpful: Somewhere just above what I think is the climbers bivy; at about 4-4.5K, drop climbers left just a bit before the trail proper works right of a rocky ridge. Working left here will allow you consistant skinning vs. a carry for several hundred feet up and across the rocky ridge. I'm sorry not to have the precis altitude but if you look for it you will see what I mean.
Good luck.
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Life is going to slide by you one way or another
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GoldMember
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Thanks! That's helpful. I kind of was guessing that the late snowfall might have been what was triggering. Now that we're getting some heat, hopefully things will be pretty consolidated. I read the Fuhrer's Thumb TR from Rainier (6' crown a week ago) and it got me wondering.
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skierlyles
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Posts: 270
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Nice pics ethan... they really do look sweet. What a good day out on the mountain!
Chris
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