January 6, 2004, NE 90s Couloirs, Seattle
1/6/04
WA elsewhere
3452
4
I have had my eyes on these four lines for a long time, just waiting for them to be in. With snow at sea level, today was the day. Each is nicely narrow, hemmed in on both sides by large, block-like structures (which some call "houses", I think), and with open moats (referred to locally as "drainage ditches") in many places between the runs themselves and the block-like structures.
With my kids as spotters, I first headed for a run on NE 96th, which features the steepest pitch, but short and broken by a ledge about half way down (I have heard this called an "intersection"). From the top (~350' elevation), I could see that the snow on this run had become compacted in the middle, almost like a groomed run (I think this was due to the activities of persons often called "sledders"), but there was fresh powder on both edges - about 4", quite light and non-cohesive. Stability didn't seem to be an issue, so I went for it, starting off in the compacted middle for a few turns before plunging into the untracked powder on the edges. Big mistake! The surface underneath the 4" of light new was incredibly firm and rough (I have heard this surface called "pavement", but I think that's a French term), and instantly snagged my edges. I narrowly avoided doing a head-over-heels into a moat, but did recover and finished the run a little bit wiser about route selection. Good thing I had choosen my favorite rock skis, Karhu XCD GT waxless (I like these skis for this kind of skiing due to their large sidecut, ~8mm).
Here's a shot of me near the bottom of the NE 96th Couloir (taken by my daughter):
Next up: NE 94th, almost as steep as NE 96th and also with a ledge part way down, but much narrower due to blackberry brambles overhanging the moats into the edges of the run. Having learned my lesson, I stayed on the compacted middle part of the run, but still managed to catch an edge on the "pavement" due to hard edging on the steepest part. I stayed upright, though, and had no more problems on the rest of the run.
The NE 97th Couloir was next on the list: not as steep, but longer, of consistent grade, and unbroken by any ledges. This was one fantastic run! The compact snow down the middle was very uniform and provided for great turning (I even threw in some parallel turns), and because the run was not quite as steep, I was able to swoop into the powdery edges without incident (the quality of this powder, I must say, was a close second to what I skied two days earlier in the Cascades).
The grande finale: NE 98th. Four consecutive drops broken by three ledges, by far the longest continuous run in the area. An added bonus is the presence of both "chicanes" and "traffic circles" along the whole length of the run. Heavy "sledder" traffic had compacted the snow on this run perfectly, and I enjoyed turn after thigh-burning turn until I hit the flats at the bottom.
All-in-all, a day of skiing in the heart of Seattle which may never be matched for either the quality of the snow or the accessibility of all four Couloirs at the same time.
(Edit: Just looked at the Jan 2004 TRs board, and it is apparent that I posted this one in the wrong place, so I will move it)
With my kids as spotters, I first headed for a run on NE 96th, which features the steepest pitch, but short and broken by a ledge about half way down (I have heard this called an "intersection"). From the top (~350' elevation), I could see that the snow on this run had become compacted in the middle, almost like a groomed run (I think this was due to the activities of persons often called "sledders"), but there was fresh powder on both edges - about 4", quite light and non-cohesive. Stability didn't seem to be an issue, so I went for it, starting off in the compacted middle for a few turns before plunging into the untracked powder on the edges. Big mistake! The surface underneath the 4" of light new was incredibly firm and rough (I have heard this surface called "pavement", but I think that's a French term), and instantly snagged my edges. I narrowly avoided doing a head-over-heels into a moat, but did recover and finished the run a little bit wiser about route selection. Good thing I had choosen my favorite rock skis, Karhu XCD GT waxless (I like these skis for this kind of skiing due to their large sidecut, ~8mm).
Here's a shot of me near the bottom of the NE 96th Couloir (taken by my daughter):
Next up: NE 94th, almost as steep as NE 96th and also with a ledge part way down, but much narrower due to blackberry brambles overhanging the moats into the edges of the run. Having learned my lesson, I stayed on the compacted middle part of the run, but still managed to catch an edge on the "pavement" due to hard edging on the steepest part. I stayed upright, though, and had no more problems on the rest of the run.
The NE 97th Couloir was next on the list: not as steep, but longer, of consistent grade, and unbroken by any ledges. This was one fantastic run! The compact snow down the middle was very uniform and provided for great turning (I even threw in some parallel turns), and because the run was not quite as steep, I was able to swoop into the powdery edges without incident (the quality of this powder, I must say, was a close second to what I skied two days earlier in the Cascades).
The grande finale: NE 98th. Four consecutive drops broken by three ledges, by far the longest continuous run in the area. An added bonus is the presence of both "chicanes" and "traffic circles" along the whole length of the run. Heavy "sledder" traffic had compacted the snow on this run perfectly, and I enjoyed turn after thigh-burning turn until I hit the flats at the bottom.
All-in-all, a day of skiing in the heart of Seattle which may never be matched for either the quality of the snow or the accessibility of all four Couloirs at the same time.
(Edit: Just looked at the Jan 2004 TRs board, and it is apparent that I posted this one in the wrong place, so I will move it)
Great report, Charles. My son, Tom, and I were among the sledders packing those couloirs, although we spent most of our time in the more gentle quadrangles of the Maple Leaf Range, a little farther south. We used the 50-year old toboggan that my parents owned when my brothers and I were kids.
A blurb on the Times website said the snowfall record for Seattle was set in February 1916, when 21.6 inches fell in a single day! During my historical research, I've found articles about the first ski tournament in the Northwest (held at Scenic Hot Springs near Stevens Pass) in 1917. In one of those articles, it says some Norwegians gave "an exhibition of ski leaping" in Seattle during the "big snow" of the previous winter. It would be pretty cool to find newspaper articles about it. Sometime I'm going to dig for them in the U.W. microfilm collection.
A blurb on the Times website said the snowfall record for Seattle was set in February 1916, when 21.6 inches fell in a single day! During my historical research, I've found articles about the first ski tournament in the Northwest (held at Scenic Hot Springs near Stevens Pass) in 1917. In one of those articles, it says some Norwegians gave "an exhibition of ski leaping" in Seattle during the "big snow" of the previous winter. It would be pretty cool to find newspaper articles about it. Sometime I'm going to dig for them in the U.W. microfilm collection.
The surface underneath the 4" of light new was incredibly firm and rough (I have heard this surface called "pavement", but I think that's a French term)...
Yes. I believe the correct pronunciation in French is "pah-vay-moh". ;-)
Heh heh. And to think I abandoned the limitless thrills (and threatening pah vay moh) of Bellingham's urban backcountry in favor of (shudder) the Mt. Baker ski area today. What was I thinking?
In my defense, I should point out that the backcountry avalanche danger was listed as considerable, trending to high this afternoon. This alone was sufficient to dissuade me from attempting, for example, the very arduous Lake Padden Traverse or the seldom-attempted Cleator Road Direct. My hat is off to you all, braver (or more foolhardy in the face of undeniable objective hazards) than I.
In my defense, I should point out that the backcountry avalanche danger was listed as considerable, trending to high this afternoon. This alone was sufficient to dissuade me from attempting, for example, the very arduous Lake Padden Traverse or the seldom-attempted Cleator Road Direct. My hat is off to you all, braver (or more foolhardy in the face of undeniable objective hazards) than I.
Lowell, sorry we missed you. I was amazed at how many people were out playing in the snow - I don't remember ever seeing so many in our neighborhood. Little kids, medium kids, big kids, and quite a few adults as well, on all kinds of sliding devices (FedEx boxes seemed to be working pretty well, but the human sleds, wrapped in a plastic bag, were going pretty slow). In my experience, a few cars usually trash the couloirs early on, but this time all of the muscle-powered activities quickly made the hills inaccessible to cars by packing the snow down so firmly, and with all of the people out, there were always lots of spotters for the rare car that was trying to escape the hills trap along the 17th traverse.
Our paper this morning says that in 1880, "before official records were kept, a storm beginning on Jan. 5 dumps 4 feet of snow on the city, according to newspaper reports." Now that would have provided for some really fine urban skiing! The paper also says that the 1916 storm total (not 24 hour record) was 33".
Our paper this morning says that in 1880, "before official records were kept, a storm beginning on Jan. 5 dumps 4 feet of snow on the city, according to newspaper reports." Now that would have provided for some really fine urban skiing! The paper also says that the 1916 storm total (not 24 hour record) was 33".
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