Feb 14, 2009, Tinkham-Abiel-Silver Peak circuit
2/14/09
WA Snoqualmie Pass
4929
10
John Mauro (not Morrow!) and I did a ski-and-peak-bag circuit of Tinkham, Abiel and Silver Peaks today. We found cool temperatures, variable snow conditions, and better than expected weather.
Approach: Skinned from Summit Central's Silver Fir parking lot to Grand Junction then followed nordic trails to Windy Pass. Entered the forest and followed the Crest Trail south toward Tinkham Peak.
Tinkham Peak: Tough skinning up steep woods on NW ridge. Eventually switched to crampons and ice axe to climb to the summit. The surface snow was an interesting mix of fresh snow and rime feathers blown off the trees. This loose snow didn't adhere well to the underlying crust and tended to slip out underfoot.
Abiel Peak: Skinned up SE flank just below the east ridge. Some areas of windblown snow and exposed sun crust.
Silver Peak: Encountered snowmobile tracks up to 5300ft on the south ridge. (How did they get here?) Hard snow was good for ski crampons. John didn't have them so he climbed on foot (photo above). Summit had more exposed rock than usual. We descended by traversing the west face to the NW ridge. The face is mostly hard sun/wind crust and requires great care (and whippets) if you traverse on skis.
Exit: Descended NE basin of Silver Peak to Windy Pass nordic trails and returned the way we came. About 8 hours round trip.
Considerable time was spent along the rim of the Cedar River watershed, which is decorated with signs of various ages (photo below). The tour could be nicknamed the "No Trespassing Traverse."
This time of year I would suppose crystal springs?. I was out there on wednesday and didn't notice the tracks. Nice pictures... I've always found those signs amusing.
So I guess this is some of what is right under our noses outside the ski area... Thanks for serving as "virtual explorers" and sharing.
Postscript:
John offered the following as the third large photo for this trip report. It was taken near the summit of Silver Peak with Granite Mountain looking dark and moody in the background.
John has more photos (better than mine!) here. Thanks for a great day, John!
John offered the following as the third large photo for this trip report. It was taken near the summit of Silver Peak with Granite Mountain looking dark and moody in the background.
John has more photos (better than mine!) here. Thanks for a great day, John!
Well done gents.
I was up in Silver Basin last Saturday planning a circuit with a run down to Annette Lake. Was waiting for conditions to soften on Silver's sw flanks. Absolutely bulletproof on some of the crux areas so settled for lapping the basin. Conditions are everything sometimes.
My favorite shot is John's of Lowell crossing a blown out stream. Great stuff!
Lowell, I would guess like many of us you don't subscribe to A McLean' s theory of you don't know how to skin properly if you need ski crampons.
I was up in Silver Basin last Saturday planning a circuit with a run down to Annette Lake. Was waiting for conditions to soften on Silver's sw flanks. Absolutely bulletproof on some of the crux areas so settled for lapping the basin. Conditions are everything sometimes.
My favorite shot is John's of Lowell crossing a blown out stream. Great stuff!
Lowell, I would guess like many of us you don't subscribe to A McLean' s theory of you don't know how to skin properly if you need ski crampons.
author=NickD link=topic=12303.msg51437#msg51437 date=1234723853]
Lowell, I would guess like many of us you don't subscribe to A McLean' s theory of you don't know how to skin properly if you need ski crampons.
No, I don't.
My theory (equally useless) is that you don't know how to skin properly if you've never used strap-on skins. ;)
Man I remember BD Snake SKins. Those things suck.
Beautiful photographs. Thanks for taking the time to share this report. Much appreciated.
author=Pete_H link=topic=12303.msg51452#msg51452 date=1234738348]
Man I remember BD Snake SKins. Those things suck.
Weren't they Voile Snake Skins? No matter who made them, I've only known 1 or 2 folks who had them and they agreed they were bad.
author=NickD link=topic=12303.msg51437#msg51437 date=1234723853]
Well done gents. Lowell, I would guess like many of us you don't subscribe to A McLean' s theory of you don't know how to skin properly if you need ski crampons.
I don't subscribe to McLean's "theory" either, and I actually wonder if he does himself. I love his advice column but it seems pretty tongue-in-cheek at times. Maybe it's a theory that only applies to Wasatch powder....
author=telemack link=topic=12303.msg51931#msg51931 date=1235429710]
Weren't they Voile Snake Skins? No matter who made them, I've only known 1 or 2 folks who had them and they agreed they were bad.
Based on their reputation, Snake Skins must be among the worst strap-on skins ever made. I've never used them myself.
There were older, better models. The following post describes strap-on skins that I've used:
http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=4768.msg20262#msg20262
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