Feb 2, 2009, Thor's Day 2/26/09 Heather Ridge and Moonlight Bowl
2/2/09
WA Stevens Pass
2528
3
Went to Heather ridge with a couple AARP type buddies. Skied down N side first, good skiing but "whommped". No releases. Figured it was buried surface hoar so headed to Moonlight where surface hoar would be less of a problem. Released a 1 foot deep soft slab on suncrust. Nobody buried. Skied in trees after that. Light cloud cover and flurries thoughout day. A good day. Still alive.
Beware of thunder and lightning bolts on Thor's day.
Was planning on visiting the general area there tomorrow. Thanks for update Joe!
Last Sat on north side of Lichtenberg had grrreat old powder mixed with lots of light hoar on top. Figured what fell on top might get very sensitive. Apparenly you used that finely honed sense of survival to find the appropriate zone.
Last Sat on north side of Lichtenberg had grrreat old powder mixed with lots of light hoar on top. Figured what fell on top might get very sensitive. Apparenly you used that finely honed sense of survival to find the appropriate zone.
A few more details for your entertainment and possibly education. After the whoomp and skinning back up hill, we started to tell stories, as old farts do, about accidents we knew due to buried hoar/TG layers. Particularly sneaky buggers, hard to find by digging pits. The survival rate we knew was 50%. More open slopes with more wind and less hoar seemed a good bet , more predictable.
After releasing the soft slab on suncrust we starting telling stories about this type of incident. We knew 3 survivals and 2 fatalities. Even tho the odds were in our favor and pensions in the toilet, we decided to ski trees the rest of the day. The "still alive " comment partly comes from a video clip I saw when Fred Beckey is asked in a casual manner "what's most important, Fred ?" " I don't know,....staying alive"
After releasing the soft slab on suncrust we starting telling stories about this type of incident. We knew 3 survivals and 2 fatalities. Even tho the odds were in our favor and pensions in the toilet, we decided to ski trees the rest of the day. The "still alive " comment partly comes from a video clip I saw when Fred Beckey is asked in a casual manner "what's most important, Fred ?" " I don't know,....staying alive"
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