Jan 22, 2010, Diamond Head
1/22/10
2079
2
Team T&T was back at it again yesterday for another excursion into the surrounding mountains. Thad had been up at Diamond Head earlier in the week doing a solo recon and we decided to check it out on Friday morning. From the Tronsen Meadows trail head (just east of the Blewett summit @ 3900) its a pretty gentle skin in to the top of Diamond Head at 5900. You dont feel like youre gaining much elevation since youre not getting winded, just a nice and steady climb through the forest. We ran in to a couple of guys from CWU doing a study for a master thesis on the effects of carbon on the snowpack. They had the same plans as we did so we figured wed run into them later.
1.8 miles in and about 1300 gain you cross the descent path; when Thad was up earlier he started skinning straight up it through the slide alder at the bottom. We talked about it and figured we could continue up the valley to a saddle between E. Diamond Head and Diamond Head then cut back out the ridgeline to access it all from above. Well, that all worked fine and it was pretty easy but it also added about a mile to the approach. Best bet would be to just zigzag up one side of the face until the summit. By this time the CWU guys (Matt & Jesse?) caught up and we all took turns breaking trail. Finally, 3 hours and 3.75 miles in, we were on top of our slope.
The snow up top was a little wind-loaded (Mission had been reporting 50+ mph winds the night before and you can see the backside of Mission from Diamond Head) and chalky but was still nice. It starts out a little steep with a few micro chutes, roll-overs and cliffs before opening up into a beautiful glade. Snow was untouched powdery goodness and overhead spray was common. Perfect conditions to just open it up and let 'er rip! When you get back to the skin track at the bottom of the run, youve got a super fun single track BMX-type run back to the trailhead. Although it wasnt fall-line skiing it was a blast to rip through all Jedi-style.
The slope we ended up riding
Upper section
Lower section
BMX fun back out
1.8 miles in and about 1300 gain you cross the descent path; when Thad was up earlier he started skinning straight up it through the slide alder at the bottom. We talked about it and figured we could continue up the valley to a saddle between E. Diamond Head and Diamond Head then cut back out the ridgeline to access it all from above. Well, that all worked fine and it was pretty easy but it also added about a mile to the approach. Best bet would be to just zigzag up one side of the face until the summit. By this time the CWU guys (Matt & Jesse?) caught up and we all took turns breaking trail. Finally, 3 hours and 3.75 miles in, we were on top of our slope.
The snow up top was a little wind-loaded (Mission had been reporting 50+ mph winds the night before and you can see the backside of Mission from Diamond Head) and chalky but was still nice. It starts out a little steep with a few micro chutes, roll-overs and cliffs before opening up into a beautiful glade. Snow was untouched powdery goodness and overhead spray was common. Perfect conditions to just open it up and let 'er rip! When you get back to the skin track at the bottom of the run, youve got a super fun single track BMX-type run back to the trailhead. Although it wasnt fall-line skiing it was a blast to rip through all Jedi-style.
The slope we ended up riding
Upper section
Lower section
BMX fun back out
That last shot is sweet!!
Thanks, it was an unexpected grab from the video. I just liked it because it showed motion :)
Reply to this TR
Please login first: