Feb 7, 2010, Stupor Sunday on Big Slide
2/7/10
4071
8
Super Sunday Its a national day of overeating and overspectating. Every year the Big Game establishes television-viewing records. And yet not everyone wants to be counted in those numbers. A few cultural oddballs, actually use the day to participate in sports.
This year I circulate a message titled 'Super Tour or Stupor Tour? I attach a map with possible lines well ski, details about the kayak shuttle the trip requires, and a warning that the descent of Cabin Creek is a wildcard that could make or break the day. Other misfits nibble at the bait, but only one bites.
The Kickoff
At 6:00 a.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, Tom Janisch and I hide kayaks at the base of Cabin Creek so we can cross the Wenatchee River at days end. We also leave a shuttle vehicle behind before driving to the end of the plowed portion of the Icicle River Road west of Leavenworth. By 7:30 were shuffling along the snowed-over Icicle Road headed for the Jay Creek area.
So whos playing in the Super Bowl, I ask Tom.
Tom doesnt disappoint he doesnt know. In fact, hes not sure hes seen the Super Bowl since Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath faced off in Super Bowl 3. A half mile past the Johnny Creek Campground, we tour up the ridge flanking Jay Creek to the east. The Douglas firs and ponderosa pines are beautifully spaced for skiing, but today the slopes southern exposure delivers a 4000-vertical-foot diet of breakable crust. Were thankful we wont be returning this way.
Our route takes us up Icicle Ridge, under the north face of Jay Peak, and to the 7760-foot summit of Big Slide -- a peak identified from the Icicle River by, surprise, its colossal avalanche slopes. Heavy snow delivers us to the summit 90 minutes behind schedule and forces us to reevaluate how we should access Cabin Creek.
Half time
Originally we planned to access the dark heart of Cabin Creek by backtracking a few miles, touring south along Icicle Ridge, and using steep ribs funneling into the drainage. Now we opt to drop directly into Cabin Creek and to trudge over flat ground to reach the break where the creek gets seriously depressed. With a new plan in mind, we enjoy the souper Sunday views of clouds consuming and regurgitating the surrounding peaks.
Second Half
We capitalize on a short sun break to ski off the north side of Big Slide. The turns are creamy and dreamy. The halfpipe drainage dropping into Cabin Creek is full of obstacles the tips of trees, boulders for moguls, and spines of rock... Its a distinctive descent, Even if Cabin Creek is a hell hole, that run will have made it worthwhile, Tom comments.
Neither of us believes that claim three hours later. What looked to be three miles of flat ground has felt like six miles as weve threaded through the trees neighboring the creek and zigzagged endlessly to avoid the bends of the meandering creek. A little after 6 p.m., we reach the rollover point where the creek drops in earnest. We shed the skins, and let gravity power the heavy work. The usable light bleeds from the sky and we drop the initial steeps by headlight.
It doesnt take long to discover we have a serious shortage of candlepower for the complexity of the terrain. By 7 p.m. were benched out with a 10-foot boulder drop to the right and a 15-foot cliff to the left. Given our middle-aged knees and our modest abilities, we arent about to launch off such platforms by torchlight.
Games probably over, eh? Tom comments. Hes talking about the grand event but is also speaking metaphorically.
I think so.
When we can see better we expect to find a way around our current predicament. For now, its time to make that psychological shift from a welcoming warm bed at home to catnapping around a fire.
Overtime
We study the map before we get serious about settling in. Several areas deep in the drainage are steeper and more worrisome than the ground stymieing us now. With darkness-enhanced pessimism weighing upon me, I tell Tom that without a rope, we may be ill-prepared for impasses yet to come. My advice: Retrace the seemingly endless rambling that delivered us here.
Retracing the Cabin Creek flats is as appetizing as anchovies on chocolate, but anchovies it is. For the next three hours we work our way back over known ground. Then we plot a shortcut that returns us to the top of Icicle Ridge without an unnecessary swing out toward Big Slide Mountain. Its 12:30 a.m. Monday when we crest Icicle Ridge.
Tom remembers the breakable south-side snows we thought wed be avoiding, We may spend more time getting down this sucker than we spent climbing up.
Im optimistic about a quicker descent. And Im wrong. The unholy trinity of bad snow, poor light, and low energy reduces us to the sin of kickturning our way down. Were not back to the car until 3:30 a.m. and, after retrieving the unused kayaks and shuttle vehicle, not home until 5:30 a.m.
Postgame Analysis
If you wanted to make 24 hours seem endless, todays trip was a creative exercise in time distortion. It was ordeal we endured more than enjoyed. However, now that the ordeal has passed and I sit in a warm room sipping coffee while I write, Stupor Sunday is becoming better and better with each passing day.
+++++
This year I circulate a message titled 'Super Tour or Stupor Tour? I attach a map with possible lines well ski, details about the kayak shuttle the trip requires, and a warning that the descent of Cabin Creek is a wildcard that could make or break the day. Other misfits nibble at the bait, but only one bites.
The Kickoff
At 6:00 a.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, Tom Janisch and I hide kayaks at the base of Cabin Creek so we can cross the Wenatchee River at days end. We also leave a shuttle vehicle behind before driving to the end of the plowed portion of the Icicle River Road west of Leavenworth. By 7:30 were shuffling along the snowed-over Icicle Road headed for the Jay Creek area.
So whos playing in the Super Bowl, I ask Tom.
Tom doesnt disappoint he doesnt know. In fact, hes not sure hes seen the Super Bowl since Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath faced off in Super Bowl 3. A half mile past the Johnny Creek Campground, we tour up the ridge flanking Jay Creek to the east. The Douglas firs and ponderosa pines are beautifully spaced for skiing, but today the slopes southern exposure delivers a 4000-vertical-foot diet of breakable crust. Were thankful we wont be returning this way.
Our route takes us up Icicle Ridge, under the north face of Jay Peak, and to the 7760-foot summit of Big Slide -- a peak identified from the Icicle River by, surprise, its colossal avalanche slopes. Heavy snow delivers us to the summit 90 minutes behind schedule and forces us to reevaluate how we should access Cabin Creek.
Half time
Originally we planned to access the dark heart of Cabin Creek by backtracking a few miles, touring south along Icicle Ridge, and using steep ribs funneling into the drainage. Now we opt to drop directly into Cabin Creek and to trudge over flat ground to reach the break where the creek gets seriously depressed. With a new plan in mind, we enjoy the souper Sunday views of clouds consuming and regurgitating the surrounding peaks.
Second Half
We capitalize on a short sun break to ski off the north side of Big Slide. The turns are creamy and dreamy. The halfpipe drainage dropping into Cabin Creek is full of obstacles the tips of trees, boulders for moguls, and spines of rock... Its a distinctive descent, Even if Cabin Creek is a hell hole, that run will have made it worthwhile, Tom comments.
Neither of us believes that claim three hours later. What looked to be three miles of flat ground has felt like six miles as weve threaded through the trees neighboring the creek and zigzagged endlessly to avoid the bends of the meandering creek. A little after 6 p.m., we reach the rollover point where the creek drops in earnest. We shed the skins, and let gravity power the heavy work. The usable light bleeds from the sky and we drop the initial steeps by headlight.
It doesnt take long to discover we have a serious shortage of candlepower for the complexity of the terrain. By 7 p.m. were benched out with a 10-foot boulder drop to the right and a 15-foot cliff to the left. Given our middle-aged knees and our modest abilities, we arent about to launch off such platforms by torchlight.
Games probably over, eh? Tom comments. Hes talking about the grand event but is also speaking metaphorically.
I think so.
When we can see better we expect to find a way around our current predicament. For now, its time to make that psychological shift from a welcoming warm bed at home to catnapping around a fire.
Overtime
We study the map before we get serious about settling in. Several areas deep in the drainage are steeper and more worrisome than the ground stymieing us now. With darkness-enhanced pessimism weighing upon me, I tell Tom that without a rope, we may be ill-prepared for impasses yet to come. My advice: Retrace the seemingly endless rambling that delivered us here.
Retracing the Cabin Creek flats is as appetizing as anchovies on chocolate, but anchovies it is. For the next three hours we work our way back over known ground. Then we plot a shortcut that returns us to the top of Icicle Ridge without an unnecessary swing out toward Big Slide Mountain. Its 12:30 a.m. Monday when we crest Icicle Ridge.
Tom remembers the breakable south-side snows we thought wed be avoiding, We may spend more time getting down this sucker than we spent climbing up.
Im optimistic about a quicker descent. And Im wrong. The unholy trinity of bad snow, poor light, and low energy reduces us to the sin of kickturning our way down. Were not back to the car until 3:30 a.m. and, after retrieving the unused kayaks and shuttle vehicle, not home until 5:30 a.m.
Postgame Analysis
If you wanted to make 24 hours seem endless, todays trip was a creative exercise in time distortion. It was ordeal we endured more than enjoyed. However, now that the ordeal has passed and I sit in a warm room sipping coffee while I write, Stupor Sunday is becoming better and better with each passing day.
+++++
Wow, this is the kind of trip report that makes me happy that all my friends say no to my great ideas... Glad to hear the backtrack worked out ok, and cabin creek is still awaiting a full kayak-infused descent for the year.
And to think when I saw the ski tracks as the wenatchee outdoors photo of the day, I was jealous....
I still kinda am.
Great writing!
I still kinda am.
Great writing!
Averaging out the day we racked up great turns at the astounding rate of about 100 vertical feet per hour. Averaging is sometimes a painful process.
Andy,
Thanks for sharing the adventure. There is some unusual satisfaction in reading about someone else experiencing a grueling adventure that was not scheduled but ends safely. It brings back memories of a Chair Peak Circumnavigation I experienced. Better yet the Sginal Peak .......
The more days I spend touring - the more I realize that topo's, GPS's or Google Earth do not indentify all the features of a tour and for that I'm thankful, most of the time. :)
As the years roll on, I realize that not everyday is "a top 10 day". It seems that every year or two, there is one of those "adventures". It also seems to be more enjoyable to exchange these stories when a conversation switches from how deep the powder was on "my best run" to "so you think your trip was miserable, let me tell you about when we..."
Misery does love company. :)
Thanks for sharing the adventure. There is some unusual satisfaction in reading about someone else experiencing a grueling adventure that was not scheduled but ends safely. It brings back memories of a Chair Peak Circumnavigation I experienced. Better yet the Sginal Peak .......
The more days I spend touring - the more I realize that topo's, GPS's or Google Earth do not indentify all the features of a tour and for that I'm thankful, most of the time. :)
As the years roll on, I realize that not everyday is "a top 10 day". It seems that every year or two, there is one of those "adventures". It also seems to be more enjoyable to exchange these stories when a conversation switches from how deep the powder was on "my best run" to "so you think your trip was miserable, let me tell you about when we..."
Misery does love company. :)
Great report, Andy. Quite an epic!
A most excellent adventure. Thanks for sharing it with us!
author=ADappen link=topic=15570.msg65109#msg65109 date=1265924532]
The unholy trinity of bad snow, poor light, and low energy reduces us to the sin of kickturning our way down.
If I was smart enough to "sin" more I wouldn't be fighting a swollen ankle. Glad your trip turned out well - thanks for sharing it with us.
Glad to hear from some of you who appreciate that a good adventure doesn't need to be good. You just need to come back from it...hopefully whole and, hopefully, without swollen ankles (or other busted parts).
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