Home > Trip Reports > Feb 27, 2010, Hog Loppett (tteppoL goH)

Feb 27, 2010, Hog Loppett (tteppoL goH)

2/27/10
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Posted by John Morrow on 2/27/10 11:16am
Just a quick Hog Loppett report for those who are looking at the east slopes for the next couple days.   Mikki D. and I classic skied a portion of the Loppett from Swauk Pass snopark to Haney Meadow.   I guess it is the Tteppol Goh while we were skiing it against the grain?? 
In the shade the 6" of new snow from Friday stayed cold and dry all day (4500 to 5700 ft.).  In the sun it got pretty wet.  Of notice was a quick tug test we did on the 30 to 35 degree north facing scree field that the groomed trail bisects at about 5300 feet.  We thought that things would be less stable on the remaining rain crust that is now 8 to 10" down on a slope and aspect that is prone to surface hoar development and faceting along crusts.  Surprisingly the bond of the new, to the crust, was pretty good.  Perhaps cross winds may have knocked down the surface hoar?  Just one small slope, in one location, though.
We tried to contact as many snowmobilers as would stop when we waved. Most were quite amenable to staying on the extreme opposite side of the set track and skate lane, courteous, and pleasant.  Unfortunately a few seemed to really rip up the entire width of the grooming, destroying the set track, and making it much more challenging to remain in control on the descents.  More education necessary I guess.  It didn't deter anyone that I saw from still having a great time on a beautiful day.  If any snowmobilers view the TR's from time to time and are seeing this, I appreciate those who were willing to give us some space to have some groomed and track set skiing on this one day a year.  And pass it on to the other riders up there next year, if you will.
Got to get back now to the Villanova-Syracuse basketball game.  I can still remember my mom, a 'Nova grad, yelling at the TV in her Danish accent, teeth out, "oh that damn Rottens€¦"(unintentional pun by accent) for Leo Rautins, Syracuse guard.  Almost 30 years later I'm watching his son Andy playing just as tenaciously against the 'Cats for the same team.  It doesn't look all that good, either, for Nova this time around.
Great event! Flew in from just west of Syracuse (GO Orange) to ski the event for the first time with my son and grand daughter. Snow was terrific, sun was shining and smiles were all around. The mayhem on the first few downhills was hystarical to watch and it was just as much fun to provide the entertainment for others. Think I had the record for elasped time - 7:40  a.m start - 4:15 p.m. finish. The24 lb team support pack I carried grew with every diaper change. Full TR with pictures to follow.

If anyone has pictures of the young lady in the kitty cat hat that rode in a back pack the entire way, I'd appreciate getting copies. PM me.

Wooley, was that you with your daughter?  I was skiing with two women, one of whom had broken the pin on her boot.  Passed the dad/daughter combo just at the end of the last climb.  Through several iterations, Voile straps, wire ties and duct tape, we managed to reinvent a basic beartrap binding by the end of the course.  Great fun.  One unlucky fellow dislocated his shoulder early on in the course, but his was the only big injury I think.

John, sorry I missed you!

Internet anonymity has it's plusses and minuses. The guy with the snow bunny in the back pack was my son. I was the much older dude carrying the diapers, wet wipes and gummy bears in the orange jacket about 15 min behind. Sorry we missed.  On a higher note, I'm sitting at The Pass in the hot tub listening to 50's  music and waiting for the full moon to come up so we can skin up Hyak and have  a little wine cheese. Life is good!!!










author=Marcus link=topic=15786.msg65917#msg65917 date=1267391769]
Wooley, was that you with your daughter?  I was skiing with two women, one of whom had broken the pin on her boot.  Passed the dad/daughter combo just at the end of the last climb.  Through several iterations, Voile straps, wire ties and duct tape, we managed to reinvent a basic beartrap binding by the end of the course.  Great fun.  One unlucky fellow dislocated his shoulder early on in the course, but his was the only big injury I think.

John, sorry I missed you!


Likewise, Marcus.  I thought for sure we'd see you.  We must have started back from Haney Meadow a little before you arrived, if you were doing the sweep.  I'll catch you one of these days!
John

A couple photos from the day.

FYI: I was the CBSP guy on the radio at Standup Creek while you were on the Hog. I just posted a detailed description here. What a fantastic day!

author=Marcus link=topic=15786.msg65954#msg65954 date=1267476183]
A couple photos from the day.


..that's an impressive boot/binding fix..   A sweet line, too..

Man, the temptation of that line was something else, but I wouldn't have done it justice with those skis, I fear.  Lots of beautiful shots like that all along the route, too.

author=Olyski link=topic=15786.msg65963#msg65963 date=1267485095]
FYI: I was the CBSP guy on the radio at Standup Creek while you were on the Hog. I just posted a detailed description here. What a fantastic day!


Copy that, Mark.  Good to put a voice to a TAY username!  Thanks for the current info on Earl access conditions.
John

author=Marcus link=topic=15786.msg65966#msg65966 date=1267486399]
Man, the temptation of that line was something else, but I wouldn't have done it justice with those skis, I fear.  Lots of beautiful shots like that all along the route, too.


Well said.  Of the race last year and this year, the only crux was passing all of untracked, cold snow slopes.  Was night to get away from Snoqualmie Pass, get above the clouds and into the sunshine...what a great event.

Gosh it was a BEAUtiful day 8)!!!

We lost you Marcus early, before the first aid station. Mustve passed you and the shoulder injury during the SCARY part of the tour (I know I was preoccupied).

That line under those flimsy skis give me palpitations just sitting at my computer :D

Yeah, the shoulder injury was on the second downhill, not 1/2 mile from the start.  Serious bummer.

It's cool to see how many TAY folks were over there -- it was a great group of people, though I was pretty much at the back of it the whole day.

I'm slipping this post in here even though it may not be quite up to spec for the trip report forum. I've also got a copy posted in Random Tracks.

pc

===================================================
On Sat., Margy and I skinned up through Tronsen Basin and hung out for a while at the Haney Meadows rest stop enjoying the sunshine and the happy throng of Hog Loppet skiers. The one thing that they were NOT happy about was the snowmobiles. The skaters in particular were unhappy with the way the 'beelers had torn up the grooming. There was general consensus that this was done quite intentionally by a small group of 'beelers who were bound and determined to show their contemp and distain for skiers and for the event. We also got first hand reports of 'beelers high-marking in the rock slide area on the way down to Blewett Pass from Haney Jct.
This sort of intentional bad behavior has been occurring every year at the Hog Loppet. It's surprising that the FS can't or won't try to put a stop to it. I've talked with folks I know who work on the Cle Elum Dist. and they advise me that the most effective way to move the FS bureacracy toward a solution is to write letters to the forest supervisor urging some sort of action. A full-on closure of the route to snowmobiles is not likely due to federal regulations and local politics but there has got to be some legal remedy to prevent what can quite accurately be described as vandalism and intimidation by a small group of snowmobilers.
I would like to encourage those of you who skied the Hog Loppet this year or in previous years and had trouble with snowmobiles on the course to write or call the Okanogan/Wenatchee Supervisors Office asking that the FS try to find a solution to the problem of unruly snowmobiles on the Hog Loppet route.

Here's the address for the supervisor's office.

===================================

Rebecca Heath, Forest Supervisor
215 Melody Lane
Wenatchee, WA 98801
(509) 664-9200
Fax: (509) 664-9280
TTY: (509) 664-9201
===============================




Sorry you're so PO'd Pico but I think posting your rant in more than one thread is not cool. All the sleds I met were polite. Plus I loved the smell of the ones burning the castor oil.

Take a look at my day and you'll see no frowns.

http://picasaweb.google.com/wooley12/HogLoppet2010#

It IS a forest service road and they have as much right to be there as we do, they use it much more than we do too. they are also the ones putting up the big bucks to keep those snowparks open.

All the snowmachiners I saw stayed right on the uphill and slowed down when they passed me.  They dont realize the smelly and loud as a bad thing - they like that stuff anyway.

Besides, the snowmachine folks werent out that early, and the hog loppet organizers advised you that if you wanted a groomed track, start early and keep moving. If you lollygag you are going to be skiing in slop.



author=blitz link=topic=15786.msg66337#msg66337 date=1268065951]
It IS a forest service road and they have as much right to be there as we do, they use it much more than we do too. they are also the ones putting up the big bucks to keep those snowparks open.

All the snowmachiners I saw stayed right on the uphill and slowed down when they passed me.  They dont realize the smelly and loud as a bad thing - they like that stuff anyway.

Besides, the snowmachine folks werent out that early, and the hog loppet organizers advised you that if you wanted a groomed track, start early and keep moving. If you lollygag you are going to be skiing in slop.





Hello Blitz (Alisa?),
I believe a civil discussion here is a useful thing and I appreciate the participation.
I do want to mention a few facts:

All users pay for snopark plowing:
Non-motorized=$41.00
Non-motorized with Special Grooming fee for track and skate lane=additional $41.00

Motorized (snowmobile) registration=$33.75/machine
Trailer registration=$18.75
Special grooming fee for snowmobile trails=$0
Motorized snopark permit cost to snowmobilers=$0   Explanation: 2 snopark permits are issued FREE OF CHARGE when a snowmobile is registered. 

http://www.parks.wa.gov/winter/permits/
http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/fees.html


Cost to state to pay for Hog Loppett Grooming of track and skate lane on Feb. 27, 2010=$0  Explanation: groomer machine was paid for out of Loppett registration and provided by the Leavenworth Winter Sports Club day of the event.

I passed the groomer as it was finishing the event grooming at around 9:30AM 3 miles from the Blewett Snopark on the FS Road 9716.  I reached the 9716 and 9712 junction a little before 10AM.  Snowmobiles had already come through via the 9712 Road from Liberty. After discussion with Kittitas SAR and Sheriff Deputies stationed at the 9712 junction with Road 35 (five miles from finish and 3 from Haney Meadow),  I learned that these riders had continued on to Haney Meadow.  At this point the first three skaters of the ENTIRE event had come through and skied 4 miles of snowmobiled over grooming: from Haney Mdw. to the junction of Roads 9712 and 9716.  These snowmobilers rode across the entire width of the grooming, obliterating the track set.  They made no effort to "stay to the side".   As the day went on skiers themselves reset their own "track" with skis alone.  However 95% of the snowmobilers did make a concerted effort to "stay right on the uphill" as you describe.

Conclusions:
In my observations 0, yes zero, skiers were able to ski the entire route free of obliterated grooming.  My time estimates give the leaders of the pack approximately 30 minutes to have timed it exactly right and got to the groomed surface between the time the groomer machine went through and when 4 miles of the route had been obliterated.  The skate skiers simply were not fast enough.  Any faster and they would have had to have paused for the groomer to finish laying the corduroy.
The most hazardous part of the entire route: on the groomed course of the 9712 road through the steep descent of the "rockslide" area between the Rd. 35 junction to Rd. 9716 junction, had both the skate lane and track set severely chopped up by the snowmobiles by 10:30 AM.  I objectively and honestly believe this was intentional, by the lay of the machines' tracks from either a few severely unaware of, or possibly, malignantly inconsiderate riders.

Caveat:  I am not using these observations to justify any closure to a user group.  However, I do believe that a greater emphasis and education on cooperation between users so the snowmobile community might voluntarily preserve the skier grooming (for just one day), is warranted.  The layout of the snowparks in the area, and the groomed trails of the area, requires that only the 1+ mile between roads 35 and 9716 on the 9712 road ACTUALLY be shared by both groups, to have seemless flow through to all the loops and general areas of Table Mountain.


Hi John Morrow!

It was only my second time ever on a crosscountry ski course. I did not understand what you were talking about as it took me five plus hours to finish, and I expected it to be sloppy.

author=John_Morrow link=topic=15786.msg66475#msg66475 date=1268153245]
The most hazardous part of the entire route...   ...had both the skate lane and track set severely chopped up by the snowmobiles by 10:30 AM.  I objectively and honestly believe this was intentional, by the lay of the machines' tracks from either a few severely unaware of, or possibly, malignantly inconsiderate riders.


If the grand poobah of the sledder community cant help us out, maybe we need to write to the law makers instead of the law enforcement.

The sherrif's representatives and the forest rangers (out on the course that day) were obviously not there to protect us from the snowmachiners.

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feb-27-2010-hog-loppett-tteppol-goh
John Morrow
2010-02-27 19:16:29