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Dragontail 4/25

4/15/10
WA Cascades East Slopes Central
2640
5
Posted by niko on 4/26/10 3:39am
I skinned from Eight Mile TH (end of clear road) to the S end of Colchuck Lake, and spend the night in a snowcave. (The highlight of the approach was skiing the lake in the late evening: exquisite solitude, Alpenglow, and the fast surface of frozen water.) On Sunday, the lower third of Aasgard made for a very ice skin on hard snow but then problems began: I had left my crampons at home so I had to carry and kick steps in ice, often having to kick 3-4 times to gain minimal toehold (frozen avalanche debris was actually a relief). Progress was slow, and by the time I got to the top of Aasgard I was totally sapped and took a nap in the sun (which always makes a body feel good). Two parties of climbers who had started with me and were on their way back told me that the snow was soft from then on (it was) so I skinned up to near the col and then booted the rest of the way to the top. Gorgeous day for views but Dragontail and environs are well known so I won't clutter the site with photos. On my way back, upper Aasgard rewarded me with great turns on still icy surface; the lower third had already softened to mush. I tried to avoid the 1.5 mi trail to Mountaineer Creek by skiing first S from the N end of Colchuck Lake, then SW, and encountered nice soft snow and adequate clearings until I ran into junk at the bottom. The rest of the way home was on a familiar bobsleigh track of alternating mush, frozen junk and debris. Aasgard and Colchuck Col make a great tour if you don't mind the long approach (I hate this trail) and don't leave your ponnies and ice axe at home. N
author=niko link=topic=16467.msg68795#msg68795 date=1272307154]
Gorgeous day for views but Dragontail and environs are well known so I won't clutter the site with photos.


Ha!  I wouldn't worry about this.  Post your pics!

author=niko link=topic=16467.msg68795#msg68795 date=1272307154]
Gorgeous day for views but Dragontail and environs are well known so I won't clutter the site with photos.


I agree with skier8484. I don't even know where Dragontail is and anyway it is always nice to see the latest photos, conditions change all the time and photos often reveal more that the TR. Thanks.

Seriously, add some photos!

What kind of snow cave did you sleep in?

Ok, here is a link to the photos:

http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=604859#604859

I haven't been able to solve the photo-posting mystery at TAY, detailed instructions notwithstanding... But I'll keep trying.

author=Marcus link=topic=16467.msg68805#msg68805 date=1272311077]
What kind of snow cave did you sleep in?


The snowcave: I had planned on sleeping in my bivy sack but the temperature around 9pm and the wind gave me a pause. My first instinct was to go down into one of the big holes at the foot of the huge boulders at the S end of Colchuck Lake--you couldn't ask for better shelter; but I knew I wouldn't get a wink because of the thought of an earthquake shifting the boulder by just 1/2 inch... So I saw a boulder that had a 3 ft snow cap on top and dug myself in there. I had missed some people I was supposed to hook up with and from my perch I could even observe the trail coming out of the grove. So I had a great night: my new Big Agness insulated inflatable worked better than other pads I'd used in the past, and it's very satisfactory to get some use out of the snow shovel one has to carry. N





You have to click on the thumbnails at the link you provided.  Then right-click on the large version of the picture you want and select "Copy Image Location" -- you're looking for the URL that ends in .jpg.

After that, click the leftmost button by the "Add image tags:" line above the Message box.  Replace the part that says "PasteImageURLHere" with the Image Location you got from the picture.

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dragontail-4-25
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2010-04-26 10:39:14