5/1 Cayuse to Crystal traverse
5/1/10
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
1855
3
We wanted to call this the May Day traverse but it seems Joedabaker beat us to the punch.
With the weather forecast looking less then promising the last thing I wanted to do was bushwhack in unfamiliar areas in total whiteout so it was off to the Crystal area. Both Drew Tabke and I met up with the Hummel twins at the Crystal Mountain parking lot where we left my Subaru. We drove up to Cayuse pass which was covered in about 3 inches of new snow. Travel was fast on wind effected snow which allowed us to travel with ease. Our goal was simple, tag peaks and ski north facing slopes along the way. We managed to summit and ski Naches, Yakima, Deadwood, Smoka, Sourdough and Dog legged Peaks. We did encounter 4 inch slab fractures on both Naches and Yakima but the snow quality was great on North facing slopes. On our way back we encountered rain at about 5000 feet. There are still many good lines to be had at both Chinook Pass and Crystal Mountain
In all it was 8,200 vert and 8.5 miles.
With the weather forecast looking less then promising the last thing I wanted to do was bushwhack in unfamiliar areas in total whiteout so it was off to the Crystal area. Both Drew Tabke and I met up with the Hummel twins at the Crystal Mountain parking lot where we left my Subaru. We drove up to Cayuse pass which was covered in about 3 inches of new snow. Travel was fast on wind effected snow which allowed us to travel with ease. Our goal was simple, tag peaks and ski north facing slopes along the way. We managed to summit and ski Naches, Yakima, Deadwood, Smoka, Sourdough and Dog legged Peaks. We did encounter 4 inch slab fractures on both Naches and Yakima but the snow quality was great on North facing slopes. On our way back we encountered rain at about 5000 feet. There are still many good lines to be had at both Chinook Pass and Crystal Mountain
In all it was 8,200 vert and 8.5 miles.
It's to bad I missed out on that one. I did that a couple years ago and called it the "Chutes and Summit Tour". When we skied what you call Smoka there was thunder and lightning and just enough snow to ski the chute's crux as it rained relentlessly. I considered reenacting that trip today if I had partners, maybe minus the Naches summit. I like the ski from the peak above Deadwood to the lakes, that cornice can get huge. That is a great run. Nice trip guys!
Thanks for the invitation Kyle. It was a good time.
While I didn't really take photos, I did pull out the camera a few times.
While I didn't really take photos, I did pull out the camera a few times.
thanks for the report and pictures.
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