Home > Trip Reports > 30-Jan-2011, Chair Peak Circumnav

30-Jan-2011, Chair Peak Circumnav

1/30/11
WA Snoqualmie Pass
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Posted by gbogh93 on 1/31/11 1:58am
Nice day for a (clockwise) schlep around Chair Peak. With concerns about stability based on Saturday, we headed over Pineapple instead of up and over Bryant Peak Col. Once we were cruising up Pineapple, we realized the snowpack had consolidated very nicely from Saturday... oh well.

A fun exception from the standard clockwise route was that we headed W 300m up the ridge from Melakwa Pass towards Kaleetan to ski the obvious couloir down to Chair Peak Lake. We looked for wind loading and found none... just 10" of well-bonded goodness we ripped down...  :)

Stability was generally bomber and ski quality was good. Large loose snow slides had come down all the E slopes of Roosevelt, the chutes off N slopes of Chair down to Snow Lake, Source Lake basin, etc. There was a narrow elevation window (maybe 3800 - 4200'?) where you could ski cut small sloughs off the super-saturated crust layer, though nothing was running more than 10 yds.

Fun group, fun skiing, fun day.  :)

Pax
dave
Thanks for posting this incredible day's journey. Great shot looking down the Biz-Natch! See you soon...

How was traversing from the back side of pineapple over to melakwa lake?

author=Eli3 link=topic=19381.msg82086#msg82086 date=1296500042]
How was traversing from the back side of pineapple over to melakwa lake?


Not as fun as coming down from Bryant Peak Col would have been...  ;-)

The traverse was fine... Nice turns just off the back of Pineapple, traversed most of the rest of the way with one quick skin to get up over the final ridge before dropping back down to Melakwa.

turns in the Biznatch were sublime. Great day, great crew.  I look fwd to next sunday and showing up w/ a fully functioning pair of skis  :-[

-R

Saw your turns down that couloir today. Looks like a good/fun line.

Definitely a fun line and well worth the extra time angling up from Melakwa Pass. Assume you were up on Roosevelt today then?... How was the snow?

Nope. Chair peak circ as well. Saw your line from chair peak lake.

Reply to this TR

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30-jan-2011-chair-peak-circumnav
gbogh93
2011-01-31 09:58:05