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Topic: Feb 15, 2011, Rampart Ridge Birthday Powder (Read 2059 times)
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lordhedgie
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Today was my birthday, and the one thing I asked for was some fresh snow to fill in all the holes on my mountains. Well, we got snow, but we still need more, so keep sending me birthday snow all month long!
Adam Gorski (articcat2) and I set off up Rampart Ridge early this morning with about an inch of fresh snow on the trail. The trail would have been a nice easy skin up except about five creeks had completely washed it out, requiring some creative skinning techniques to get across. Once we got on the slopes, it looked like an inch of light powder on top of a rough breakable crust... yeech. Where we didn't find a crust, we found old loose snow under the powder, which we didn't like at all.
Around 4000' or so the snow changed significantly, and it was a good foot of moderate weight powder over a solid condensed base. We hit the cloud base not long after that, but we stayed mostly in the trees and it wasn't too much of a bother.
At the summit, or at least what I assumed was the summit since the fog really hurt the view, I cooked up some surplus Army MRE beef stew. If you haven't had MRE's lately, the weight has gone down with the quality of the food has gone way up in the last few years. Great backcountry meals!
The trip down started with foot deep great powder. Except for one short pitch where the sluff was a bit of an issue, it was smiles and happiness until 4000' or so, where we found the light snow had turned to nasty heavy crud. Negotiating that was not helped at all by the fact that I managed to break the post on one of my Dynafit bindings in an epic fall off a very large pillow....
The trail back to the car was more of the nasty creek crossings, but we could barely see our uptracks with all the fresh snow, so it was hard to complain. Overall a great birthday, and thanks to Adam for going with me!
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« Last Edit: 02/15/11, 04:39 PM by lordhedgie »
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If you don't do it this year, you'll be one year older when you don't do it next year.
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Marcus
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Nice -- which route did you take that you encountered so many creeks?
I was just remarking this weekend that the coverage was low on Rampart when we were up there over a month ago -- happy to hear it's at least manageable still, despite the warm weather.
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lordhedgie
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Nice -- which route did you take that you encountered so many creeks?
I'd have to defer to Adam on the route questions... We started up from the snowpark a mile or so from the Interstate, and shortly after leaving the parking area we took a right through what looked like it might have been a logging road a long time ago, but young trees covered it now.
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If you don't do it this year, you'll be one year older when you don't do it next year.
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Marcus
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The snowmobile parking at the end of the road, I assume? That fits with the way I usually go, out the groomed road toward Mt. Margaret, except it's a left up onto a logging road. Perhaps you're hitting a different road network, farther back from the end of the road.
Anyway, happy birthday. It's a neat area to explore.
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lordhedgie
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We didn't drive to the end of the road, just the first trailhead after the one right by the Interstate.
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If you don't do it this year, you'll be one year older when you don't do it next year.
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arcticcat2
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TRIP DETAILS
Park at gold pond, gold creek trail head
tour past gold pond
take a right at a over grown road on right with a broken gate
take road up around 500' switching back and forth
get to a clearing go up and stay to right
at 3700' you are at the base of some large cliffs and one arrow couloir that start at 5400'
stay to the right and connect the open spots in the trees veering to the right to avoid cliffs above.
It levels out at 5100'
then ski down and connect the open spots in the trees
I have been to this area at least 50 times
Then ski down
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Rusty Knees
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Happy Birthday, Jimmy! How yah doing on that "one year older" deal 
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The best part of summer skiing is napping on a warm rock.
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Jim Oker
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Posts: 1239
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Sounds like the xmas trees at the bottom of the big trees up high aren't growing up enough to cause any real problems (it's been a few years since I got up there). Nice to know...
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dromond
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Happy B-day! Hopefully the needed snow will arrive over the next few days.
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John Morrow
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TRIP DETAILS
Park at gold pond, gold creek trail head
tour past gold pond
take a right at a over grown road on right with a broken gate
take road up around 500' switching back and forth
get to a clearing go up and stay to right
at 3700' you are at the base of some large cliffs and one arrow couloir that start at 5400'
stay to the right and connect the open spots in the trees veering to the right to avoid cliffs above.
It levels out at 5100'
then ski down and connect the open spots in the trees
I have been to this area at least 50 times
Then ski down
Many Thanks Adam,
I think the reference to "summit" confused us all. Sounds like a great approach, always wondered how thick the 2nd growth was.
John
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