December 5, 2004, Rainy Pass (Ridge N of Rainy Lk)
12/5/04
2267
2
We arrived at ~10:00 AM at Rainy Pass, our group (3 full cars) filling the remaining parking spots left in the small plowed out areas at the pass. Owing to our relatively large group size (9 people) it probably looked more like a circus than a ski outing at the trailhead ;D
Several other groups had started out ahead of us towards different destinations, some apparently headed towards Heather Pass and others on the opposite side of the valley towards Cutthroat Pass. We encountered 1 other party of skiers (plus a dog) on the Lk Ann-Rainy Lk divide.
We broke track more or less on the summer trail route up the prominent high ridge dividing Lake Ann and Rainy Lake. Ascending up the forested ridge we were rewarded with brief glimpses of the rugged snow-clad peaks (including the Liberty Bell group) across the valley and beyond. The sunbreak didn't last long as visibility diminished through the afternoon, while the snowfall rate increased.
The snowpack was ~3-to-4 feet deep near the top of the ridge (elev. ~6,700') with ~14" of fresh on top.
We dropped into a nice gladed run (~500 vert. feet) in knee-deep pow through well spaced trees towards the Rainy Lake drainage on a SE aspect.
Upon skinning back up, we had initially planned to ski a small bowl on the Heather Lake side of the ridge; however this slope was noticeably wind-loaded, and the upper snowpack was easily movable at the top of the slope (north-northwest aspect; easily fractured and sheared off ~8" deep, above the late November crust).
Instead of skiing that bowl for the second run, part of the group skied the glades near the ridge top, while myself and a few others dropped back down a similar line to the first run.
We made full use of the remaining daylight, beginning our ski descent of the ridge (nice knee-deep glade skiing in the upper portion, followed by a couple miles of trail skiing) around 3:30 pm; we arrived back at Rainy Pass about a half hour after sunset.
A rare sighting on the descent: the nocturnal Tele-Ninja (see):
http://www.cascadesfreak.com/gallery/rainypass12-5-04/DSCF0614
The next snow storm was well under way by the time we had started down the ridge. The drive back was somewhat interesting in terms of weather. The snow turned to rain from Diablo Lk to Newhalem, then back to heavy snow farther down the valley, especially in Rockport. We were back in the rain by Darrington, then clear sky and stars were visible by Arlington.
A few other photos:
http://www.cascadesfreak.com/gallery/rainypass12-5-04
--Chris
Several other groups had started out ahead of us towards different destinations, some apparently headed towards Heather Pass and others on the opposite side of the valley towards Cutthroat Pass. We encountered 1 other party of skiers (plus a dog) on the Lk Ann-Rainy Lk divide.
We broke track more or less on the summer trail route up the prominent high ridge dividing Lake Ann and Rainy Lake. Ascending up the forested ridge we were rewarded with brief glimpses of the rugged snow-clad peaks (including the Liberty Bell group) across the valley and beyond. The sunbreak didn't last long as visibility diminished through the afternoon, while the snowfall rate increased.
The snowpack was ~3-to-4 feet deep near the top of the ridge (elev. ~6,700') with ~14" of fresh on top.
We dropped into a nice gladed run (~500 vert. feet) in knee-deep pow through well spaced trees towards the Rainy Lake drainage on a SE aspect.
Upon skinning back up, we had initially planned to ski a small bowl on the Heather Lake side of the ridge; however this slope was noticeably wind-loaded, and the upper snowpack was easily movable at the top of the slope (north-northwest aspect; easily fractured and sheared off ~8" deep, above the late November crust).
Instead of skiing that bowl for the second run, part of the group skied the glades near the ridge top, while myself and a few others dropped back down a similar line to the first run.
We made full use of the remaining daylight, beginning our ski descent of the ridge (nice knee-deep glade skiing in the upper portion, followed by a couple miles of trail skiing) around 3:30 pm; we arrived back at Rainy Pass about a half hour after sunset.
A rare sighting on the descent: the nocturnal Tele-Ninja (see):
http://www.cascadesfreak.com/gallery/rainypass12-5-04/DSCF0614
The next snow storm was well under way by the time we had started down the ridge. The drive back was somewhat interesting in terms of weather. The snow turned to rain from Diablo Lk to Newhalem, then back to heavy snow farther down the valley, especially in Rockport. We were back in the rain by Darrington, then clear sky and stars were visible by Arlington.
A few other photos:
http://www.cascadesfreak.com/gallery/rainypass12-5-04
--Chris
Nice photos Cass! I don't recall running into a tele-ninja on the trip, but you never know.
You gotta be careful of the ninjas when skiing after dark...
The weather changed incredibly fast when we were up there. If went from incredibly beautiful - one could see all the big peaks with deep blue skies and lazy mists in the valleys - to full on blizzard in less than a few hours. It was if a wizard were summoning in the clouds and they came out of nowhere - like Saruman at the pass of Caradhas.
Several times when one of us stepped out of our bindings, we would fall into bottomless powpow and have to swim to get back to solid ground...
The weather changed incredibly fast when we were up there. If went from incredibly beautiful - one could see all the big peaks with deep blue skies and lazy mists in the valleys - to full on blizzard in less than a few hours. It was if a wizard were summoning in the clouds and they came out of nowhere - like Saruman at the pass of Caradhas.
Several times when one of us stepped out of our bindings, we would fall into bottomless powpow and have to swim to get back to solid ground...
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