January 9, 2005, Polallie Ridge Powder!
1/9/05
3084
5
On the rocks. Smooth, yet with the occasional bite of granite. Just to keep things exciting.
Mark Tomko, Chris Cass and I went out to Polallie Ridge this morning hoping to take advantage of the new snowfall and do some exploring. The new snow was great. There was over a foot of nice fluff. We skinned up about 1700 feet to gain the ridge crest. We traversed the ridge for a while hoping to find some steep slopes below the summit that were indicated on the topo. We got there, but the trees were too tight to allow the snow to allow the snow to cover sufficiently so we turned around at that point.
The descent was full of blissful powder turns, puntuated but the sound of p-tex on rock and groaning skiers. Given sufficient coverage, that would be a great ski when avy conditions are bad. Nearly the whole trip was in fairly tight trees on moderate slopes and the only open slopes were easily avoidable. As for snow conditions now, there was just a couple of inches of packed firm snow capped off with rain crust, and then the 15+ inches of fluff on top.
Photos:
- We did find some good snow.
- This is what Chris looks like when he thinks that he has scraped a rock.
Daniel - If I jump this log, I can't hit rocks while I'm in the air.
Daniel - Staying alert.
Mark Tomko, Chris Cass and I went out to Polallie Ridge this morning hoping to take advantage of the new snowfall and do some exploring. The new snow was great. There was over a foot of nice fluff. We skinned up about 1700 feet to gain the ridge crest. We traversed the ridge for a while hoping to find some steep slopes below the summit that were indicated on the topo. We got there, but the trees were too tight to allow the snow to allow the snow to cover sufficiently so we turned around at that point.
The descent was full of blissful powder turns, puntuated but the sound of p-tex on rock and groaning skiers. Given sufficient coverage, that would be a great ski when avy conditions are bad. Nearly the whole trip was in fairly tight trees on moderate slopes and the only open slopes were easily avoidable. As for snow conditions now, there was just a couple of inches of packed firm snow capped off with rain crust, and then the 15+ inches of fluff on top.
Photos:
- We did find some good snow.
- This is what Chris looks like when he thinks that he has scraped a rock.
Daniel - If I jump this log, I can't hit rocks while I'm in the air.
Daniel - Staying alert.
That was some fantastic powder (on the rocks)!. At least no rocks were hit in that short glade that we yo-yo'd 3 times. I think this is the only tour I've been on where the snowpack actually got THINNER up high ??? (the additional branches of the denser forest up higher on the ridge seem to have captured much of the new snow before it could reach the ground).
Suprisingly no core shots needed; just some major "touch-up" work on some long but shallow scratches. Oh well, it was good exercise in a beautiful place...fortunately just far enough from the Salmon La Sac sno-park to get away from the angry wasp noises (snowmobile traffic).
A few other pics:
http://www.cascadesfreak.com/gallery/polallieridge1-05
--Chris
Suprisingly no core shots needed; just some major "touch-up" work on some long but shallow scratches. Oh well, it was good exercise in a beautiful place...fortunately just far enough from the Salmon La Sac sno-park to get away from the angry wasp noises (snowmobile traffic).
A few other pics:
http://www.cascadesfreak.com/gallery/polallieridge1-05
--Chris
Cass: what in the Jim-hell were you thinkin'?
it looked like nice snow. ;)
-kam
it looked like nice snow. ;)
-kam
Hey, good trip! And thanks for the snowpack info. Matt and I had a nice tour out Polallie Ridge last spring (here) and I want to go back, but was thinking that the snowpack might still be pretty marginal. With a better snowpack there are some nice big-tree forest runs available, as well as endless long touring possibilities. It is nice to be able to go into the heart of s-mobile country and still (mostly) escape them.
Charles- Looks like you had much better snow coverage there last spring ;) I'd agree that there'd be some nice big-tree forest runs available; Currently, at least an additional 2-to-3 feet of snow cover is probably needed to adequately cover most of the rocks and fallen logs on the upper portion of the ridge.
--Chris
--Chris
Cass: what in the Jim-hell were you thinkin'?
it looked like nice snow. ;)
-kam
We are very sick. The snow was ever so fluffy, but it was a cruel ruse.
I can't wait to go back.
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