January 13, 2005, Bullion Point
1/13/05
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
2446
0
Sergio (sverdina.com) and I cancelled plans to go to Green Mountain after the analysis of the snowpack, and I decided to take him up on his offer to be escorted through the Crystal BC.
We arrived at the empty Ski Resort parking lot around 9am and headed up the snowmobilers trail. It was a nice and easy approach to get into the Bullion Basin area. The wind had affected alot of the slopes in the region, loading them in all different directions. Wind crusts here, then soft pow there, and so on.
We skinned up towards the ridgeline on the ascent path to Bullion Point and found a beautifully wind carved ridgeline that aimed us for our highpoint and descent line.
It was easy to tell that the hard raincrust was under the 8" of powder that we had skinned up on, but it was very difficult to get any of it to move. Stomping and tantrums could not make it go. So we made out descent through some glades and had some awesome ;D (almost) turns all the way to the bottom of the basin. Sergio was able to board through the thin crust that had settled on top of the lower basins snowpack, but I was unable to stay on top of it most of the time.
We broke trail and skinned back up to the ridgeline and aimed for a line on skiers left more back towards the saddle. It was very frigid thorughout the entire day, keeping the snow soft and fluffy (in spots).
Our second run unveiled the inconsistencies in the snowpack >:(. The top portion was sweet, with the mid section turning into an unbreakable crust that was hard and icy. What seemed like 40 degrees in spots (when the truth means you take what you think it is, divide that in half and add 10) was the hardpack that made my skis chatter the most.
Getting back up to the saddle was much easier with a trail already broken, and we headed back up to Bullion Point and then down the opposite side towards the trail. The upper portion was icy and wind blasted, but when we got in the wind protected areas with gullies and such, the turns and pow were plentiful :D
After a short hike on some flat sections, we were able to blaze down the snowmobile track back down to the car and get 4000 vert in for the day. A really nice area, with many more area to explore. The Crowne Point area looks reall sweet...............
More pictures www.cascadeguide.com
We arrived at the empty Ski Resort parking lot around 9am and headed up the snowmobilers trail. It was a nice and easy approach to get into the Bullion Basin area. The wind had affected alot of the slopes in the region, loading them in all different directions. Wind crusts here, then soft pow there, and so on.
We skinned up towards the ridgeline on the ascent path to Bullion Point and found a beautifully wind carved ridgeline that aimed us for our highpoint and descent line.
It was easy to tell that the hard raincrust was under the 8" of powder that we had skinned up on, but it was very difficult to get any of it to move. Stomping and tantrums could not make it go. So we made out descent through some glades and had some awesome ;D (almost) turns all the way to the bottom of the basin. Sergio was able to board through the thin crust that had settled on top of the lower basins snowpack, but I was unable to stay on top of it most of the time.
We broke trail and skinned back up to the ridgeline and aimed for a line on skiers left more back towards the saddle. It was very frigid thorughout the entire day, keeping the snow soft and fluffy (in spots).
Our second run unveiled the inconsistencies in the snowpack >:(. The top portion was sweet, with the mid section turning into an unbreakable crust that was hard and icy. What seemed like 40 degrees in spots (when the truth means you take what you think it is, divide that in half and add 10) was the hardpack that made my skis chatter the most.
Getting back up to the saddle was much easier with a trail already broken, and we headed back up to Bullion Point and then down the opposite side towards the trail. The upper portion was icy and wind blasted, but when we got in the wind protected areas with gullies and such, the turns and pow were plentiful :D
After a short hike on some flat sections, we were able to blaze down the snowmobile track back down to the car and get 4000 vert in for the day. A really nice area, with many more area to explore. The Crowne Point area looks reall sweet...............
More pictures www.cascadeguide.com
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