November 19, 2011, Crystal Mountain BC
11/19/11
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
2440
3
It was a slow start getting down to Crystal on Saturday. The snow/ice started right around Mud Mountain, causing a bunch of spinouts and making for a slow drive up. Looked like a lot of folks heading inbounds so we were happy to be going the other direction. Skinning up took some effort breaking trail through a foot of new. Things started to get interesting as we broke out of the thick trees and started hearing some occasional whoomphs. These were on W faces in the 6K area. No cracks or evidence of naturals other than some sluffs high off the ridge. We paused and discussed before finishing a skin track through tighter trees up to the ridge.
Skiing down the snow was so good and so deep that we had to do two more laps. No issues on any of our runs but we tried to ski glades and lower angles spots and space out. Around lap 2 it just started to nuke. Telemetry showed 11" coming in over three hours. The last run was basically face shots every turn. Coming out at 5pm through the area it was too deep to turn. All of us finished the day pretty stoked on an unexpectedly awesome day at Crystal!
Rough video of a few or our runs:
http://vimeo.com/32410795
Skiing down the snow was so good and so deep that we had to do two more laps. No issues on any of our runs but we tried to ski glades and lower angles spots and space out. Around lap 2 it just started to nuke. Telemetry showed 11" coming in over three hours. The last run was basically face shots every turn. Coming out at 5pm through the area it was too deep to turn. All of us finished the day pretty stoked on an unexpectedly awesome day at Crystal!
Rough video of a few or our runs:
http://vimeo.com/32410795
We followed tracks in to Miner's Basin above Gold Hills.
We skiied 6k ft E face w/ surface sluffs then tried 6k ft W face and nearly set off the whole facelet. Multiple fractures but no running avy. The trees by the edges let loose because of the avy being nearly set off. Occational wumphing all aspects 6k ft.
We skiied 6k ft E face w/ surface sluffs then tried 6k ft W face and nearly set off the whole facelet. Multiple fractures but no running avy. The trees by the edges let loose because of the avy being nearly set off. Occational wumphing all aspects 6k ft.
author=jhamaker link=topic=22402.msg95716#msg95716 date=1321829677">
We followed tracks in to Miner's Basin above Gold Hills.
We skiied 6k ft E face w/ surface sluffs then tried 6k ft W face and nearly set off the whole facelet. Multiple fractures but no running avy. The trees by the edges let loose because of the avy being nearly set off. Occational wumphing all aspects 6k ft.
Yeah, definitely a scary snowpack in spots around Crystal right now! Chris at CMSP has some impressive pics of depth hoar slides over at winterscience.com
By the way, where is Miner's Basin? I know the USGS map of the area has some errors but I always called that area above the Gold Hills lift Pickhandle Basin.
Interesting format at winterscience.com.
You are right. By the map we were in Pickhandle.
Safer access is 200' before the gully the skin track headed up on climber's right. Head up through the old growth before the creek/waterfall comming out of upper Pickhandle basin.
Great old growth tree skiing (rem too far spaced to count on as anchors) directly above the higher of the Gold Hills calets.
I realy wish I could have been out today and could be out tomorrow!
You are right. By the map we were in Pickhandle.
Safer access is 200' before the gully the skin track headed up on climber's right. Head up through the old growth before the creek/waterfall comming out of upper Pickhandle basin.
Great old growth tree skiing (rem too far spaced to count on as anchors) directly above the higher of the Gold Hills calets.
I realy wish I could have been out today and could be out tomorrow!
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