Lichtenberg-Bluebird sighting
12/15/11
WA Stevens Pass
2667
1
Rumors abound that Saturday would be a day the mythological Lichtenberg bluebird could be seen.
This was our first time on the south face so we approached it with eyes peeled and cameras at the ready. The ascent began immediately after crossing the creek near the culverts. We were greeted with firm but skinnable snow through the trees and once we hit the open areas we had a first glimpse of a bluebird day on Lichtenberg.
The snow softened quickly on the exposed south face but still was firm underneath. The clouds started rolling in around 12:30 chasing away the bluebird. We didn't want to lose the opportunity to ski some corn because of the quick freeze so we pulled the skins at 5,200' and made some good turns down, thanking the Lichtenberg bluebird for its gracious gifts.
I don't think we took the easiest route up (directly up the south face), once we hit about 5,200' we skinned towards the main East ridge and looked down and saw a boot pack and skin line. Probably was the better option to go up. Thoughts?
This was our first time on the south face so we approached it with eyes peeled and cameras at the ready. The ascent began immediately after crossing the creek near the culverts. We were greeted with firm but skinnable snow through the trees and once we hit the open areas we had a first glimpse of a bluebird day on Lichtenberg.
The snow softened quickly on the exposed south face but still was firm underneath. The clouds started rolling in around 12:30 chasing away the bluebird. We didn't want to lose the opportunity to ski some corn because of the quick freeze so we pulled the skins at 5,200' and made some good turns down, thanking the Lichtenberg bluebird for its gracious gifts.
I don't think we took the easiest route up (directly up the south face), once we hit about 5,200' we skinned towards the main East ridge and looked down and saw a boot pack and skin line. Probably was the better option to go up. Thoughts?
