February 16, 2005, Pelton Cr.
2/16/05
2185
1
Ross and I started really early. Cascade River Rd. has snow from quite early, but it has been driven and is easily passable to the gate at mile 20. 4WD, AWD, or chains are advisable. The high pressure winds from the east were ripping through Cascade Pass so we took the summer trail to avoid possible windslabs.
After dropping from Cascade Pass to Pelton Creek, the wind was gone. We had expected this, but it was still quite a relief. Neither of us had taken the low route to Cache Col, so we followed our instincts up what seemed the safest route. Near 6,500 feet at a quarter to 5, the terrain was clearly not that which hosts the Cache Glacier. We needed to drop below a buttress to our west.
We found ourselves above a deep gully at dawn. Across it were easy slopes leading to the Cache Glacier. The route above it looked a little loaded, with big cliffs below it. No thanks. Crossing the gully looked all right, but it was loaded pretty well too. Looking down it the terrain seemed cliffy so we decided to stop, make some coffee, and reconsider our options.
Ross retrieved the fuel and pot from his pack, then asked me, "You got the stove?"
"I thought you had the stove!"
We both had stoves at my house. Somewhere our conversation had went awry and we both left our stoves AT MY HOUSE.
Well I had only brought one liter of water, counting on the stove. So our MISadventure had reached its climax. We sat, shivered, and cat-napped in the early morning light.
We headed to the east again. We skinned up the drainage between the Cache Glacier and Pelton Glacier drainages. The snow was incredible, light fluff. We skied 2,000+ feet of the ultimate consolation powder down to Pelton Creek.
On the traverse to Cascade Pass, the lower portions of the aforementioned gully looked rather tame. Oh well, our fate for the day had been decided.
Cascade Pass has gotta be the most exemplary place to learn about windslabs existing on various aspects at the same time. I think the regular pattern is as follows. During storms slopes on the E and NE get loaded with prevailing southwesterlies. When good weather prevails, winds blasting through the pass from the east load all the west-facing features, and make the slabs on the opposite aspects even more treacherous by making them more cohesive. MAGIC!
The conditions in the North Fork valley are crazy. The bottom of the valley was a perplexing mix of rain crust, very dense wind slabs, and small pockets of light powder. The upper portions of the road just below the parking lot had been completely stripped of the snow during the morning, save our skin track which had been slightly compacted. We took solace in having beers for lunch, but we couldn't linger and enjoy them too long because it was COLD.
After dropping from Cascade Pass to Pelton Creek, the wind was gone. We had expected this, but it was still quite a relief. Neither of us had taken the low route to Cache Col, so we followed our instincts up what seemed the safest route. Near 6,500 feet at a quarter to 5, the terrain was clearly not that which hosts the Cache Glacier. We needed to drop below a buttress to our west.
We found ourselves above a deep gully at dawn. Across it were easy slopes leading to the Cache Glacier. The route above it looked a little loaded, with big cliffs below it. No thanks. Crossing the gully looked all right, but it was loaded pretty well too. Looking down it the terrain seemed cliffy so we decided to stop, make some coffee, and reconsider our options.
Ross retrieved the fuel and pot from his pack, then asked me, "You got the stove?"
"I thought you had the stove!"
We both had stoves at my house. Somewhere our conversation had went awry and we both left our stoves AT MY HOUSE.
Well I had only brought one liter of water, counting on the stove. So our MISadventure had reached its climax. We sat, shivered, and cat-napped in the early morning light.
We headed to the east again. We skinned up the drainage between the Cache Glacier and Pelton Glacier drainages. The snow was incredible, light fluff. We skied 2,000+ feet of the ultimate consolation powder down to Pelton Creek.
On the traverse to Cascade Pass, the lower portions of the aforementioned gully looked rather tame. Oh well, our fate for the day had been decided.
Cascade Pass has gotta be the most exemplary place to learn about windslabs existing on various aspects at the same time. I think the regular pattern is as follows. During storms slopes on the E and NE get loaded with prevailing southwesterlies. When good weather prevails, winds blasting through the pass from the east load all the west-facing features, and make the slabs on the opposite aspects even more treacherous by making them more cohesive. MAGIC!
The conditions in the North Fork valley are crazy. The bottom of the valley was a perplexing mix of rain crust, very dense wind slabs, and small pockets of light powder. The upper portions of the road just below the parking lot had been completely stripped of the snow during the morning, save our skin track which had been slightly compacted. We took solace in having beers for lunch, but we couldn't linger and enjoy them too long because it was COLD.