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Topic: Feb 4, 2012 North Chiwaukum super bowl(spanking!) (Read 2000 times)
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John Morrow
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Posts: 499
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I always say, nothing quite compares to 4000 vertical feet of ice, styro wind slab, breakable crust, miniscule invisible pockets of meager stiff powder, and good ole' dust on crust! Throw in constant 30+ mph east winds barreling down the bowl freezing fingers and noses.
If you care where this vacation hot spot is:
It is the giant bowl on the north end of the Chiwaukum Range, visible from Hwy 2 at the Merritt climb, west of the Swauth. If you skied the Swauth yesterday could you just tell us if it was a bit more protected from this eastern onslaught?
Trailhead: Whitepine Creek Road
Approach: the switchbacking forever road visible from Hwy 2 or creative shortcuts through steep forest from 2900 to 4200 feet. Traverse into bowl--admire the some 500 lines in it, all of which are deceptively f@#ked by pelting winds. Exit bowl onto the NW ridge at 6400 feet: for no real good reason -unless you are a peakbagger for walk ups sort of thing. Or put your tail between your legs and strip the skins like we did.
More questions than answers:
Would standard west winds preserved the snow any different?
Are the Chiwaukums just too high for their eastern position, too north-south trending to avoid getting pelted by either east or west winds? Is this particular bowl simply too big and open to be unaffected by wind?
Is it really ever worth the approach?
Maybe I am just having a bad day.
We'll be back.
Best skiing: 4200' to 2900' steep (partial cut) open forest dust on crust. At least we finally found something consistent. Screw the hot bath, I am going to bed after the 4:45AM alarm this morning. Loved being out with the boys though, as usual of course. All six of ya'!
Lastly, prepare yourself to battle the hordes, who will invariably be headed up there tomorrow, if you want harvest those precious goods.
While downing my 49er Diner shake, I heard someone said, "Jim Hill was 'pretty good' today." I heard someone else say, "I watched a guy get blown off his feet on that NW ridge." Must just be a North Chiwaukum phenomena then.
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Big Steve
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Posts: 298
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Your first sentence is an apt description of the day! Fun day with you guys
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DCM
5Member
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Posts: 46
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Up on top of Arrowhead we watched the clouds just pouring down over the Chiwaukums down into those bowls. I can only imagine how windy it was! Occasionally strong gusts on Arrowhead, but not too bad overall. Looks like you got the brunt of the easterly flow.
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jwplotz
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Posts: 323
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Fantastically miserable!
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z-bo
5Member
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Posts: 21
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Is it actually called north chiwakum? I have always referred to it as the white pine cirque. Yes it is sometimes good, but usually that area is wind hammered by the time avalanche conditions dictate a green light. You can cut out most of the road approach if you know where to cut in.
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Pete_H
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Posts: 128
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We were in Colchuck Lake area yesterday and experienced similar conditions. I thought the wind may have been a local phenominon but I guess not.
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John Morrow
Member
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Posts: 499
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Is it actually called north chiwakum? I have always referred to it as the white pine cirque. Yes it is sometimes good, but usually that area is wind hammered by the time avalanche conditions dictate a green light. You can cut out most of the road approach if you know where to cut in.
Who knows? I've heard the peakbagger crowd call Pt. 7132, North Chiwaukum, so that is where I got the name. Mostly as geographic reference. I like Whitepine Cirque, though.
We beat a bit of brush to reach the road at switchback 1. Pic 3 shows a nice uptrack and return route away from the road at switchback 2. Heading up, 1/2 of our party climbed this open forest and half climbed the road. Descending, it went nicely from the end of the road at 4300' back to the 2nd switchback at 2900ft. Glad to have found it for the skiing at the end of the day.
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ps44
5Member
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Posts: 43
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For explanation of windy conditions over Cascades,
see here (was for Friday but may have extended into the weekend):
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/
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Eben
5Member
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Posts: 17
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seth and i skied back there in early december. the day before we had skied perfect un wind affected pow at similar aspect/elevation in cascade pass area but that chiwaukum zone was wind scoured down to boilerplate. i don't know what wind direction was for you but there didn't seem like much terrain sheltering it to the north
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peteyboy
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Posts: 186
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Mike Rolfs and I found the Dragontail couloir (south) and the Colchuk glacier (north) to cover your Northh Chiwaukum menu perfectly. Cold in full down at the col in bright sun, T-shirt weather at the top of the couloir right under the summit. Glacier was unpredictable 50% styrofoam, 20% breakable crust, 20% wind buff powder, and 10% mirror ice. Trouble was, in the shade late in the day, you couldn't tell what your next turn was going to be on.
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John Morrow
Member
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Posts: 499
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seth and i skied back there in early december. the day before we had skied perfect un wind affected pow at similar aspect/elevation in cascade pass area but that chiwaukum zone was wind scoured down to boilerplate. i don't know what wind direction was for you but there didn't seem like much terrain sheltering it to the north
This particular wind was constant out of the southeast, across the long NE trending ridge and funneling down slope through the bowl. I am curious to get back up there to see how prevailing west winds affect it--but you may have basically answered that for me! Pic 1 shows how the clouds were driven by the wind down below the ridgeline.
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