Feb 26, 2012, Silver Peak East Slopes
2/26/12
WA Snoqualmie Pass
3070
2
Looking for trees, Don B, Jake, and I set out for some great tree skiing on the steep east slopes of Silver Peak: probably average 35 or 36 degrees with steeper rolls. Don, md2020, Brenda, and I found this area a few years ago.
Approach: Silver Fir chair at Central, to Grand Junction nordic hut, to Nordic Pass, to Windy Pass brought us to the final climb up along the NE ridge Silver Peak's east facing trees.
Skiing: Two great runs in 20 plus inches of generally uncohesive powder, on top of a couple inches of frozen dense snow, on the major rain crust from Tues/Wed.
Stability: Of course we couldn't reach the crust but Don tested a short 40 degree roll over and it slid easily, fracturing in a shape like the top half of a diamond, 40 feet across. Interestingly it was only 10 inches deep on the major rain crust at the convexity where it propogated, and then below in the concavity it was more like the true 20 inch total depth to the crust. Who says wind can't scour a convex rollover in an open old growth forest? Later he cut a second convex roll over 40 degrees to a safe tree and it slid strongly entraining all the snow to the crust for at least 500 feet with big swirls of powder poofing up off the tree trunks. None of us would have ever been below him at that moment, and we planned to ski a gentler adjacent rib, but it had the force to carry a skier fast through the trees with hard landings, though perhaps not completely bury a person. Same diamond shape to the crown but more like 75 to 100 feet across. We thought the rain crust may be more textured with tree bombs but it (or the 3 or 4 inches of dense refrozen wet snow lying on top it) was surprisingly smooth. (more pics at NWHikers)
Both runs were incredible from the top of our skin track at 4900 feet to Twin Lakes at 3100 feet.
Long slog back up to Nordic Pass compounded by me getting a wee bit turned around in the old growth below the Pass: it'd been a while since I had been there. Great choice Don, and thanks Jake for "just saying no" to Tronsen!
More pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23557848@N03/sets/72157629098931678/
Approach: Silver Fir chair at Central, to Grand Junction nordic hut, to Nordic Pass, to Windy Pass brought us to the final climb up along the NE ridge Silver Peak's east facing trees.
Skiing: Two great runs in 20 plus inches of generally uncohesive powder, on top of a couple inches of frozen dense snow, on the major rain crust from Tues/Wed.
Stability: Of course we couldn't reach the crust but Don tested a short 40 degree roll over and it slid easily, fracturing in a shape like the top half of a diamond, 40 feet across. Interestingly it was only 10 inches deep on the major rain crust at the convexity where it propogated, and then below in the concavity it was more like the true 20 inch total depth to the crust. Who says wind can't scour a convex rollover in an open old growth forest? Later he cut a second convex roll over 40 degrees to a safe tree and it slid strongly entraining all the snow to the crust for at least 500 feet with big swirls of powder poofing up off the tree trunks. None of us would have ever been below him at that moment, and we planned to ski a gentler adjacent rib, but it had the force to carry a skier fast through the trees with hard landings, though perhaps not completely bury a person. Same diamond shape to the crown but more like 75 to 100 feet across. We thought the rain crust may be more textured with tree bombs but it (or the 3 or 4 inches of dense refrozen wet snow lying on top it) was surprisingly smooth. (more pics at NWHikers)
Both runs were incredible from the top of our skin track at 4900 feet to Twin Lakes at 3100 feet.
Long slog back up to Nordic Pass compounded by me getting a wee bit turned around in the old growth below the Pass: it'd been a while since I had been there. Great choice Don, and thanks Jake for "just saying no" to Tronsen!
More pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23557848@N03/sets/72157629098931678/
Thanks for refinding it and the heads up on conditions.
Nice gang!
Big day, great looking trees.
Big day, great looking trees.
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