Mar 24, 2012, Stuart Range Axis Peak. 7550 N. Gully/bowl
Starting in Leavenworth at 7:15 we headed to the end of Icicle plowing. Jake and I met Dave and Matt at the TH. Then the long skin up the Mountaineer Creek Road, that I just love to hate. Soon we met a solo gent named Kevin and invited this strong young man along. An hour later we left firm snowmobile tracks for a snowshoe track part way up the Eightmile Lake trail. Vestiges of mid boot powder appeared in the shade! Finally reaching the lake at 4600 feet after 7 miles or so of road and trail skinning. Now for the real climbing. We made pretty good time climbing 2500 vertical feet to the col at just under 7000 feet.
Snow was great recycled powder all the way from Eightmile Lake, deepening to boot top high above 6000 feet. No wind effect, just stable recycled powder increasing in hardness with depth. Point releases off the rocks from previous days only sent sluffs. No evidence of any crown or slab fractures. Sun came out at the top, we got concerned, but radiative cold off the snow itself kept this dead north facing line cold, deep, and light. No time for the summit which would have had sketch south facing skiing anyway.
Unbelievable deep, stable, and forgiving powder! We dropped to 5000 feet and had so much fun we climbed back in our now shady skin track to 6200 feet for another 1600 foot run! A fast trail and road ski out to the Trailhead, and we were celebrating in Springtime air in no time.
Simply awesome day gents...
More Pics...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23557848@N03/sets/72157629660950287/
those tele kids can only handle so much pow
author=kevino link=topic=24264.msg102534#msg102534 date=1332657966]
You should really watch out for those random solo dudes named kevin....
Yeah, that dude was shady for sure! We should have known he was a TAY'er. Can't never trust someone in that crowd.
J
author=jwplotz link=topic=24264.msg102532#msg102532 date=1332655549]
Ooh! I love this run! Nice one John. AKA Axis peak, right?
Axis it is! We were hoping to find you ahead of us putting in the skin track, you know. By the way, John, where did you ever find the line off the true summit??? Dang it is thin!
J
author=John Morrow link=topic=24264.msg102537#msg102537 date=1332682261]
Axis it is! We were hoping to find you ahead of us putting in the skin track, you know. By the way, John, where did you ever find the line off the true summit??? Dang it is thin!
J
It is almost always too thin on that one, but that gully sure fills in nicely! Is 8 Mile Road still all snow or is there some hiking to do?
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