Home > Trip Reports > March 5-6, 2005, Hidden Lake Peaks and West Dick

March 5-6, 2005, Hidden Lake Peaks and West Dick

3/5/05
WA Cascades East Slopes Central
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Posted by skykilo on 3/7/05 5:50am
The Hummels, Phil Fortier and I went to Hidden Lake Peaks in search of adventure.  Phil drove, then handed the reins to Josh a quarter mile below the trailhead.  Josh wiped the sleep from his eyes and brazenly motored us to the trailhead with his resolute foot, waking us all with liberal doses of adrenaline in the process.

The snow was icy spring freeze-thaw up Sibley Creek.  Josh lead our leisurely jaunt to the 7,088' summit of Hidden Lake Peak.  We found a sweet camp site and slept a couple hours.  Later that afternoon a wakeup call from Sergio and co.  motivated us to ski to the lake and farm some turns.  There was some really chunky powder to the north off the 6,900' sub-summit.  

Sunday we started rather late.  There had been a little snow, but in classic 2005 fashion nothing accumulated.  Lots of discourse put our approach to the Triad (the Three Dicks!) just above Hidden Lake Creek traversing some steep, brushy terrain around a buttress.  I was pretty keen about the couloir on the other side.  It was 1,500+ vertical feet, averaging somewhere in the mid-30's.   It finally opened in a bowl just below a 6,800' peak west of the Triad.  There is actually a thin couloir that emerges from the bowl to a 7,000' high point that would be an aesthetic conclusion to the couloir we climbed, which would stretch the descent to 2,500' directly to Hidden Lake Creek.

Jason was the first to boot over a 6,500' saddle and see the west peak of the Triad.  We had eyed its southwest face from Hidden Lake the previous afternoon.  I thought it was begging to be skied.  Opinions varied.

Despite the lively discussion regarding skiability, my mind was made.  I booted toward the peak with an ice tool in one hand and a ski pole in the other.  The snow seemed perfect for booting and I never bothered with crampons.  In an icy 50 degree chute I began to question the naked boot, but I was able to kick it.  Phil had decided to descend and wait when the slope reached 37 degrees.  The Hummels followed with lots of questions about how it looked.  Let's see, icy 50 degree chute that's 3 feet wide, "It looks sweet!"

About ten to twenty vertical feet below the summit we found featureless, slabby rock.  The exposure felt awesome; I really want to look at the north aspect of this thing now.  The rock was only 20 degrees, but we didn't want to mess with it in our plastic boots.  In retrospect it would have been easy to walk up it with bare feet for the mountaineering pleasure of obtaining the summit, but oh well.  We returned to our skis another 20 feet below us.

Josh had well-founded concerns about skiing the route we had climbed.  I had him tie my rope to his harness and coil the rest around himself.  Before resorting to the belay and rappel, I had one more option to check.

I skied onto the steep slopes first.  The southern portion of the face featured more open slopes.  There was a traverse above some cliff bands that would put us into our chute without any rappels.  The only question was if the snow would allow it, since the traverse appeared steeper than the slopes before or after it.  The snow was perfect corn and I relished steep jump turns on the immaculate surface.  After my first couple turns I knew it was good and I gave the Hummels the signal.

I measured the slopes above the traverse in the upper forties.  The traverse was significantly steeper, and the two cliff bands below it, while relatively small, were still quite stimulating to behold.  I shouted for joy when I reached the chute.  Call it reckless or foolhardy if you will, but that moment of clarity is one of the reasons I love skiing steeps.  I truly felt like the king of the world.  The entree had left my heart throbbing, and some 50 degree turns without serious exposure would follow for dessert.

The Hummels followed without incident.  I accidentally left my gloves where I stopped to take photos in the chute.  As a nod to the first ascensionists and in the vein of descriptive names, I thought we could dub the descent No Rap on the Dick.

The never-ending couloir was also plenty pleasant.  It was a rather long skin track on the return to our gear above Sibley Creek Pass.  Skins became unbearably heavy with sticky snow above 6,000'.  A few raindrops here and there didn't wet our spirits at all.  Jason and I just managed to ski to the valley and the creek without headlamps.  

The conditions encountered were chunky powder, really good corn, rotten isothermal snow, and deep wet slush.  It sure does feel like May out there...



No that seems like a pretty good way to celebrate one's birthday.  Nice job.  Great report.

I thought circumcision was a better name :)

...And phil, thanks for coming 8)

It was entertaining watching you guys come down on the West Dick.

line

Too bad the turning-to-standing-still ratio didn't make for super exciting footage with my low camera battery :-)


Here is a picture of Sky making a jump turn.


Shesh - what happen to the Miras?

Jeff,

The Miras are great for any kind of soft condition.  However, over the past year I have found their performance inadequate in icy conditions several times.  The TMX's hold a much stronger edge on ice with less chatter.  They're also amazing at ripping through crusts and chunky snow.  

So there you have it.  Now if it would dump five feet, you'd see me choosing the lighter Miras to keep me breaking trail with less fatigue...

Dynafits all around though, baby!

The West peak "Bowl" area sure is a beautiful ski spot.  I "discovered" it for the first time last year, as a spot that just stood out on the topo maps as great ski terrrain.  Didn't get as far as the West peak though, too distracted by the other terrrain.  It did look inviting.  That is, everything  other than what you show in your route photo!

A point of interest is that that 30ish degree coulour just east of Sibley pass is plainly visible from the road.  A nice short run.  Just curious about the conditions, are the rocks poking through about half way down that slope?

Certainly out of the way of the "hoards" on HLP if you are willing to climb a few hundred feet of blueberries and heather.

I am glad to see that there is something to ski.

Alan

Alan,

That bowl sure does look awesome.  The couloir had a rock showing in one spot about half the way down it.  We easily navigated or jumped over it, but I would imagine that unless we get snow that spot will soon grow.  It's nothing that couldn't be scrambled without too much trouble, though.  

There's a peak just above the couloir on climber's right that has a skiable ramp to the summit.  Peak to creek would be at least a 2,300' descent.  It definitely merits attention.

Skykilo,

Actually when I skied it last year there were several spots with rocks sticking out.  No real problem, just things to ski around.  Also with a little less snow, the slope probably was a little steeper just below those rocks, but just for a turn or two.

I cannot remember when it was I skied that.  I tried to look back to see if I posted on that trip, but didn't see anything.  I do remember that I headed out there after doing the HLP stuff the weeks before, and that conditions on the west facing slopes of HLP were starting to melt down to the boulders.

I know that this year is very advanced to that of last and even last wasn't great, but it is encouraging that the area will be fun to ski for a little while.

Thanks,
Alan

Bigsnow, that must be a good looking couloir. I never thought of looking at it from cascade river road. Next time I'm heading up it, I'll have to take a gander. Nice job getting out there.  I thought it was a great ski and would really make a healthy day with maybe 7k of vert. I plan of getting out there again for sure.

Jason,

There is a view of it some distance prior to the intersection of Cascade River road and the road to the trail head.  I am not exactly sure where though.  What I remember of it (and I have some photos of it from the road) is that you can see the coulouir and Sibley Pass, but foreground hills block the view of HLP.  At least in that one view.  I'll have to check.

I never got to the West peak of the Triad but it did look inviting.  I now have the same setup as what Sky is pictured in on this thread and I will just have to try it.  Problem is, going solo and with general lack of skills, I will stay below the death slope!

The nice thing about the terrain west of the West peak is that it mostly is accessable from below or above since there is a nice tread on top of the ridge that services those slopes including the nice slot just east of the pass.  It is great hiking, very airy and scenic.  Would have made for a classic photo of me walking to the couluoir from above with skis on my pack.  Problem was that I was the only soul there.  Come to think of that, not really a problem.  Maybe I'll hit it when you guys are there.

Alan

Not sure how you could see a couloir that is east of Sibley pass, from an area west of the Cascade River Road/Hidden Lake Peak road intersection.  Maybe we're talking about different couloirs?  (You refer to it as short, but it's actually pretty long).  Looking at the map, it looks like you could see it from way up Cascade River Road maybe...

When you cross Marble Creek, just before the Hidden Lake Road junction, there is a nice view up to this couloir.



I really like those skis on steeps. They edge really nice!  ;D

After rereading the first post, it occurs to me that we are talking about completely different slopes!  What threw me off was in the discussion about not being able to see the Triad till rounding the butress or ridge.

My approach to the area was essentially up the right side of the bit avalanche slope (As you face it).  Once onto the flats, the couliour I am talking about is above right.  You can's see the Triad or Eldorado until you cross the flats and get over the ridge that forms part of the cradle for the slope I am talking about.

It is this description of not seeing the Triad until turning the ridge that threw me off.  Same experience, you guys must have used a different approach.  Anyway the slope I refer to is basically just east and north of Sibley pass.  It faces NW and can't be missed.  It is not 1500ft. and it doesn't look like your photo.  More of a bowl than a coulouir, but then that all relative....

Sorry, now I have more to look for.

Alan

Ah, I might know the couloir you're talking about.  Starts off very narrow off on the side of a steep bowl, and drops north from the benches to the north of HLP, down to the open basin below?  We definitely saw that (skinned right above it on the way back), and it looked good.

The couloir in my photo isn't what we skied - what we skied was much gentler, very slot-like, can't be seen from anywhere really, and faces directly south, is shown as a stream on the map, and drops to the valley floor at 4500ft.

There be little couloirs for everybody around there...


That sounds more like it.  Yes there is a lot to do in that compact area and great places to camp as well.

Alan

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