May 1, 2012, Chair Peak POW!
5/1/12
WA Snoqualmie Pass
4992
6
So we left Olympia originally planning to ski Bullion Basin. As we headed north on I5 we decided to switch it up and head to Chair Peak. When we got the parking lot at about 9:30, there was about 2 inches of new. As we climbed up it continued to snow. By the time we reached Source Lake there was at least 6 inches of new! Short break there then headed up further.
As we climbed higher the stability was noticeably different. Lots of "whomphing" going on under each step. Nothing seemed to do more than that, so we continued higher. Just before crossing the notch in the NE ridge, we had to pull the skins and bootpack the last 20 feet. It was an interesting bootpack. With the warm temps recently and the new snow, it felt like I was making no progress. But then I got a good technique going and was able to put in the bootpack.
Now on the north facing aspect the snow felt a little better. Still lots of movement under the skis, but not as bad. The conditions at this point were whiteout. We traversed the bowl below Chair to the saddle between Chair Peak and Melakwa Pass. We had discussed (rather joked) about summiting Chair but quickly realized that was out of the question due to the weather.
Had a beer at the saddle and began our descent. Reminder: The conditions were whiteout and lots of new snow! I was trying some new skis and really wanted to let them loose on all the fresh pow, but couldn't because I could barely see the terrain. After about 700ft of great May powder, one of my partners buried a tip and went head over heels. A very smooth and stylish fall.....except for the fact that he brake a ski in the midst of it! MAJOR BUMMER! He tried to ski on it a few turns but wasn't able to. So we used a shovel handle and 3 Voile ski straps to splint the ski. This worked well enough to get down to Snow Lake.
Once at the lake, we put the skins back on and made the trek back out. The broken ski did fine skinning, and he just kept the skins on for the rest of the descent back to the parking lot. All in all, a great adventure trip....as long as he gets a new ski out of it! Pics coming soon
As we climbed higher the stability was noticeably different. Lots of "whomphing" going on under each step. Nothing seemed to do more than that, so we continued higher. Just before crossing the notch in the NE ridge, we had to pull the skins and bootpack the last 20 feet. It was an interesting bootpack. With the warm temps recently and the new snow, it felt like I was making no progress. But then I got a good technique going and was able to put in the bootpack.
Now on the north facing aspect the snow felt a little better. Still lots of movement under the skis, but not as bad. The conditions at this point were whiteout. We traversed the bowl below Chair to the saddle between Chair Peak and Melakwa Pass. We had discussed (rather joked) about summiting Chair but quickly realized that was out of the question due to the weather.
Had a beer at the saddle and began our descent. Reminder: The conditions were whiteout and lots of new snow! I was trying some new skis and really wanted to let them loose on all the fresh pow, but couldn't because I could barely see the terrain. After about 700ft of great May powder, one of my partners buried a tip and went head over heels. A very smooth and stylish fall.....except for the fact that he brake a ski in the midst of it! MAJOR BUMMER! He tried to ski on it a few turns but wasn't able to. So we used a shovel handle and 3 Voile ski straps to splint the ski. This worked well enough to get down to Snow Lake.
Once at the lake, we put the skins back on and made the trek back out. The broken ski did fine skinning, and he just kept the skins on for the rest of the descent back to the parking lot. All in all, a great adventure trip....as long as he gets a new ski out of it! Pics coming soon
Thanks for the report. Glad you had a safe, fun trip. Any other objective snow analysis after the observed "whumpfing"? It may be "spring" but there is still a deep and reacting snow pack out there!
There was alot of debris from previous slides. They looked like large avy's too. So all in all, I'd say a pretty decent amount of activity. While skinning, often times the downhill ski would slide off the track and sometimes would propagate, but nothing ever ran more than a few inches.
Never occurred to you guys to turn around when you heard "whomphing" under each step? Kinda surprising nothing slid with all those red flags. Then again I wasn't out there touring with you so my opinion is of little use, and you made it out alright, and got some turns while I was busy working and dreaming of riding pow. Good job getting after it. Glad to hear everyone is okay.
It's the ol' 95% rule, as Tremper would call it- 95% of the time it's fine, even in dangerous conditions; like playing slots at a casino and winning with each pull of the handle, but when you lose, the casino security cronies rush you, throw a sheet over your head, drag you outside, and proceed to (asphyxiate) the hell out of you...
Glad everyone is ok.
Glad everyone is ok.
sounds sketchy and reckless. glad you guys are safe and had a good "adventure". might not get lucky like that again.....
I appreciate everyone's concerns, but we all felt it was safe to continue our route. All went well (minus the broken ski!), and it was a great learning experience.
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