May 6, Bedal powder! (not blower)
5/15/12
4019
11
Kenji and I thought it would be nice to get in one good swack this season so we went to Bedal peak. Starting from the fishermans trail off of forest road 4096 the trail climbs and traverses around toward Nels lake. Actually it's not a bad hike and no swacking to speak of. We hit snow at about 3000' and skinned to the top. What a perfect day! There is about 2 feet of new snow at the top (6500'). It was great skiing in the spring time powder. OK, I probably shouldn't call it powder but it looked like it and felt almost like it. With reports of new snow we were a bit concerned about stability but we saw no signs of instability. There was some wet sluffing on the steep sun warmed slopes, not unexpected. We skiied a beautiful 2500' shot on the north side and we could have gone further. But, we still needed to climb back up to a saddle to get down to the lake and out. Then we skiied down the chute to the lake and below. This was even more great skiing. We skied to the end of the snow at 2900' on a north aspect. We then had to do a little bit of swacking to get back to the trail and we reached the car at dark. What an awesome day!
A few more pix. BTW, it wasn't dark yet at 8 pm. I guess it took us 11 hrs...
Man- I'm surprised no one else has commented. Way to go. Awesome scenery!
It may be the time to re-visit the north slopes off Sloan. Does anybody know how the Sauk River crossing has been in the recent years?
Very cool place. You just added another one to my tick list... Thanks for sharing.
Excellent - thanks for sharing! I think that view of Sloan from the top is one of the best summit views in the area. The easiest access to Sloan for skiing, is possibly via the Bedal Basin TH, crossing over the divide at some point between the two peaks.
A few weeks ago when coming down Bedal, we stopped a bit to pick up annual deadfall that had fallen over the trail -- nothing too big had come down since I first started going up there. The trail, while brush-free, still has its few 'squirrely' spots, and could use some fresh flagging in a few places...
A few weeks ago when coming down Bedal, we stopped a bit to pick up annual deadfall that had fallen over the trail -- nothing too big had come down since I first started going up there. The trail, while brush-free, still has its few 'squirrely' spots, and could use some fresh flagging in a few places...
That's for sure about the squirrelly spots. On the way down we lost track of the trail a few times.
I think I would rather try to approach the NE side of Sloan from the bottom. Going up Bedal creek means you would have to climb back up to the saddle between Bedal and Sloan after you've skied down the NE shot. So, has anyone heard about crossing the NF of the Sauk, to repeat Kenji's question?
Sweet trip! The views are just spectacular and you guys got some good photos.
I crossed the NF Sauk a few years ago and the crossing was easy, but the trail was no where to be seen for the next 1.5 miles... However, I had some friends do it last summer and said it was super easy to follow and well maintained. The only problem is you have to bike in there to the TH since FS49 (i think that's the #) is closed at the mt loop intersection.
I crossed the NF Sauk a few years ago and the crossing was easy, but the trail was no where to be seen for the next 1.5 miles... However, I had some friends do it last summer and said it was super easy to follow and well maintained. The only problem is you have to bike in there to the TH since FS49 (i think that's the #) is closed at the mt loop intersection.
Thanks. I now found a FS post:
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49 Sloan Creek/North Fork Sauk
CLOSED
4/11/2012
Snow - Road is closed to vehicle traffic at mile 0.0 for repairs, and is expected to remain closed into the summer of 2012. Do not block gate or turnaround when parking.
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Maybe next year, or from West...
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49 Sloan Creek/North Fork Sauk
CLOSED
4/11/2012
Snow - Road is closed to vehicle traffic at mile 0.0 for repairs, and is expected to remain closed into the summer of 2012. Do not block gate or turnaround when parking.
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Maybe next year, or from West...
Cooler than a moose & twice as hairy!
Regardless of the bike ride to the Sloan Pk TH - I think the creek crossings could be troublesome in high water conditions. There were solid logs on all three when I was there two years ago.
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