Observations near Cascades Pass
5/15/13
4785
11
I was fortunate to head up and over Cascade Pass with Jason Hummel for a 3 day stint where we called Pelton Basin home. With Hummel just coming back from AK and myself spending almost 2 weeks straight in the alpine we were rather lazy and had a relaxed day doing the Magic S loop.
On our exit day we decided to leave via Sahale arms starting point instead of skinning up Cascade pass and within minutes heard a loud crash. The upper slopes of Mix up arm gave way and a (minimum of) 20 foot deep slope crashed down the into the basin. We were spooked as we could have easily been below the slope and if anyone was traversing to Cache Col they would have been dead.
As for ski conditions we expected wet slides on all slopes and carefully made ski cuts. We also kept our time on South facing slopes to a minimum. Johannesburg was shedding as usual but didn't cause and huge wetslides.
Long story short the mountains are shedding so please be aware and prepared as wet slides have a lot of power behind them.
On our exit day we decided to leave via Sahale arms starting point instead of skinning up Cascade pass and within minutes heard a loud crash. The upper slopes of Mix up arm gave way and a (minimum of) 20 foot deep slope crashed down the into the basin. We were spooked as we could have easily been below the slope and if anyone was traversing to Cache Col they would have been dead.
As for ski conditions we expected wet slides on all slopes and carefully made ski cuts. We also kept our time on South facing slopes to a minimum. Johannesburg was shedding as usual but didn't cause and huge wetslides.
Long story short the mountains are shedding so please be aware and prepared as wet slides have a lot of power behind them.
Interesting, I was contemplating heading into the same zone but was more psyched to climb than ski given the forecast and overall snow conditions. What do you mean by 20 ft slope gave way? Thanks for the clarification.
The upper slope on Mix Up Arm gave way and had what was easily a 20 foot crown that went directly down to the surface.
Pics??
whoa
that arm is sketch--seems Pelton basin is the way to go to Cache col, most of the time--a bit more climbing, but so much safer. imo.
that magic s loop has been on my mind recently--how were the conditions, ample snow in general?
thx for the report!
that arm is sketch--seems Pelton basin is the way to go to Cache col, most of the time--a bit more climbing, but so much safer. imo.
that magic s loop has been on my mind recently--how were the conditions, ample snow in general?
thx for the report!
I think the snow on those slabby rocks breaks up like that every year, but I'm not sure I've ever seen it quite that deep! Crazy...
author=hedonaut link=topic=28530.msg120001#msg120001 date=1368496590]
seems Pelton basin is the way to go to Cache col, most of the time--a bit more climbing, but so much safer. imo.
that magic s loop has been on my mind recently--how were the conditions, ample snow in general?
I agree about Pelton Basin it was my first time but I have always been spooked when looking at that traverse. A bit more time but you are not on top of a cliff.
The Magic S loop is way scenic. Made me decide I never want to Schwack up the Middle fork. Coverage was good and the climb up Plan B couloir on Hurry Up was filled in. The first two descents are a tad bit too traversy for my liking but Magic and S are RAD descents right now, not my debris in the bottom and easily negotiable.
Yeah, that "event" off mixup arm seems to be a yearly event. I've never witnessed it, but have seen the aftermath and have avoided going up mixup arm in the Spring for that very reason. Dropping down in to Pelton Basin and climbing straight up to Cache Col seems the safer bet if those slopes are still threatening the traverse. Great shot of the carnage, though!
Yikes. Was up the White Salmon drainage on 5/1 and there was some serious carnage in there from the previous warm-up... lots of 8-12ft releases at various points along Shuksan arm and some freshly sheared trees to 30" diameter. On the one hand, spring skiing is "safer" in terms of the predictability of skier triggered slides, but it can take a long time for all the slabs to come down, and the naturals go BIG.
That is HUGE. No surviving that shit. Thanks for the info!!
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