Home > Trip Reports > March 19, 2015, Snowgrass Mtn, Equinox Tour

March 19, 2015, Snowgrass Mtn, Equinox Tour

3/19/15
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Posted by ADappen on 3/20/15 10:02am
Tom Janisch and I embarked on what we dubbed 'The Equinox Tour' by skiing Snowgrass Mountain, a peak whose very name connotes winter's end and spring's beginning. The forecasted weather for the first day of spring (today) looked bad so we actually embarked on The Equinox Tour on the last day of winter (yesterday) -- but the Equinox Tour has a better ring to it than The Last Day of Winter Tour, so why worry about facts?

It may have been the last day of winter but we actually found less snow here this year than when we skied the peak in early June of 2011. This year we hit skiable snow at the 5,400-foot level, but the snowpack didn't really plump up until we were closer to 5,800 feet.

Skiing Snowgrass as a day trip is a stupid tour for those who like to turn. It's a long way in and the route to the summit itself is an endless traverse. The route also goes up and over a few passes so skins are going on and off more often than condoms on the first night of a honeymoon. The better recommendation is to camp near Lady's Pass and then enjoy some of the long runs coming off Snowgrass down into the South Fork of Chiwaukum Creek.

Of course Tom and I rarely listen to good advice -- especially when it comes from us -- so we did the Equinox Tour the stupid way. That means we needed our fingers and toes to count all the miles we logged while we only needed our fingers to count the number of turns we made. That being said, it was still a spectacular day out on skis.

Unexpectedly we followed the tracks of another party traversing from Chatter Creek to Highway 2.  This area doesn't get skied that much and at first we found it rude that others dared to ski our backyard on a weekday. Seven and half miles into the endeavor, we thought it rude that this party dared to branch off of our line and not break the final miles to the summit for us. Anyway, you cut it, thet party was rude. Still, I want to thank them. Without their contribution, we probably would have needed 15 hours rather than 13 hours to log all those turnless miles.

-- of the route.


Nice - thank you. 

Looks like a long trip through places worth visiting.  Wish the East side had more snow this year.

Nice going Andy/Tom,13 hours, that's why I try and stay away from you guys when you plan a trip! As much traversing as you did, it's better on skis,than the endless bolder hopping that it takes to do this trip in the summer.  Hope you had a few good turns. Thanks for the great pictures.

We missed not having you along, Jamie and wondered how you were doing on Rainier as we looked your way from the summit (see photo). As you're probably aware, I overstated the travel vs. turning element for the purposes of entertainment... we did have six or seven most-excellent turns (more photos). As you indicate, the fun and efficiency of skiing snow-covered slopes in winter vs. walking over stones and talus in summer is immense.




Is that Grindestone in that second picture of Tom?

If you're talking about the first batch of pictures (the scenic), the peak behind Tom is Cape Horn with Ladies Pass down in the low spot between the summit and Tom. Grindstone is behind Cape Horn and might be (??) the farther peak showing on the right skyline of Cape Horn.

Andy is really taking his analogies to the next level these days! Nice TR

Thanks for the report and all the photos! I love the Chiwaukums!

author=ADappen link=topic=33952.msg140198#msg140198 date=1426899779]

Unexpectedly we followed the tracks of another party traversing from Chatter Creek to Highway 2.  This area doesn't get skied that much and at first we found it rude that others dared to ski our backyard on a weekday. Seven and half miles into the endeavor, we thought it rude that this party dared to branch off of our line and not break the final miles to the summit for us. Anyway, you cut it, thet party was rude. Still, I want to thank them. Without their contribution, we probably would have needed 15 hours rather than 13 hours to log all those turnless miles.



Ha! That was myself and a few friends. If it makes you feel any better we're all local Bavarians...it's awesome to have such big terrain in the backyard. The traverse was a spectacular trip, we considered going to the top of Snowgrass but opted instead to veer through that low saddle and maintain trajectory. Nice job getting all the way back there on a day trip.

Hefeweisen, thanks for the excellent course setting. We admired the way you cut high around around Edna and kept the track on a steady climb without any lost elevation. We were jealous of you having a few days out there.

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ADappen
2015-03-20 17:02:59