Feb 26 - Enchantments traverse
2/26/16
WA Cascades East Slopes Central
5742
9
Took some faith in the nwac positive outlook for saturday weather - ethan and i skiied in snow lake, out colchuck. I'll add more notes and photos later. Great scenery, not best snow.
Skinnable from car. Followed trail 90% of time. Every kind of windboard you'd imagine in basin. Asgard was firm up high, 1" wind slab that moved without consequence at mid height, and creamy snow with a bit of a trap, or it could have been my legs fatigue down low. Cream cheese in trees below colchuck was fairly manageable.
Skinnable from car. Followed trail 90% of time. Every kind of windboard you'd imagine in basin. Asgard was firm up high, 1" wind slab that moved without consequence at mid height, and creamy snow with a bit of a trap, or it could have been my legs fatigue down low. Cream cheese in trees below colchuck was fairly manageable.
Nice work. I've done several one day hike/runs thru but never a ski. Pretty committing. I've always wondered about Avalanche debris in those steep chutes coming off Wedge Mountain/Ridge. So many broken/transported trees... The basin must have been gorgeous. Can't wait to see the pictures.
Not a whole lot more to add to the conditions report, actually. Here is some eye candy:
Clear skies from the TH:
Working our way up the drainage:
Ethan skinning across the lake that is Nada Lake:
First glimpses of the alpine from Snow Lake... effort beginning to pay off:
Creek crossings were cruiser, being on trail and all:
Snow Lake
The goods!
Prussik - granite looked warm (probably just an illusion)
Sunshine for most of the day...
Ethan working up from Inspiration
Little Annapurna
Oh yeah, we made a few turns. they were exhilarating...
Clear skies from the TH:
Working our way up the drainage:
Ethan skinning across the lake that is Nada Lake:
First glimpses of the alpine from Snow Lake... effort beginning to pay off:
Creek crossings were cruiser, being on trail and all:
Snow Lake
The goods!
Prussik - granite looked warm (probably just an illusion)
Sunshine for most of the day...
Ethan working up from Inspiration
Little Annapurna
Oh yeah, we made a few turns. they were exhilarating...
thanks for the report. any snaps of dragontail NF?
Best shot probably here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153390737530770&set=a.471360550769.256922.667745769&type=3&theater¬if_t=mentions_comment
You know this isn't cascade climbers though, eh? That thing looks scary.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153390737530770&set=a.471360550769.256922.667745769&type=3&theater¬if_t=mentions_comment
You know this isn't cascade climbers though, eh? That thing looks scary.
Nicely done - it's on my list
Fabulous photographs & a stout effort.
Forgot to ask - what was your time?
Car to car was just under 12 hours - I was dragging most of the way through the basin after the climb up, but especially with more consolidated snow, it would be a few hours better I would think. While we were able to skin to and ski back down to Icicle Creek, which was nice, I think hitting it just a little later would have provided better travel / ski conditions.
Erik covered most of it, but I thought I'd throw a link to the blahg, with a few more details and my own set of photos:
https://beyondtheranges.wordpress.com/2016/03/08/skiing-across-the-enchantments/
https://beyondtheranges.wordpress.com/2016/03/08/skiing-across-the-enchantments/
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