February 17, 2017, ONP Steeple Rock
2/17/17
WA Olympics
2138
1
Weather was surprisingly mild with clear skies most of the tour, which made up for marginal skiing. The road was clear and open early, but the sun was sending rocks onto the pavement.
Lots of rain there, runnels in some slopes like May and a very frozen road. Skinning the W side of Steeple was hard and we finished by booting to the ridge. The crust was firm for skiing but easy to bust through to bottomless deep. Two of us wallowed to the summit; an axe helped some, and the top had deep blue views into the heart of the Olympics. Huge pinwheel scars and debris from collapsed lips showed how different it was the last two days.
First turns were still unthawed, but a second lap yielded the first proto-corn of the season. ;D
Steeple has a beautiful shape and is a classic Olympics Gilligan's Island ski:
"A three-hour tour...."
Lots of rain there, runnels in some slopes like May and a very frozen road. Skinning the W side of Steeple was hard and we finished by booting to the ridge. The crust was firm for skiing but easy to bust through to bottomless deep. Two of us wallowed to the summit; an axe helped some, and the top had deep blue views into the heart of the Olympics. Huge pinwheel scars and debris from collapsed lips showed how different it was the last two days.
First turns were still unthawed, but a second lap yielded the first proto-corn of the season. ;D
Steeple has a beautiful shape and is a classic Olympics Gilligan's Island ski:
"A three-hour tour...."
"Two of us wallowed to the summit." That is an understatement! Unconsolidated sugar snow on the north aspect made for some exasperating climbing often punching through the crust up to our hips. One more than one occasion I heard Mack cry out "I can't get any purchase." Well worth the effort though as we were rewarded with stellar views in all directions. You can see some of the evidence of the fire scars left from last summer's fire in Cox Valley.
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