January 15, 2006, Lichtenberg Mtn, Stevens Pass
1/15/06
WA Stevens Pass
4552
12
We met up with some folks from the Seattle area and accessed the SW side of Lichtenberg Mountain via the Nason Creek drainage from Yodelin.
There is a very large amount of avalanche debris once leaving the trees from an earlier, very large release. Snow conditions were excellent for such a large amount of new snow. We traversed the upper slopes with a healthy amount of caution, but it turned out to be quite stable and well-bonded to whatever was below. There are several rollovers on this terrain that could pose a problem in less stable conditions. We topped out, then did several laps and skied back out the drainage.
Thoroughly respect all Private Property signs. Some people do not like you skiing right by their cabin.
There is a very large amount of avalanche debris once leaving the trees from an earlier, very large release. Snow conditions were excellent for such a large amount of new snow. We traversed the upper slopes with a healthy amount of caution, but it turned out to be quite stable and well-bonded to whatever was below. There are several rollovers on this terrain that could pose a problem in less stable conditions. We topped out, then did several laps and skied back out the drainage.
Thoroughly respect all Private Property signs. Some people do not like you skiing right by their cabin.
Thanks to TAY we were able to connect up a solid group of 8 skiers to share trail breaking duties in some awesome snow conditions! As Iain stated, should you approach from Nason Creek be sure to keep a healthy distance from any Yodelin cabins or one of the owners in particular might make you a snowcat speed bump.
The old avy debris field served as a great reminder that the slope could let go in a big way. Given Sunday's avy forecast of 'moderate' combined with the less wind loaded SW aspect made us feel pretty good about stability. A couple of quick pits dug along the skin track as we traversed 5000' revealed no distinct layers and some poorly defined shears around 8" and 24" down. Snow got increasingly dense as we dug deeper. Only areas of concern were some gullies that had a bit of cross-loading and broke up into little 4" thick chunks.
Skiing the ridge line above 5500' the snow was somewhat stiff and crusty... below 5000' it got significantly better and from 4500' to 3500', esp. in the glades it was very, very nice... boot depth++ ;D The sun even teased us a couple of times.
Data dump at the end of the day revealed ~3300 vf of touring and 6 miles roundtrip. Hopefully someone caught a couple of good pics they might post.
-Scott
The old avy debris field served as a great reminder that the slope could let go in a big way. Given Sunday's avy forecast of 'moderate' combined with the less wind loaded SW aspect made us feel pretty good about stability. A couple of quick pits dug along the skin track as we traversed 5000' revealed no distinct layers and some poorly defined shears around 8" and 24" down. Snow got increasingly dense as we dug deeper. Only areas of concern were some gullies that had a bit of cross-loading and broke up into little 4" thick chunks.
Skiing the ridge line above 5500' the snow was somewhat stiff and crusty... below 5000' it got significantly better and from 4500' to 3500', esp. in the glades it was very, very nice... boot depth++ ;D The sun even teased us a couple of times.
Data dump at the end of the day revealed ~3300 vf of touring and 6 miles roundtrip. Hopefully someone caught a couple of good pics they might post.
-Scott
Glad you had a fun time out there.
Please be extremely careful in this area. This has quite possibly one of the most dangerous avalanche slopes in that area. I have seen very, very large debris piles at the base of these slopes many times.
I have also seen folks cut directly through the deposition zone at the base, cross near the very base of the large avalanche gully, and go across the top section of the gully in one of the potential release zones.....very risky stuff....
Makes the skin on the back of my neck crawl!
Keep having fun, and be safe out there....
Please be extremely careful in this area. This has quite possibly one of the most dangerous avalanche slopes in that area. I have seen very, very large debris piles at the base of these slopes many times.
I have also seen folks cut directly through the deposition zone at the base, cross near the very base of the large avalanche gully, and go across the top section of the gully in one of the potential release zones.....very risky stuff....
Makes the skin on the back of my neck crawl!
Keep having fun, and be safe out there....
See here for pics.
http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/536550/an/0/page/0#536550
http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/536550/an/0/page/0#536550
All the recent new snow and exposed terrain in the top third of the ascent made me a bit cautious. And yes, the debris field was big enough to give pause - kind of a mini-serac field/terrain park at the bottom. It went to ground fairly recently. Good comment by MarmotMtn.
But when we got out of the trees, the snow was really surprisingly consistent. I expected worse from the hasty pit but it was really uniform down to the last major interface (almost 4 ft). The more windward exposure probably helped us.
In the final analysis, the skiing was pretty damn good, especially in the glades half-way down. I wanted another lap (or two...or three...maybe one more after that too....).
Cheers,
Jim
But when we got out of the trees, the snow was really surprisingly consistent. I expected worse from the hasty pit but it was really uniform down to the last major interface (almost 4 ft). The more windward exposure probably helped us.
In the final analysis, the skiing was pretty damn good, especially in the glades half-way down. I wanted another lap (or two...or three...maybe one more after that too....).
Cheers,
Jim
More pics,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickpope/sets/72057594049630518/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickpope/sets/72057594049630518/
and some more pics.
fun times... felt like i made some good progress on my powder skiing skills that day!!
8)
fun times... felt like i made some good progress on my powder skiing skills that day!!
8)
Also, watch out for the folks with the vicious dog that live there and definitely do not want you there.
They like to unleash their dog after folks and seem to feel that some people just deserve to be bitten.
And, be prepared for the occassional snowmobiler that may come at you at high speed on the road.
....sometimes not exactly the backcountry experience that you may be looking for!
They like to unleash their dog after folks and seem to feel that some people just deserve to be bitten.
And, be prepared for the occassional snowmobiler that may come at you at high speed on the road.
....sometimes not exactly the backcountry experience that you may be looking for!
They like to unleash their dog after folks and seem to feel that some people just deserve to be bitten.
Yes! The owner of the cabin at the end of the road had a few choice words and didn't appreciate us trodding by his cabin at 8:00am. If you choose to go on this tour, be advised that you should head into the woods and uphill a bit at the last bend in the road. I believe there are just two bends, so be advised. Let's not get into access issues, because this was a sweet tour. Be prepared to turn around if the avy conditions are bad though.
Or think about approaching via Smith Brook and avoid some avy exposure and nasty dogs...
The Smith Brook Road portion of the north route is a tad tedious, but the ski up/down from there is pretty nice!
i agree, a good approach on high hazard day, but not the most direct route..
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