December 8, 2002, Chinook Pass
12/8/02
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
2692
2
:D
Though this report will echo Ron and Mad Dog's, I've got to file it anyway. I've got a neighborhood group with whom I ski, and we'd also invited fellow Martin Volken disciple Chris M. to join us.(3 of us live within a block; it makes trip planning a snap!) Having read Charles' report of last weekend, and knowing a bit of fresh fell on Wednesday, Chinook Pass was the goal. Got there at 8:00 A.M., just in time for sunrise on Rainier. Skiied the west face of Naches Peak from the car, skinning up about 600'. The temp was about 28 F. at the pass, and about 40 where we stopped, even got hit with a SantaAna-style wind about halfway up! The snow was great! About 4" of surface hoar on top of a bomber foot-deep crust. The pitch was perfect (begins at 40 deg., and gradually eases up from there.), and the "yippee's" flowed freely. One of my neighbors, Bruce, has been a new father for about 2 months, and this was his first trip on his new HeliStinx package. He was lovin' life as the moment engulfed him.
After that, we got back in the car, drove to the Naitonal Forest dividing bridge ( a whopping 1/4 mile) and scoped out the scene. Decided to hit the north face of Naches, about 1/3 of the way around to the east. Bootpacked up to a spot just below a cliff band, then got about 1100' of vert in the same conditions. Skiied a nice 45 deg. pitch for about 300 vert, then through a nice little gully. At the bottom of the run, we followed a traverse path back to the west, and yo-yoed a few laps on the same slope that Ron and Jeanette reported on. As we were leaving, we ran into those 2, and gave them our positive assessment of the day. It was nice to finally meet them, as they are fellow streak holders, and I view and use their trip reports on a regular basis. By the way, their pix give a great visual synopsis of the conditions we had to endure.
The weather folks say that the snow is coming, but, with 2 budding skiers at home, and a supportive ski widow, I've got to get it whilst the gettin's there. Hope to meet more of you soon.
Though this report will echo Ron and Mad Dog's, I've got to file it anyway. I've got a neighborhood group with whom I ski, and we'd also invited fellow Martin Volken disciple Chris M. to join us.(3 of us live within a block; it makes trip planning a snap!) Having read Charles' report of last weekend, and knowing a bit of fresh fell on Wednesday, Chinook Pass was the goal. Got there at 8:00 A.M., just in time for sunrise on Rainier. Skiied the west face of Naches Peak from the car, skinning up about 600'. The temp was about 28 F. at the pass, and about 40 where we stopped, even got hit with a SantaAna-style wind about halfway up! The snow was great! About 4" of surface hoar on top of a bomber foot-deep crust. The pitch was perfect (begins at 40 deg., and gradually eases up from there.), and the "yippee's" flowed freely. One of my neighbors, Bruce, has been a new father for about 2 months, and this was his first trip on his new HeliStinx package. He was lovin' life as the moment engulfed him.
After that, we got back in the car, drove to the Naitonal Forest dividing bridge ( a whopping 1/4 mile) and scoped out the scene. Decided to hit the north face of Naches, about 1/3 of the way around to the east. Bootpacked up to a spot just below a cliff band, then got about 1100' of vert in the same conditions. Skiied a nice 45 deg. pitch for about 300 vert, then through a nice little gully. At the bottom of the run, we followed a traverse path back to the west, and yo-yoed a few laps on the same slope that Ron and Jeanette reported on. As we were leaving, we ran into those 2, and gave them our positive assessment of the day. It was nice to finally meet them, as they are fellow streak holders, and I view and use their trip reports on a regular basis. By the way, their pix give a great visual synopsis of the conditions we had to endure.
The weather folks say that the snow is coming, but, with 2 budding skiers at home, and a supportive ski widow, I've got to get it whilst the gettin's there. Hope to meet more of you soon.
Nice report, Greg.
Nice meeting you and your partners, too.
See you up there again.
Nice meeting you and your partners, too.
See you up there again.
Hey Greg, I too enjoyed meeting all of you, thanks for your report. Maybe this weekend we'll have enough new coverage so I can get on my new boards, and give them a little dancing lesson!!
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