Jan 24, 2019, Snoq-CWcrkd
1/24/19
WA Snoqualmie Pass
1378
3
A little late, but may cover a few more obs in addition to everyone else's.
On yesterday's tour (Thursday, 1/24) we observed major avi debris in the lower Red Mt. exit chutes, in lower Lundin Peak S. couloir (shed from the steep west facing ridgeline), and the Slot got heavily flushed too.
We proceeded with practically zero expectations telling ourselves we were just going to take our skis for a walk and see what we see... haven't been up the north end of the Commonwealth this year...it seemed suitable given conditions; starts out fairly mellow with lots of options as you proceed. So off we went in the mush and the fog hitting the frost-line somewhere circa 3800', where the snow offered a little more crunch, which soon thereafter was off-set by sun effects as we cleared the fog layer and it started feeling more like June. While the heat was sobering and exhausting the views were very welcome!
With all the debris (bad skiing) and sun intensity (danger), we tossed out Lundin S. couloir as an option opting instead for the E. flank of Snoqualmie Mt. When we got to the top of the ridge it was feeling a whole lot more like January again, with a cold wind blowing and northern aspects offering up an icy non-breakable (for skis) crust with the occasional pleasant dusting. We entered the 'Crooked' via a more easterly entrance along the ridge and with the dusting it skied quite nicely, with just enough of a non-debris sliver (hugging the cliffs) upon entering the Slot-fan to make it a pleasant surprise.
We had talked about exit strategy before dropping figuring we'd see how things were down in Thunder Creek before opting for either a Snow Lake exit or the standard Phantom col. The latter seemed doable; booted more than usual (as opposed to skinning) due to the crust. Phantom exit ski started crusty before softening up lower down tho Tristan and Tyler made it all look like it was powder... fun day!
Will add some pics later
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in reverse order:
didn't see anybody or any major snow movements all day, just plenty of signs of previous days debris
snow conditions were all over the map depending on elevation, aspect, and sheltering (shadowing; wind)
didn't see anybody or any major snow movements all day, just plenty of signs of previous days debris
snow conditions were all over the map depending on elevation, aspect, and sheltering (shadowing; wind)
That last picture... imagine that ski and boot sliding unnoticed toward the lip...
That first picture... is it really that steep? Looks like you'd fall right off!
That first picture... is it really that steep? Looks like you'd fall right off!
author=mikerolfs link=topic=41408.msg163614#msg163614 date=1548546364]
That last picture... imagine that ski and boot sliding unnoticed toward the lip...
yeah, that would suck! pretty well anchored with skins and semi-gloppy snow tho...
author=mikerolfs link=topic=41408.msg163614#msg163614 date=1548546364]
That first picture... is it really that steep? Looks like you'd fall right off!
may be some optical distortion, but pretty close... only 2-3 turns down it connects with the Slot exit fan and lets off... pretty tame exposure in the scheme of things. I bet you'd like it!
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