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Topic: Gnarly Alpental area tracks: who skied that???? (Read 8297 times)
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hankj
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Curious about a few big lines I've been eying -- no I'm not planning on riding any of them, ever, just curious about who does.
I've seen lots of ski tracks, but this one looked pretty impressive today: two tracks in a super-gnarly looking couloir fairly low down on the hillside pretty much across from ALpental, more or less below cave ridge. That is one narrow, steeeeeep, blue-ice-patched perilous looking slot. I've been watching it fill in all season, and wondering if anyone would ski it. Can anyone on this board take credit?
Also, what about that big couloir that bisects the mountain that is straight in front of of you as you descend the road from windy pass (maybe ESE of Mt. Catherine?) Does that have a name? Anyone ever ski it? And why did god put that big chunk of granite at the bottom, and right in the middle, and right where you'd just about reach top velocity if you fell? Is she just perverse?
And one final question: As you ride up the high speed quad at Alpental there is a crevice in the HUGE cliff above Shot 6, just a little to the viewers right. Four or five years ago I heard that that crevice has been skied and boarded on big snow years, that there are several mandatory airs and lots of weird route finding, and that if you are caught by the patrol they will beat you and send you to prison. Can anyone confirm if this is true? Has that line been skied? It looks feasible if you look at it and squint just right, but then when you open you eyes again it doesn't seem remotely possible.
any answers to any of these pressing questions is appreciated.
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mfonda
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I saw the tracks coming down across the valley from Alpental today too, looked pretty amazing. Also, it looked like that super steep face which usually doesn't have much snow on it (right to the left of Armstrong Express right at the bottom) looked like someone skied it. Pretty impressive 
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Lowell_Skoog
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Also, what about that big couloir that bisects the mountain that is straight in front of of you as you descend the road from windy pass (maybe ESE of Mt. Catherine?) Does that have a name? Anyone ever ski it?
Jan Kordel (an occasional TAY poster) skied the Twin Lakes couloir two years ago.
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Lowell_Skoog
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I saw the tracks coming down across the valley from Alpental today too, looked pretty amazing. Also, it looked like that super steep face which usually doesn't have much snow on it (right to the left of Armstrong Express right at the bottom) looked like someone skied it. Pretty impressive
Is that what they call Shot 8? The November 1987 issue of Sports Northwest magazine said that Craig Wilbour (a DOT avalanche control supervisor today) skied that in 1970.
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philfort
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Someone skied shot 8 on Saturday... tracks were there in the afternoon, but not the morning.
I think the chute across the valley, under cave ridge or Guye Peak, is called Kevorkian?
As for Twin Lakes couloir, it may look gnarly from head on, but it's actually a pretty reasonable ski - doesn't get much steeper than 40 degrees. Not sure what you mean by chunks of granite in it though... it's a clear shot to the valley...
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« Last Edit: 02/26/06, 05:12 PM by philfort »
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Dr. Crash
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Shot 8 is nice, and not that steep. Patrol will pull your pass for skiing it though if they see you. They understandably don't want too many people to think it's an Alpental run.
There are a number of "Shot" runs at/around Alpental, named from avalanche control locations. Shot 4 is notably gnarly, and I know only one person who skied it, though there may be more.
drC
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« Last Edit: 02/26/06, 05:15 PM by Crash »
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If it's too steep, you're too old.
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JKordel
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The prominent lower chute below Cave Ridge (skiers left looking down on main parking lot) is commonly called Kevorkians (or Bobs Ramp) and was first skied by Bob Hornbein, followed shortly by Donnelly Miller in 1997 I think. It has been skied on numerous occasions since then and is about 50 deg at the bulge when it has filled in.
Shot 8, directly above the Alpental lodge at the end of WAC Bluff is commonly skied most every year. I imagine mostly by patrollers since it marks the end of the WAC Bluff avalanche control route. I would not be surprised it Craig was the first to have skied this line. It is quite steep, measuring 52 deg up against the upper left wall and is in a permanently closed part of the ski area.
Shot 4 is the sort of skiable line skiers left of the prominent wall at the east end of the main Alpental cliff band. It has seen a number of descents over the years and been the source of quite a few ugly accidents as well. It is often in icy and bony shape due to regular avalanche control work directly above it. It is permanently closed.
There are lots of obscure billy-goat lines in the valley that have seen tracks over the years. The ones accessible by chair lift seeing the most use.
Twin Lakes Couloir is an excellent little chute that appears much steeper from Windy Pass than it really is as Phil notes. Bruce Jahnke and I skied here in 2004 but it certainly may have seen tracks before then. It is easily accessed from around the back of the ridge and the entrance is quite straightforward. The rocky bulge at the bottom is easily avoided by veering right about 500 ft above the creek - this is actually the natural draw of the chute. Cross logs at the lakes exit to regain the nordic trails.
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Jason_H.
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Thanks for the write-up JKordel. That's fun stuff. I've been wanting to ski Kevorkians. Maybe this year.
I know of people who've skied all of the other routes, but I haven't gotten out on any of them 
McClellens Butte is another great route, offering a nice, sustained line. I found powder there in '99. Good stuff.
You can see it on the drive to Alpental, just off of the freeway.
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« Last Edit: 02/27/06, 10:58 AM by Jason_H. »
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Hyakbc
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Kevorkians is also sometimes called the Rat Ramp. The tracks you saw were put there by two dumb friends of mine. Snowboarders both. The Twin Lakes chute is referred to locally as "The Zipper". Keep your eyes peeled for the resident mountain goat. I'm going to burn in hell...
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hankj
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thanks for all the posts!
So about Shot 4 (and of course I have no intention to ski it -- really -- way, way over my head ...it makes "Air Jordan" at Whistler look like a blue run ...)
Is there any public film footage of anyone skiing Shot 4? I'd be really interested in seeing it done.
Also, I was recently told by an older Alpental employee that several years ago a lifty/snowboarder fell 300 feet descending shot 4. Reportly when the patrol got to him he was trying to ride away with a broken hip so as not to lose his pass and his job. Any truth to that story? Or just a tall tale about a tall cliff?
thanks -- very interesting info so far!
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« Last Edit: 02/27/06, 01:09 PM by hankj »
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Hyakbc
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The thing and the deal about Shot 4 is it is subject to regular avy control so the good snow is cleaned down to a difficult crust or ice. Mostly. Theres ways around that of course but like you said, " way,way over my head." Go to the top and look down it to see if that changes your perception of its steepness. It was skied recently in a big snow year.
Edit: I just looked up to see that I'm repeating Jan. Information overload.
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« Last Edit: 02/27/06, 01:30 PM by Hyakbc »
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philfort
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Keep your eyes peeled for the resident mountain goat.
Haha... that's funny. I saw one up there a few summers ago during a scoping hike, walking around the cliffs at the top...
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Eric Lindahl
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MFONDA wrote: Also, it looked like that super steep face which usually doesn't have much snow on it (right to the left of Armstrong Express right at the bottom) looked like someone skied it. Pretty impressive
If this is a reference to the impressive clefted face overlooking the lodge then I can attest that its first descent was in ~1972 by Craig Wilbur, then on the pro patrol, and Mike Pretty, who was head of the pro patrol and later Alpental Area manager.
A chute above Shot 6 was skied about the same time by Craig and I believe Skip or Jerry Holdly, (They were brothers and am not sure about spelling their last name but it rhyms with coldly). Skip and Jerry later did a stint as patrolers at Sun Valley. Maybe they are still there. I recall Craig saying they had to rappel or belay part of the chute so it may not be the Shot 8 referenced above. I am not familiar with shot 8 but if its "skiable" then I am sure Craig et al could have skied it unaided. Perhaps they skied/rappelled another more difficult route nearby. On the other hand we all skied on 210 or 215 cm skis and maybe this necessitated some rope work in shot 8, (how wide is it?).
As some of you know 70/71, & 71/72 were record snow years and in my opinion the Pass had more snow then than in the epic 98/99 season. The deepest and lightest snow I have ever skied was on a Thursday in 1971. The snow was not only unfathomable but it caused me to meet my future wife, truly a red letter day. Anyway alot of stuff was filled in those years which lead to alot of first descents. Craig would be a wealth of information on that subject.
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It pays to be avid
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Skier X
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I had a 60$ student pass at Alpental from 69-72 and I remember seeing tracks down the cleft above the lodge.It was so inspireing.Nice to here the rest of the story and a name behind it. X
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Dr. Crash
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Shot 8 is wide. And probably the most accessible of these runs IMHO.
drC
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If it's too steep, you're too old.
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Lowell_Skoog
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If this is a reference to the impressive clefted face overlooking the lodge then I can attest that its first descent was in ~1972 by Craig Wilbur, then on the pro patrol, and Mike Pretty, who was head of the pro patrol and later Alpental Area manager.
Hey Eric,
Didn't you also ski that face around the same time? Maybe a little after Craig Wilbour et al. My steel-trap memory (mangles everything that enters it  ) recalls that you did.
====
Edited to add:
I was just a scrawny junior high schooler at the time, but Eric probably remembers some other gnarly exploits from those days. Like the time some guys built a jump on top of the big snowshed just west of the pass and jumped over the westbound lanes of the highway. As I recall, Pete Hiltner was the main instigator.
Then there was the "pond jump" in the woods about half way up Chair 1 (what is now the Armstrong express). I remember Eric, my brother Gordy, and some of their hot dogger friends jumping off a 25-foot cliff into a big pool of water. SPLASH! (This was in spring.) Eric may still have movies of it.
Good memories!
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« Last Edit: 03/01/06, 07:02 AM by Lowell_Skoog »
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Eric Lindahl
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Hey Lowell, I never did ski the face above the lodge. I've always been a little more cautious than some regarding the risk benefit analysis and it seemed like a lot of work to get to. It probably isn't that bad when you look at it from above though. I believe there was a fairly long clearing period after Wilbur and Pretty skied it. The tracks impressed alot of people over a good number of days.
Though younger Keith Crabtree was another instigator in some of those early antics. His dad, Lee, was the area manager in the first years of Alpental.
The pool jump is still there though it probably doesn't melt out much before the area closes. The Alpental used to close the last week of May. A jump into that pool was a great way to cool off after a sunny hot spring bump session. Yes I do have movies and you play a promenent role in one scene. Truely fond memories
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It pays to be avid
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skykilo
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When I skied Shot 8 with Cyril it was the best powder run I ever had off an Alpental lift. All the snow that had sluffed off the steep rock face made for ridiculous pillows on the slopes below it. Man that was fun!
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Aaron_Riggs
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Shot 8. One weekday afternoon in 98/99 there was practically a freeway heading out there. I followed a couple kids on rental snowboards wearing jeans, football jackets & gas station beanies (you get the idea.) It's steep and as I remember has some exposure at the top, but then it opens into a beautiful steep bowl that collects lots of snow.
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Lowell_Skoog
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Though younger Keith Crabtree was another instigator in some of those early antics.
Yeah, maybe Keith was the one who organized the highway jump. It was a long time ago.
The pool jump is still there though it probably doesn't melt out much before the area closes. The Alpental used to close the last week of May. A jump into that pool was a great way to cool off after a sunny hot spring bump session.
I should clarify what made the pool jump special. The guys in Eric's movie made the jump with their skis on. 
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« Last Edit: 03/01/06, 11:19 AM by Lowell_Skoog »
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alpentalcorey
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Jumping over the highway? I'd like to hear more about the "gnarly exploits" from those days!
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Skier X
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I used to get a charge when Jeff Jobe would ski off the cliff face from the top of ch.2. Sometimes he was so quiet you wouldn't here him until right befor landing at the base in front of the lodge .That was big air for those days! He had some serious hang time. X
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snoqpass
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To Hyak BC; There is a couple of Mt Goats up on Roaring Ridge in the summer
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MW88888888
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And also to Hyack bc - would this perhaps be you and the snowboarding duo last weekend? I had a weather eye for the steep stuff while in the parking lot and caught this interesting trio -
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John010289
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Crabtree did do the highway jump. Aplental has been my home base since 1970. I'm still friends with Keith's brother Clark here in North Bend and we've talked about the highway jump along with the good old wild days in the Alpental valley. Keith and Clark built a jump on the East bound tunnel approaching the summit.
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