Home > Trip Reports > May 19, 2006, Crystal Mountain

May 19, 2006, Crystal Mountain

5/19/06
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
6265
6
Posted by Lowell_Skoog on 5/19/06 1:54pm
Skiing is still good at Crystal.

I got a late start today after dropping off my son at school. I left the Crystal parking lot around noon. Continuous snow on Quicksilver begins about 100 yards above the lodge. The flats are on the verge of melting out, but the upper basins will be good for a couple more weeks, for sure.

I passed Norman_Clyde as I started up, but we both just waved and said hello. (We figured out who the other guy was after getting home.) Greetings!

The snow was wet and a bit dirty, so I used strap-on climbing skins for the tour. Conditions were perfect for them - it was easy to edge the whole ski while climbing. I skinned to Silver Basin and up Threeway Peak. There is still lots of snow up there! I ate lunch atop the peak and watched the wind blow dust clouds from the Emmons Glacier moraine half-way up the slope to Sunrise.

I skied one of the north gullies of Threeway and decided to head up Silver King. Continuous snow led all the way to the summit. The weather was looking more threatening to the south so I didn't linger on top. I skied the chute just east of the north rib (Brain Damage?) and found rather sticky snow, but nothing too mushy or unstable. The gully is still well filled in.

From the base of Chair 6, I decided to head up Silver Queen. Again, continuous snow led all the way to the top of the chair. Powder Bowl had nice smooth skiing, rather slow, but lots of fun. The weather was really coming in now, but the idea of completing the "Crystal Quartet" had become lodged in my brain, so I hurried to the summit lodge, arriving about ten minutes after the rain did.

I took shelter under the bull-wheel of Rex, put on a dry sweater, and ate snacks while the squall passed. I returned to the base by skiing Iceberg Gulch. It was smooth and rip-roaring fun. I continued down Skid Road, but found that a rushing stream has breached the snow-cover on that run. It's better to descend Quicksilver now.

If you want to get a ski fix between the rain showers this weekend, Crystal is a good choice!
Thanks for the report Lowell.  Did you do the Mt Adams circumnav this week?

author=Paul_Russell link=topic=4768.msg20225#msg20225 date=1148105291]Did you do the Mt Adams circumnav this week?


No.

author=Lowell_Skoog link=topic=4768.msg20222#msg20222 date=1148100844]
The snow was wet and a bit dirty, so I used strap-on climbing skins for the tour.


Lowell, what is the benefit of a strap-on skin in wet and dirty conditions?  I've actually never heard of a this type of skin.  Can you explain what they are and where you got them?

author=JibberD link=topic=4768.msg20255#msg20255 date=1148259295]
Lowell, what is the benefit of a strap-on skin in wet and dirty conditions?  I've actually never heard of a this type of skin.  Can you explain what they are and where you got them?


Here's a picture:



At the top are my current skis with strap-on climbing skins attached. Ascension Enterprises used to sell these skins. I think they were called "3/4 length strap-ons" or something like that. They have a tip wire, a couple of nylon stabilizing straps that wrap around the ski, and a tensioning buckle that is mounted near the tail of the ski. (People often ask what the buckle on my ski is for when I'm using adhesive skins.) I doubt that Black Diamond continued making strap-on skins after they acquired Ascension Enterprises. But I think somebody out there may still make strap-ons. Strap-on skins require no glue.

The benefit of strap-on skins is that they always work (once you get used to them), even when adhesive skins won't stick anymore. I've had trouble with adhesive skins at times in wet, dirty snow, so I keep a pair of strap-ons around for days like that. Strap-ons can also be useful if you want to put skins on a ski that has been waxed with klister or some other gooey wax. The disadvantages of strap-ons are many:

1. Hard to find
2. Probably not available for fat skis
3. Straps wear out if you don't take precautions
4. Don't glide as well as stick-ons
5. Tend to shift around when traversing on hard snow

Because of these disadvantages, I don't use strap-ons much anymore. But I used them for many years before I ever got adhesive skins. I like quirky old gear that still works well in certain conditions.

The black and white skin in the middle is a Vinersa. Vinersas were top-notch skins in the 1970s, before adhesive skins appeared on the U.S. market. They used metal clips with rubber cross-straps. The metal clips could not be cut by sharp ski edges. I used Vinersas for quite a few years.

The bottom skin is Army surplus, probably World War II vintage. I bought the Vinersa and Army skins from the late Cal Magnusson, who was the Quality Control Manager at REI for many years.

Very cool Lowell, thanks for the lesson!

Looks like I'll be sticking with the adhesive types for now.  (pun intended) ;)

author=Lowell_Skoog link=topic=4768.msg20262#msg20262 date=1148274147]
Here's a picture:
The bottom skin is Army surplus, probably World War II vintage.


Now that is a blast from the past!
Tired of trying to remove the bubble gum kick wax off of my tele skis moved me to those surplus canvas ones.
They were some of the first skins that I owned.
They slipped off the ski quite often if my memory serves me right.
Leading me to buy to other forms like Montanyls (sp?) that I still own, but are rarely used.
Thanks for sharing the picture Lowell!

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may-19-2006-crystal-mountain
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2006-05-19 20:54:04