Jan 13 - Crooked Couloir (Not Completed)
1/13/07
3958
5
Bill, Dave and I set out to ski something...going with the 'if you don't go you won't know' motto.
First, it was ass cold (duh). On the approach getting around the waterfall on the way up the Phantom was a goat rodeo...after that ski crampons came in REAL handy, others opted to boot pack. Another group we skinned with dropped into the Slot, (side slip, no rappel), we didn't see them again but I'd be interested to hear about the conditions and shape of the bulge at the base of the Crooked. We went up and over the summit of Snoqualmie, looked at the alternate entrance at the first notch, but the snow looked sketch (aka boiler plate)....we went down and around toward the East summit....some nice turns, but still hitting the crust. Dropped into the basin to access the Crooked. The first few turns sucked ass, but it got better...still hitting the hard crust. As the route started constrict (before the major dog-leg left) we started to see the fluff vanish and the boilerplate show it's face....after a puckery discussion and transfer to skis to packs we boot packed out. Back at the saddle, then we traversed around the true summit and skied out the Phantom (some fun snow, but the quality was really aspect dependant). We were able to ski the falls so the exit was better than the boot pack around.
In summary, it was better than a day at home doing house work and fun to be out with friends....If I was going to go tomorrow I would look for something West or WNW facing...and relatively sheltered....too far to the S. and there's a sun crust. Too far N to NE and you get that really HARD layer....
Have Fun if you go out.
Also of note, saw some faceting down low that will be of interest if/when we get a warmer storm that loads on top of it.
First, it was ass cold (duh). On the approach getting around the waterfall on the way up the Phantom was a goat rodeo...after that ski crampons came in REAL handy, others opted to boot pack. Another group we skinned with dropped into the Slot, (side slip, no rappel), we didn't see them again but I'd be interested to hear about the conditions and shape of the bulge at the base of the Crooked. We went up and over the summit of Snoqualmie, looked at the alternate entrance at the first notch, but the snow looked sketch (aka boiler plate)....we went down and around toward the East summit....some nice turns, but still hitting the crust. Dropped into the basin to access the Crooked. The first few turns sucked ass, but it got better...still hitting the hard crust. As the route started constrict (before the major dog-leg left) we started to see the fluff vanish and the boilerplate show it's face....after a puckery discussion and transfer to skis to packs we boot packed out. Back at the saddle, then we traversed around the true summit and skied out the Phantom (some fun snow, but the quality was really aspect dependant). We were able to ski the falls so the exit was better than the boot pack around.
In summary, it was better than a day at home doing house work and fun to be out with friends....If I was going to go tomorrow I would look for something West or WNW facing...and relatively sheltered....too far to the S. and there's a sun crust. Too far N to NE and you get that really HARD layer....
Have Fun if you go out.
Also of note, saw some faceting down low that will be of interest if/when we get a warmer storm that loads on top of it.
Lets hope for some warm weather to help kill that layer. Maybe El Niño will finally kick in and spring snow showers will extend our winter so we can get back to some bottomless fluff again.
I was considering that run a couple of days ago but ended up skating on icy crust elsewhere. Not bad at lower and higher elevations. Must be between 4500' and 6500' or so. Anyone else have different observations?
I was considering that run a couple of days ago but ended up skating on icy crust elsewhere. Not bad at lower and higher elevations. Must be between 4500' and 6500' or so. Anyone else have different observations?
Thanks guys. Good info.
I was in the group that went into the Slot...we were wondering where you guys went. We thought for sure you had gone over to Lundin. The entrance to the Slot sucked, as you heard, but after the steep entrance ramp's boiler plate there was plenty of fluff on top of the crust for good turns - especially skier's right of the couloir. Actually all the sluff was channeling to the right so you couldn't go too far right. Two others had been in there before us. The picture below sums up the conditions - for sure a big thumbs up (of course I skied icy bumps in Michigan on 212 Kastles until I was 22, so my opinion may be skewed). Btw, approx 8" glide crack across the Slot where it steepens about 1/2 way down - mostly covered, but very evident to skier's left.
The bottom of the Crooked did not look inviting. Very thin, and plenty of rocks. The camera batteries died just after the picture below was taken, so I can't show you exactly what it looked like. You could probably manage a right to left (dicey) side slipping traverse to get through it, but it wouldn't be fun. We booted up to the top of the fan exiting the Not-Slot and found boiler plate in there with only a small shallow lane of light sluff - would probably not have been enough snow to prevent a serious slip-and-slide if you fell on the decent. Anyway, we skied the fan back down to the traverse to the notch. Top of notch is icy. Traversed to Phantom w/ waterfall, then did another lap of 1/2 Phantom w/ waterfall. Long day. Waterfall seems a better option than the icy forest right now.
The bottom of the Crooked did not look inviting. Very thin, and plenty of rocks. The camera batteries died just after the picture below was taken, so I can't show you exactly what it looked like. You could probably manage a right to left (dicey) side slipping traverse to get through it, but it wouldn't be fun. We booted up to the top of the fan exiting the Not-Slot and found boiler plate in there with only a small shallow lane of light sluff - would probably not have been enough snow to prevent a serious slip-and-slide if you fell on the decent. Anyway, we skied the fan back down to the traverse to the notch. Top of notch is icy. Traversed to Phantom w/ waterfall, then did another lap of 1/2 Phantom w/ waterfall. Long day. Waterfall seems a better option than the icy forest right now.
Tony - Good show on the Slot. Hardpack is nothing for a salty midwesterner, eh? . Thanks for the info on Not slot and the Crooked.
We skied on Sunday at the Pass and found the snow was pretty good uniformly up high (4,000 - 5,000) and away from the wind, and decent out in the open and away from the sun down low. Certainly nothing to complain about.
We skied on Sunday at the Pass and found the snow was pretty good uniformly up high (4,000 - 5,000) and away from the wind, and decent out in the open and away from the sun down low. Certainly nothing to complain about.
Good job Tony
Snow Troll, I am curious about your "no rappel" comment. I have only skied the slot of couple of times and it was always nice conditions and a rappel in never occured to me. Are you using a non-obvious entrance? Or is it just a comfort zone thing? If it is a comfort zone thing, then feel no need to defend it, because we all draw those lines differently. But I have heard of a couple parties talking of rappelling into the slot and wanted to understand their thinking.
Snow Troll, I am curious about your "no rappel" comment. I have only skied the slot of couple of times and it was always nice conditions and a rappel in never occured to me. Are you using a non-obvious entrance? Or is it just a comfort zone thing? If it is a comfort zone thing, then feel no need to defend it, because we all draw those lines differently. But I have heard of a couple parties talking of rappelling into the slot and wanted to understand their thinking.
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