January 20, Bear Gap and Beyond
1/20/07
3666
5
Got a nice early start and then skied a SE slope down from Bear Gap. Snow was pretty stable on that aspect, dug a pit to confirm, http://cascadesnowgeek.blogspot.com/. This slope was about 6 inches of nice light pow on top of a firm crust.
Then toured over to "Fog City" and dropped the northeast side of Crown Point which was already pretty beat up but was lacking the crust on the south side. Good times had by all. Perhaps the best run of the day was back down the NW side down to the ski area. The predicted warming did not occur as of 1600.
Then toured over to "Fog City" and dropped the northeast side of Crown Point which was already pretty beat up but was lacking the crust on the south side. Good times had by all. Perhaps the best run of the day was back down the NW side down to the ski area. The predicted warming did not occur as of 1600.
author=jdclimber link=topic=6082.msg25154#msg25154 date=1169413116">
Got a nice early start and then skied a SE slope down from Bear Gap. Snow was pretty stable on that aspect, dug a pit to confirm, http://cascadesnowgeek.blogspot.com/.
Then toured over to "Fog City"
It is funny you should mention Fog City. A couple weeks ago was the first time I noticed that old sign. I never knew that the cabin area in Morse Creek was called Fog City. Wonder what the history is on that area?
You did a creative walk, your uptrack from Fog City came as a surprise considering there were no downtracks in sight.
Thanks for the online pit analysis.
Joe
Answered my own question about "Fog City"
Thanks to Lowell Skoog's Alpenglow site and Google.
Very interesting, Based on that info, Fog City at 6000ft, must have been on the plateau SE of Pickhandle Gap. I did not think that Jim Town was in Pickhandle basin, rather just SW of Bear Gap. Thanks for the insight.
Joe
Thanks to Lowell Skoog's Alpenglow site and Google.
Very interesting, Based on that info, Fog City at 6000ft, must have been on the plateau SE of Pickhandle Gap. I did not think that Jim Town was in Pickhandle basin, rather just SW of Bear Gap. Thanks for the insight.
Joe
author=Joedabaker link=topic=6082.msg25216#msg25216 date=1169589866]
Based on that info, Fog City at 6000ft, must have been on the plateau SE of Pickhandle Gap.
Your info is consistent with my map, Joe; that bench is what we were considering to be the former location of Fog City.
I'm curious: where's the Fog City sign you mentioned you came across? Down on the road? We traversed south side of Pickhandle Peak 100-200' above the road itself, so we weren't all the way down to the creek. Also, do you happen to know how far up from Yakima they plow 410? I saw XC tracks coming from that direction and was curious how impressive a tour it was.
Skip,
I just looked at the map and the sign is pointing SE on a tree, obscured under a branch located at the 5900 mark at Pickhandle Gap.
Curious why the town was at 6000ft and the gap is 5900ft. Must be old school calculations.
It would have been fun to run into your tour at that point.
I understand the 410 Yakima side road is plowed to the gate right about at the road that goes up to the Morse Creek Cabins. That road end is about 2.5 miles from the highway.
Do you have something in mind?
I just looked at the map and the sign is pointing SE on a tree, obscured under a branch located at the 5900 mark at Pickhandle Gap.
Curious why the town was at 6000ft and the gap is 5900ft. Must be old school calculations.
It would have been fun to run into your tour at that point.
I understand the 410 Yakima side road is plowed to the gate right about at the road that goes up to the Morse Creek Cabins. That road end is about 2.5 miles from the highway.
Do you have something in mind?
Morse Creek has been a destination for Yakima skiers since the 1930s, long before Crystal Mountain was even imagined. The Gold Hill cabin is still used by Yakima folks, under a Forest Service lease. You can find notes about it grouped under "1930s+: Morse Creek, Gold Hill cabin" on the following page:
http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/subjects/H-info.html#huts
http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/subjects/H-info.html#huts
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