Home > Trip Reports > March 1, 2007, Whitehorse: Bucked again

March 1, 2007, Whitehorse: Bucked again

3/1/07
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Posted by skykilo on 3/2/07 1:33am
"What about Whitehorse?"  That's what I was thinking after remarkably deep and stable powder Tuesday and Wednesday, along with snow levels dropping to the Sound.

The road hadn't been cleared yet at 6 am, so Hannah and I began skinning from the Whitehorse Store.  Darrington: Washington's hippest ski town.  The snow on top was very light, but the wet-and-heavy snow on the road below stuck to skins swiftly.  I made three stops before the end of the road to scrape the muck off the skins.  Lots of blue sky peeking through the clouds sustained my excitement through this ordeal. 

We followed awe-inspiring avy debris covered with two feet of fluff up Snow Gulch.  Hannah wanted to know how to ski it.  "Just point 'em and keep it in the back seat like you're Ben Kaufman in his proudest fatigued powder turn."

A gully that would have been more pleasant had an impassable moat, so we had to skin the brush on the left.  The upper cirque presented more problems.  Brush on the left seemed to be the solution again.  Skinning the deep stuff through the slide alder required a supreme effort: constantly thigh-deep and my legs stayed soaked. 

The conditions and terrain were amazing above the cirque.  The views were intimidating, knowing that a big slide anywhere in the upper basin could toss you over the 400' cliffband in the cirque below.  No signs of instability, though, so up we go.  Back to boot top, easy like Sunday morning.  But we were so tired.  Third consecutive day on skis, then knock-down drag-out steep bushwhack skinning, but now we're here.

I couldn't get enough of the views.  Eternal snowfields, the abysmal cirque, the brush and debris far below, and the highway and snowy valley floor just miles away.

The weather seemed to really be deteriorating.  Whiteout above, low visibility where we were, the breaks in the clouds mended, and low clouds flirting with the lower basin.  We had lots of time and we were just below 5k.  Somehow it seemed like a good idea to ski down.  Ripping the skins, I remarked, "You know, it's going to be completely clear the minute we hit that valley."

The skiing was probably as good as anywhere else in Washington yesterday, but our location made me feel very special.  Indomitably gloating: The proud Whitehorse of my dreams stood in an impossibly blue sky with sun kissing the summit as we reached the highway late in the afternoon.  Bucked again.  I will tame that horse.
Way to get after it.  Whitehorse has been floating up my list lately too.  last 3 days on skis?  Don't you have to work some time!?

"Bucked again.  I will tame that horse."

Hell yes you will. Skykilo. One bad ass cascade hardman.


I tried that very same route more than 30 years ago with Pete Doorish. A long walk up through huge piles of debris. We gave up when the slide danger seemed to get too high, as the day warmed up.

Want to try it again some time, Steve?

This one is such a beauty.  I get so excited about skiing from and to coastal valleys, mossbearded trees covered with snow and frost.  Hopefully another chance will come....

Here are a few pictures.


Whitehorse, tantalizing in the sunset

Skinning the road


Skinning up debris

Skinning slide alder above the lower cirque

Hannah skis with flattish light.

Tanks for the pics!

During the 1985 ski descent of the north flank of Whitehorse, Gary Brill and Jens Kieler ascended the standard Lone Tree Pass route. Conditions were so good that Jens decided to ski straight down the Snow Gulch, while Gary elected to return the way they came. The inset photo on the cover of Rainer Burgdorfer's 1986 guidebook ("Backcountry Skiing in Washington's Cascades") was taken by Gary high on Whitehorse before the two of them split up. Jens displays fine form skiing powder in plastic climbing boots, the preferred gear of the few alpine ski mountaineers in those days.



---
p.s.: For the record, the background cover photo on Rainer's book was taken by Brian Sullivan instead of Gary Brill. Gary is the skier in the picture.

I did a spring ski of that route some years ago and vowed never to return - this video shows why. Beautiful place, but skiing not worth the bushwack IMHO. You've gotta get up it once though to say you're a Cascade climber/skier.

I love that line because it feels so european; the snow nearly diving right into the valley.

It's the "Mer-de-Glace" of the Cascades!  Without the gondola, the other people, the food, the 10 mile glacier, the elevation, ...

It seems like the amount of bushwhacking could be inversely proportional to the depth of the snowpack.  Make your own extrapolations, but I definitely want to return to this route.  Not sure when, though.

Lowell, thanks for the additional information and the photo.  Conditions must have been confidence bolstering.  I'd be a bit intimidated by dropping into the lower cirque without inspection.


author=sb link=topic=6414.msg26334#msg26334 date=1172981546]
I tried that very same route more than 30 years ago with Pete Doorish. A long walk up through huge piles of debris. We gave up when the slide danger seemed to get too high, as the day warmed up.
Yo Steve!!

How's it hangin?  Been a few years...errr a lotta years, since we've seen each other. 
Took sky's great thread and the who's who of Cascade ski explorers to get me outta da wood (pun intended) work...

Sky, nice try, that's for sure. Skiied with Corey Thursday and he told me what you wuz up to. I finally got outta the trees for 4 insanely primo ski days during the storm cycle. Thursday at Alpental had to rank in my top 20-30 of all time....44 inches of 6-7% fluff, while my other ski porn photo sluts were ripping the Crystal bc apart. I skiied there Sunday in 3 feet of very skiable fresh, but  believe that Thursday and Wed there were as deep as 5 feet in spots, and the snow in the neighborhood of 5%. Best I've skiied in my life was 44 inches overnight of ~4% at Mission, and 3 feet of 3-4% at Crystal. don't know how light it was Dec 5, 1980 but it was 60 inches deep all over Crystal. That Friday was simply unreal, and the next two days the same. I witnessed a skier submerge between turns, not once but twice, on the high side of Iceberg, south east aspect!!!  Then the rains came and the season went to pot. I also skied the 65" in 24 hrs day at Crystal, but nothing was open. That snow was also feather light..for the Cascades.

Work is still off the charts busy, which sucks for how much awesome skiing I've missed.
Here's Lot 3 fixture Ed in the white room, Billington's Ramp, Alpy bc....



Is that Pandora/ Hannah?

thanks for the TR

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2007-03-02 09:33:20