4-15-07, Rampart Ridge, Soren's Couloir
4/15/07
WA Snoqualmie Pass
4982
10
Day 43
4-15-07
Rampart Ridge, Sorens Funnel
The towering rocks and snow above glowed in the strong April light of mid morning, the mist swirling around the spires obscuring the views of the surrounding mountains, defining our world like a scene in a fishbowl beyond a hundred feet the world was inaccessible, unseen, unknown. The adventure of the new ski line below underscored by a lack of visibility, the edge of my experiential map emblazoned with the words Here There Be Dragons.
Spontaneously, snow rollers released from the chute behind us, reacting to the spring sunshine and rolling off down the east face. An Omen?
Below my snowboard, I looked down the 40 degree chute dropping off the opposite side of the ridge, the one open slot down the west face not barred by cliff or tree. Down in the void I spied a large tree, at the end of the chute. Was this where the chute opened into the name-sake wide open snowfield that fed the Funnel? Perhaps below the chute was a cliff and the trees beyond the next available scene on the horizon line.
If it doesnt go, well just boot out, Ron says to me from over my shoulder, Its only 9:45.
If its that easy then you should go first, I think, but make no such sarcastic remark. Its my line, my dream, I need to go first. I feel I am right, and sometimes instinct is all we have.
I took a deep breath and dropped into the unknown.
***
It had been three years and four trips (three of them solo) to finally bag this run.
I had spied this line from one of my very first skis up on Snoqualmie Pass when I moved to Washington in March of 2003. I enjoy finding ski descents in books and through word of mouth, but to find a line all my own was a special treat. No one seemed to ski this line why? It was obvious from every ski run at Summit West to Summit East long (3,000 VF), a direct fall line ski with no traversing, and accessible (sort of, if one didnt mind not paying for snowmobile access). As was usual, if it wasnt in a book, on the internet, or part of a ski area, the lemmings of the world left a ski run alone, no matter if it was right in front of their noses. Which was just fine with me, it was now on my personal to-do list.
My first attempt was in March of 2004, in the pouring rain and proved merely a mission to see if the access at the bottom was as good as the topo maps suggested. It was, and I enjoyed logging roads in the slop with visions of a complete run dancing in my mind. Over the next three years Id try two more solo attempts, finally naming the run Sorens Funnel after Rons daughter was born on a morning of one of my attempts. Each attempt failed due to snow pack uncertainty, as the objective dangers with this run were very large (this was a terrible terrain trap with certain death if one was cheese grater-ed over the cliff below the bottleneck), and my margin of error on this sort of run was not worth the risk. I waited each winter until I had a spring snow pack (the trials of a west facing high route), and had a narrow window when the lower run had a snow pack deep enough for a complete ski. Each year I came up empty.
There was a certain symmetry to skiing this run now. Closure, if you will. In a few weeks Ill be moving back to Colorado, my time in Washington coming to an end. This was one of the last lines I needed to ski to feel complete about my time in Washington. From now on Id be just another visitor, probably skiing the Volcanoes or the other big peaks just like every other visitor. But this line was my own. My last Locals Only line.
Well, the ski of Mt Si never came to be, so maybe theres still room for one more. And then theres the lines on the East face of Silver. Mt Kent. All the lines of the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie. And what about that silly line on Bandera, Mailbox, or even Roaring Ridge?
Ah, forget that sentimentality. Ill be back.
(Thanks to Aaron_Riggs for the theft of the ski run photo. As a friend of mine from Colorado says: 'Carpe Skiem)
4-15-07
Rampart Ridge, Sorens Funnel
The towering rocks and snow above glowed in the strong April light of mid morning, the mist swirling around the spires obscuring the views of the surrounding mountains, defining our world like a scene in a fishbowl beyond a hundred feet the world was inaccessible, unseen, unknown. The adventure of the new ski line below underscored by a lack of visibility, the edge of my experiential map emblazoned with the words Here There Be Dragons.
Spontaneously, snow rollers released from the chute behind us, reacting to the spring sunshine and rolling off down the east face. An Omen?
Below my snowboard, I looked down the 40 degree chute dropping off the opposite side of the ridge, the one open slot down the west face not barred by cliff or tree. Down in the void I spied a large tree, at the end of the chute. Was this where the chute opened into the name-sake wide open snowfield that fed the Funnel? Perhaps below the chute was a cliff and the trees beyond the next available scene on the horizon line.
If it doesnt go, well just boot out, Ron says to me from over my shoulder, Its only 9:45.
If its that easy then you should go first, I think, but make no such sarcastic remark. Its my line, my dream, I need to go first. I feel I am right, and sometimes instinct is all we have.
I took a deep breath and dropped into the unknown.
***
It had been three years and four trips (three of them solo) to finally bag this run.
I had spied this line from one of my very first skis up on Snoqualmie Pass when I moved to Washington in March of 2003. I enjoy finding ski descents in books and through word of mouth, but to find a line all my own was a special treat. No one seemed to ski this line why? It was obvious from every ski run at Summit West to Summit East long (3,000 VF), a direct fall line ski with no traversing, and accessible (sort of, if one didnt mind not paying for snowmobile access). As was usual, if it wasnt in a book, on the internet, or part of a ski area, the lemmings of the world left a ski run alone, no matter if it was right in front of their noses. Which was just fine with me, it was now on my personal to-do list.
My first attempt was in March of 2004, in the pouring rain and proved merely a mission to see if the access at the bottom was as good as the topo maps suggested. It was, and I enjoyed logging roads in the slop with visions of a complete run dancing in my mind. Over the next three years Id try two more solo attempts, finally naming the run Sorens Funnel after Rons daughter was born on a morning of one of my attempts. Each attempt failed due to snow pack uncertainty, as the objective dangers with this run were very large (this was a terrible terrain trap with certain death if one was cheese grater-ed over the cliff below the bottleneck), and my margin of error on this sort of run was not worth the risk. I waited each winter until I had a spring snow pack (the trials of a west facing high route), and had a narrow window when the lower run had a snow pack deep enough for a complete ski. Each year I came up empty.
There was a certain symmetry to skiing this run now. Closure, if you will. In a few weeks Ill be moving back to Colorado, my time in Washington coming to an end. This was one of the last lines I needed to ski to feel complete about my time in Washington. From now on Id be just another visitor, probably skiing the Volcanoes or the other big peaks just like every other visitor. But this line was my own. My last Locals Only line.
Well, the ski of Mt Si never came to be, so maybe theres still room for one more. And then theres the lines on the East face of Silver. Mt Kent. All the lines of the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie. And what about that silly line on Bandera, Mailbox, or even Roaring Ridge?
Ah, forget that sentimentality. Ill be back.
(Thanks to Aaron_Riggs for the theft of the ski run photo. As a friend of mine from Colorado says: 'Carpe Skiem)
You will be back, and you know there is a futon at our house waiting for you. That ridge holds some really fun terrain. I think I will be back up there some day to try out Aaron's line.
Happy trails back in CO, and thanks for sharing some nice reports while you were here.
Regarding the lemmings, there are also the folks who simply don't report much detail on short-drive routes that aren't in books, thus enabling the "personal discovery zone" of others... ;D
Then again, who in their right mind wants to waste good skiing by going to snowcrummy pass to explore? ;)
Regarding the lemmings, there are also the folks who simply don't report much detail on short-drive routes that aren't in books, thus enabling the "personal discovery zone" of others... ;D
Then again, who in their right mind wants to waste good skiing by going to snowcrummy pass to explore? ;)
Jim - thanks, and you may be happy (or maybe not?!?) to know that you will be reading about my adventures in WY, CO, NM, UT, which are my usual haunts in Co. I won't go away, you'll just have a corrospondent who lives in CO.
While this board was built around and supports skiing in the PNW in particular, with its weather and telemetry info (which I will absolutely miss - I now have to go back to relying on CAIC and ski area reports for BC info which both have their drawbacks), the name of this board is Turns all Year - Not Turns all year in PNW. It's fun reading about skiing adventures from around the world by members of this board (Zap's life of leisure comes to mind here), now you'll have a staple poster about skiing in the Indian Peaks, RMNP, etc. Some may care, others won't. But there just isn't a board out there with the atmosphere found here. Charles and his compatriots have really built something that is friendly and supportive, which cannot be said for TGR or other boards.
I'd rather post nothing at all and go back to sending my friends email than post on TGR and deal with the childish banter.
Now about the lemmings. Of course you know I've only posted a dozen TRs of this season out of the 43 days so far...there are many secrets spots I've withheld even from this forum. They've probably been skied before me, and will be skied after me, but I won't be the one to shine the light of day on them. I was just glad Aaron had posted about Rampart in March, it kind of gave me the conscience clear to open my mouth about a special place and tell a special story about my time here in Washington.
It also is so bloody obvious even a non skier could see the potential.
While this board was built around and supports skiing in the PNW in particular, with its weather and telemetry info (which I will absolutely miss - I now have to go back to relying on CAIC and ski area reports for BC info which both have their drawbacks), the name of this board is Turns all Year - Not Turns all year in PNW. It's fun reading about skiing adventures from around the world by members of this board (Zap's life of leisure comes to mind here), now you'll have a staple poster about skiing in the Indian Peaks, RMNP, etc. Some may care, others won't. But there just isn't a board out there with the atmosphere found here. Charles and his compatriots have really built something that is friendly and supportive, which cannot be said for TGR or other boards.
I'd rather post nothing at all and go back to sending my friends email than post on TGR and deal with the childish banter.
Now about the lemmings. Of course you know I've only posted a dozen TRs of this season out of the 43 days so far...there are many secrets spots I've withheld even from this forum. They've probably been skied before me, and will be skied after me, but I won't be the one to shine the light of day on them. I was just glad Aaron had posted about Rampart in March, it kind of gave me the conscience clear to open my mouth about a special place and tell a special story about my time here in Washington.
It also is so bloody obvious even a non skier could see the potential.
Skied that line in December, it was definitely sweet. The pic is the entrance of the couloir.
No disrespect to Soren, and it is a beautiful name, but we've been calling that line the "toilet bowl" because if you get flushed in the funnel, you will find yourself in a world of Sh$t.
That's a nice picture Dave, it really captures the feel of the place being able to see the resorts in the background.
Aaron, let me know if you are headed back up there, (the logging road is getting troublesome this late in the season due to stream crossings), with MW8 leaving I am going to have to find some new buddies that don't mind getting up early.
Aaron, let me know if you are headed back up there, (the logging road is getting troublesome this late in the season due to stream crossings), with MW8 leaving I am going to have to find some new buddies that don't mind getting up early.
http://www.tonybentley.com/journals/adventure/?p=20
I posted something about that run if anyone wants to see more photos
I posted something about that run if anyone wants to see more photos
I find the title to Tony's blog entry from December very amusing. Looks like a fun little line near the pass. Too bad it's ruined now. ;)
That's some serious prescience, Tony. :-o
I was thinking more omniscience 8)
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