May 16, Washington Pass
5/15/07
WA Cascades East Slopes North
2759
3
After sitting out a month nursing a sore knee from this last winter, I decided it was time to play hooky from work and get out there! I convinced two friends of mine to meet me at Washington Pass on very short notice and we ended up getting a late start (11:30am) This limited our options as we did not want to venture out in afternoon instability. We skinned up towards the notch south of Early Winters Spire. While the snow was wet and warm, it was still good for skinning. I was surprised at how hot it was and how much energy that drained from me. After sitting out for a month the heat was kicking my ass. Fortunately the grandeur of skinning up next to the Liberty Bell and then Early Winters was enough distraction to keep me going. I got to the notch about 30 minutes after my friends, and thankfully a nice breeze cooled me off and made the snow a delicious corn like slush substance. We opted not to climb to the top because it was very warm and the cornice just looked like it could fall at any moment. We could hear rocks and ice tumbling off of the mountains around us and decided that we should just ride back down the way we came up. We spent at least and hour sitting on the ridge taking in the views and beating the breeze by using a magnifying glass ;) Then we dropped in, it was a good call as the first 1000vf was fun but heavy corn, the next 500 heavy and sticky but at least the dogs could keep up with us, and the last part through the trees was pretty gross. In all it was a wonderful day!! pics coming soon!
As promised, a few pics from Wednesday...
looking west from the notch
Andy and Freedom slashing the slop!
Harry and Early Winters Spire
looking west from the notch
Andy and Freedom slashing the slop!
Harry and Early Winters Spire
What mountain holds that couloir in the first picture? What a beautiful line.
Reply to this TR
Please login first: