Cascade ski mountaineering, 2003

With the season winding down, I've updated the Chronologies on my history website (alpenglow.org/ski-history) for 2003.  Most new entries are marked "undocumented," which means that I haven't written or posted abstracts of the trip reports.  I'll get around to it eventually.  I've also added a "strawman" annotation on routes for which the previous history is uncertain.  Here's a summary of new route activity that I know about, with links to published trip reports, if available:

February 2, 2003: Mt Shuksan, Fisher Chimneys ski descent (from Winnie's Slide), by Ben Manfredi and Sky Sjue - see cascadeclassics.org/FirstDescents/FirstDescents.htm

April 6, 2003: Mt Cashmere, North Face ski descent, by Armond DuBuque and Harlin Shepard - personal communication

April 18, 2003: Mt Johannesburg, Cascade couloir ski descent (from saddle), by Jason Hummel and Sky Sjue (strawman) - see staff.washington.edu/skykilo/Chronologically.html

May 2, 2003: Mt Shuksan, Price Glacier ski descent (from Nooksack Ridge), by Ben Manfredi and Sky Sjue - see www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=9076&forum=1&37

May 11, 2003: Colchuck Peak, North Buttress couloir ski descent, by Jason and Josh Hummel, Ben Manfredi (strawman) - see cascadeclassics.org/FirstDescents/FirstDescents.htm

May 12, 2003: Mt Stuart, Stuart Glacier couloir ski descent (downclimbed The Narrows), by Mark Simon - see www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat...psed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

June 5-8, 2003: Mineral Mtn high route on skis (Hannegan Pass to Perfect Pass), by Ben Manfredi and Jason Hummel - personal communication

June 15, 2003: Luna Peak, Northwest flank ski descent, by Ben Manfredi, Jason Hummel and Sky Sjue - see www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=9687&forum=1&20

June 16, 2003: Mt Fury, Upper NE Face, East Fury Glacier ski descent, by Ben Manfredi, Jason Hummel and Sky Sjue - see www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=9687&forum=1&20

June 16, 2003: Mt Baker, ski orbit (from Heliotrope Ridge thru Colfax saddle), by Matt Peters, Jim Cronan, Josh __? (strawman) - see www.turns-all-year.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB...splay;num=1055883260

June 17, 2003: Spider Mtn, North face (left side) ski descent, by Martin Volken and Peter Avolio - see www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat...psed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

June 25, 2003: Mt Baker, Roosevelt Glacier ski descent, by Ben Manfredi (strawman) - see cascadeclassics.org/FirstDescents/FirstDescents.htm

June 25-27: Forbidden Peak, ski orbit, NW face of N ridge ski descent, by Lowell and Carl Skoog - see www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=9739&forum=1&3

June 28, 2003: Mt Adams, Lyman Glacier (north portion) ski descent, by Ben Manfredi, Jason Hummel, Corey Bloom, Sky Sjue - see www.turns-all-year.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB...splay;num=1056951750

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I've also posted a few earlier routes, previously unreported.  These reports are based on personal communications:

1989, June: Mt Challenger, Whatcom Peak, ski summits by John Dittli and Scott Croll

1995 (circa): Mt Adams, Pinnacle Glacier headwall ski descent, by Matt Perkins

1995 (circa): Mt Adams, Avalanche Glacier ski descent, by Max Block, Brent Hostetler and Lorna Hughes (strawman)

1997 (circa): Mt Larrabee, ski descent by Steve Hindman

If you find errors or omissions in my records, or if you know about earlier reports than I've listed, please let me know.  You can contact me through my website (alpenglow.org/ski-history).

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This message has been cross-posted to the following forums:

www.turns-all-year.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB...splay;num=1057646482

www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=9816&forum=1&0

www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat...psed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

Really impressive work, Lowell.<br>You never cease to amaze me. We will all benefit for many, many years from your endeavors.<br>Say, BTW,it just occured to me...<br>What about Kam's descent of Pugh Mt's north col?<br>www.turns-all-year.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB...splay;num=1056650740
I'm certainly no expert or authority on such matters, but I had never heard of it skied before...
Keep up the good work.

Thanks Ron.  Also thanks for the tip about Mt Pugh.  Deciding which trips to post as "strawmen" is tough.  Cascade ski history is so poorly recorded that there are hundreds of ski routes that we'll never be able to document.  The best we can do is learn what sort of trips people have done in each era and make inferences.  In the end, its the people, not the routes, that I care most about.  If I can identify key players and trends, I'll be happy.<br><br>Skiers have been poking around the Mountain Loop highway since Dwight Watson's day (pre-WWII) but I haven't found specific references to Mt Pugh that I recall.  In a case like this I step back and ask, where is Cascade ski pioneering generally happening today?  Generally, it is taking place in remote areas and/or areas with quite steep terrain.  The north col of Pugh isn't terribly remote or steep, but it is an imaginative trip, and I've always appreciated imagination.<br><br>So, for now, I don't think I'll post it as a strawman, but I'll squirrel it away in my "leads" file, and let it simmer.  If you have suggestions for how to handle strawman reports, I'd be happy to hear them.  I'm making up my criteria as I go.<br><br>----<br><br>p.s. I poked through my notes and found mention of skiing on Mt Pugh in Dwight Watson's scrapbook. Looking at the map, the gullies north of Stujack Pass and the higher saddle seem the only sensible destinations. So, I'm betting he skied up there somewhere. That's why I call him the father of Cascade backcountry skiing...<br><br>----<br><br>p.p.s. Now that I'm home from work and have had a chance to look through my files, I don't think Watson skied the north couloir. In his account, it sounds like they may have packed skis up the peak but didn't do much due to poor weather. So, I'll add Kam's report to my leads file.

So is this pretty typical activity for a year, or have these guys been pretty darned active? This seems like a pretty impressive run!<br><br>I guess my trip down the central gully on the west face of Earl is not going to end up in your list any time soon...

So is this pretty typical activity for a year, or have these guys been pretty darned active? This seems like a pretty impressive run!<br>

<br><br>The level of pioneering activity is unprecedented--for the second year in a row. We've definitely moved from the golden age of high route skiing in the Cascades (which started in the early 1980s and lasted 10 to 20 years) to the golden age of steep skiing. The gear has become good enough to make steep new routes reasonably safe--and light enough to make them reasonably accessible. But more important, steep skiing has become recognized as the new, cool frontier for those interested in such things.<br><br>The group doing most of the pioneering right now is young, motivated, and able to get away on trips with high frequency. The past two springs have also had better than average weather, in my opinion. So, you're right, it is an impressive run. It's also nice to see other groups doing imaginative and adventurous trips.<br><br>One factor that's harder to gauge is what effect the Web, forums like T-A-Y, and my history project have had on the record. They say you get what you measure. Now that there are places to record these trips, more and more trips are being recorded. Compiling this annual summary, I felt like one of those "watcher" characters you see in the TV shows.<br>

Seems like you still manage to do a little more than watch...

Lowell,<br><br>Thank you for compiling some of these amazing trips. In the words of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (referring to the posse chasing them)..."who ARE these guys!"<br><br>What adventurous trips...it's nice that there are forums for people to tell their stories and get a little credit for some creative and bold descents. We now know where to find the edge of the envelope in the Cascades (the north face of Fury, the Price Glacier...).<br><br>What goes up must come down, you might as well bring skiis.<br><br>Bill G