April 26-27, 2008, Mt.Stuart Sherpa glacier/couloir
4/26/08
WA Cascades East Slopes Central
5616
5
Nate, Kirsten, Mica, Andy, Becky and I skied the Sherpa glacier/couloir on Stuart this weekend. A leisurely start on Saturday got us to our campsite at the base of the Stuart by late afternoon. The north side of Stuart had a lot of traffic on Saturday¦we met two parties that had attempted the Ice Cliff glacier but had bailed upon finding spooky, heavily wind loaded, thigh-deep wallowy conditions in the upper couloir. There was also a party of four that skied the Sherpa glacier/couloir that day too (thanks for the skin track!).
We had originally hoped for taking a crack at the Ice Cliff route but after talking with both parties on Saturday we figured that conditions werent going to magically improve by Sunday morning, so we opted for the Sherpa instead. At least it was good exercise carrying in all the technical junk for Ice Cliff, even though most of it was left in the tent on Sunday¦the snow in the Sherpa couloir was reasonable calf deep boot packing, no crampons needed, though there were some short firm sections where wind scouring and the previous days ski tracks left little soft snow behind.
The cloud cover kept the couloir from getting manky but once we topped on the ridge we figured we should ski while it was good rather than spend time tagging the summit and returning to possibly find deep-fried powder.
The ski down the couloir was really nice¦.wind affected, chunky powder. Once out on the flats of the glacier the snow was a bit more crusty and thick¦hanging in the shade at the edge of the glacier provided a few off and on powder turns. The final pitch down to the meadows was some of the wackiest cinnamon-roll snow Ive seen¦the slope was completely trashed with snow rollers after we were off it.
The ski out was faster than we expected, the snow coverage on the Stuart lake trail is fantastic and made for a speedy luge run and while crossing the upper swamp flats Andy introduced us to a skinning technique we all appreciated. Id never tried putting one skin on a ski and leaving the other without a skin¦but it works great and you can propel yourself across the flats as if you were on a skateboard, moving much faster through thick snow than skating on AT gear.
We had originally hoped for taking a crack at the Ice Cliff route but after talking with both parties on Saturday we figured that conditions werent going to magically improve by Sunday morning, so we opted for the Sherpa instead. At least it was good exercise carrying in all the technical junk for Ice Cliff, even though most of it was left in the tent on Sunday¦the snow in the Sherpa couloir was reasonable calf deep boot packing, no crampons needed, though there were some short firm sections where wind scouring and the previous days ski tracks left little soft snow behind.
The cloud cover kept the couloir from getting manky but once we topped on the ridge we figured we should ski while it was good rather than spend time tagging the summit and returning to possibly find deep-fried powder.
The ski down the couloir was really nice¦.wind affected, chunky powder. Once out on the flats of the glacier the snow was a bit more crusty and thick¦hanging in the shade at the edge of the glacier provided a few off and on powder turns. The final pitch down to the meadows was some of the wackiest cinnamon-roll snow Ive seen¦the slope was completely trashed with snow rollers after we were off it.
The ski out was faster than we expected, the snow coverage on the Stuart lake trail is fantastic and made for a speedy luge run and while crossing the upper swamp flats Andy introduced us to a skinning technique we all appreciated. Id never tried putting one skin on a ski and leaving the other without a skin¦but it works great and you can propel yourself across the flats as if you were on a skateboard, moving much faster through thick snow than skating on AT gear.
Nice work y'all. I was wondering if you'd run into some spooky conditions after finding huge, billowy powder bumps at Alpental, which rapidly turned into a cinnamon roll/shmoo bonanza as the day heated up. Glad you got some good turns out of it.
author=Pete A link=topic=9909.msg39899#msg39899 date=1209401416]
and while crossing the upper swamp flats Andy introduced us to a skinning technique we all appreciated. I’d never tried putting one skin on a ski and leaving the other without a skin…but it works great and you can propel yourself across the flats as if you were on a skateboard, moving much faster through thick snow than skating on AT gear.
Pictures coming soon.
Smart! That's a technique I could have used over the weekend. Looking forward to some pics, Pete.
Matt
Nice report Pete, I wondered if you guys were going to proceed with the ICG after the news. I was one of the 2 skiers you talked with--we later realized that we'd also bumped into you guys on the N side of Snoqualmie a few weeks ago.
I think you picked the plum by hitting the Sherpa instead. I wish I'd thought of the skateboard technique for the flat swamp skate--definitely in the bag of tricks now. Conditions on the way out were unusually kind--and the cold beer at the car oh so good.
I think you picked the plum by hitting the Sherpa instead. I wish I'd thought of the skateboard technique for the flat swamp skate--definitely in the bag of tricks now. Conditions on the way out were unusually kind--and the cold beer at the car oh so good.
hedonaut, thanks again for the info about the snow conditions in the ice cliff couloir!
A friend and I took a tour up on Cannon on Sunday, and there were some great turns to be had, but the snow was very unstable, we stuck to the ridges, and it was fine, but pinwheels from our turns started several slow mo sloughs. I saw another Post from this weekend were someone was in a slide. I think it will be awhile before that new snow is welded to the pack. We are probably are getting new to add to the mix.
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