 Turns-All-Year backcountry skiing in the Pacific NorthwestBackcountry Skiing and Snowboarding Trip Reports |
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| This old version of Trip Reports is no longer being updated. It is being kept as an archive of ~340 backcountry skiing trip reports posted from April 2001 through August 2002. The new version Trip Reports is where new trip reports are currently being posted; it also has copies of the ~340 older trip reports and is searchable. |
| December 2001 Trip Reports |
December 31, 2001- January 1, 2002 Mazama Ridge, Mt. Rainier N.P.: "I, Regine, Steve, and Dominique spent New Year's Eve on Mazama Ridge. X-C skiing out towards Cowlitz Rock, then Stevens Canyon was fun on Sunday, but making turns on Catamount in the crust was a challenge because we had not used light skis for quite a while. Skied the back bowl on Mazama on Monday (not bad) the the steep slope above Paradise Valley Road--heavy but good. Monday was a little misty, but when the moon came up over Mazama the sky cleared and Mt. Rainier was beautifully illuminated as we first drank some tea, then ate hors d'oeuvres (cheddar cheese anc crackers, brie and crackers) with Bogel Petit Sirah, pate de foie gras and baguette with Chateau de Cadillac, then scallop in ginger and garlic with freshly sauteed broccoli with cous-cous, for dessert we had blackberry almondine tart and tea; a moonlit hike was was capped off with Kahlua and a visit from a Cascade red fox; we skipped the brandy and champagne and celebrate Chicago new year and went to bed. The ski out the next morning was adventurous with 40-lb packs on really crusty snow. Good Trip, tho." Andrew Carey December 29-30, 2001 Eastern WA: "Head East Young Man! Wasn't that the old saying? Hmmmmm ... maybe not. My buddy David and I spent the weekend before New Years over in Lake Chelan scouting out the area's offerings. The cover photo of a slightly disheveled telemarker heading up Chelan Butte looked alright so we gave that a try. Low coverage. The sagebrush poking out of the snowpack looked a little grabby. Next we tried out Echo Valley Ski Resort ... the piece d'resistence for the local Lake Chelan innertubing community. We skinned up the climber's right-most run and summitted. After a leisurely afternoon tea we headed down. I think the vert on the ascent musta been at least 400'! Next day ... we're throwing down the gauntlet and headed to Loup Loup! Located about 30-40 minutes east of Twisp, Loup Loup is a small resort with a 1300' vertical drop. Base elevation is a little over 4000 feet. Review of the topo map showed we might have a nice run off the backside of Loup Loup down to highway 20. Jack's Creek might provide the run-out. After skinning from the base lodge up the climber's left most run and noting the curious looks of the locals we topped out at the cell tower above the lifts about 40 min later. Seems that not too many have been seen skinning the slopes here. Oh well, lunchtime! We began a southerly decent and five turns later began sweeping the rocks clear of that pesky powdery covering. While the snow quality was excellent the coverage was just not there. We returned to the lift served runs and made some lovely high-speed turns on the well-groomed slopes. In all not a terrible weekend. The resort is nice as far as high-speed groomers go for a local resort. Lift tickets are $28 for an adult weekend rate. The rolling hills surrounding Chelan and the Methow Valley currently have a low snowpack and are primarily suited for intermediate skiing. After a more in-depth review of local topo maps, there looks to be some significant terrain west of Twisp and Winthrop along Hwy 20 (watch out for snowmobiles) and also accessible via a Lake Chelan boat trip to the north end of the lake. " Ben Kaufman December 30, 2001 Paradise, Mt. Rainier N.P.: "Six of us joined the crowd awaiting the opening the Longmire gate, eager to get up to Paradise and into the sunshine. We climbed up to Glacier Vista with hopes of finding some loose snow to ski, dropping down toward the Nisqually, but found only crusty and wind-blown snow, so we continued up to the top of Pan Point. Just about all aspects had some variety of crust, but the crust on the SE-facing slopes below McClure Rock seemed to be strong enough to support a turning skier, so we did a run there, and it was pretty nice (as far as crust goes). I wanted to do some exploring, and had my waxless skis, so I left the group and skied down part way to Mazama Ridge, then dropped into the lower Paradise Glacier valley near where the ice caves used to be. Then I skied up to the saddle overlooking the Williwakas Glacier, hunting for non-crusty, non-wind scoured snow, but didn't have much luck. I found some short stretches of loose snow, topped by hoar crystals, on north-facing slopes, but everything else was either solid or breakable crust, not great for turning but fine for gliding, which is what I did back to the top of Mazama Ridge. I dropped down to the road along the north edge of tree bands and found some loose snow in shaded areas, but most of the snow had gotten sun and developed some breakable crust. Ron reports that the other 5 skiers, "did a couple of more laps on that slope we were on. It was a little firmer a little further north towards the rocks. Skied on out down the Golden Gates trail. Snow on the way out was grabby in places but nonetheless skiable. We got back to the car about 3:30, left Paradise about 4:00, stopped for dinner at the Tall Timbers in Eatonville (had to! we got stuck in what must have been a 100 car caravan going 5 - 10 mph, we all had a birthday and nearly starved to death by the time we got out of the park!)." There are some photos from this trip here." Charles (tay@turns-all-year.com) December 27, 2001 Silver Star Mountain : "Some nice slopes up high, below the glacier. The snow was somewhat wind-damaged, though. Please note that the first thousand feet of this trip are trailess and a real brush bash. I was on skis, but it was snowshoe terrain. In general, the terrain isn't open enough to be fantastic for skiing Probably the main reason to go into the Silver Star Creek valley is to get a close-up look at Vasiliki ridge and Silver Star Mtn. They're very impressive with a coating of rime and backlit by the sun." Rick Randall December 27, 2001 Lake Anne Butte, Mt. Baker Backcountry: "It might be we've seen the last of the powder for a while, at least here in my neighborhood. Four of us skied the north side of Lake Anne Butte, a nice and sustained north-facing shot down increasingly wet snow from the ridge at 5500 feet to the edge of the trees below 4000. This, with a long access and return, used up a full day and spat us out onto the ski area cat track around dark for a final blind and crunchy run on refrozen corduroy directly to the parking lot. Being in charge of carrying the group's entire supply of blind optimism in the face of overwhelming evidence, I kept maintaining that the powder awaited just a couple of hundred feet higher....but as fast as we climbed, the freezing level climbed faster. Our last 6 or 800 feet were in that peculiar snow which results when powder first thaws a bit and becomes irrevocably attracted to climbing skins. Each step became some variety of torture, and after a brief stint breaking trail I managed to find some excuse to allow others to take over for me. There was little enthusiasm for climbing the last few hundred feet to the actual summit (despite my entreaties), so we de-skinned on top of a small cornice and quote dropped in unquote. In my case this consisted of a split-second in the air followed immediately by my patented, two-part, syncopated ground contact: skis, then face--ker-CHUNK! The snow itself was stiff and slow, which offered a few amusing moments; it was a day for staying steep and staying in the fall line. Up high, it felt silky and smooth as long as you carried a lot of speed. Dropping lower, sections steeper than 40 degrees were prone to sluff vast quantities of rolling snow-snails when cut, and although these were limited to near the surface and died out quickly in concavities, they did tend to ruin the formerly pristine snow. At one point the best skier among us was run down by a pack of them and pummeled mercilessly as she tried to get out of range, yelling "Ouch! Ouch!" In such heavy snow (and among such a proliferation of death cookies), timid skiing styles were quickly punished and aggression was the order of the day. I was particularly favored in this respect, being a good eighty pounds heavier than the most substantial of my companions, and for the most part I was able to pound and pummel the snow into submission on each turn. Every so often, the snow exacted its revenge. This tour did, I must say, incorporate much revelry-not to say ribaldry-fueled in part by homemade fudge and sandwiches of exotic holiday leftovers, in part by some sort of homemade, high-octane Irish Cream carried in a large thermos. My companions on this trip were all women, all approximately half my age, all slim, trim, shapely, graceful and far more pleasant to behold than I. They called me gramps, although not to my face (I believe this had to do with the fact that I was carrying the car keys), and spent a considerable amount of time inventing snippets of trip report with which I might enliven this chronicle. Sweat, skin, panting and the unzipping of a variety of zippers featured heavily in these narratives, but alas, the details escape me at this moment, else I would surely share them here. Ski well and enjoy the season." Mark December 25, 2001 Mt. Baker Backcountry: "I just couldn't manage to sit still in front of my keyboard all day, so I snuck out on another afternoon tour under blue skies with just a hint of breeze; t-shirt on the uphill, long sleeves but no gore-tex on the downhills. From the Mt. Baker ski area parking lot I climbed to the usual scenic viewpoint, then dropped down an unexplored (and trackless) ridge over stairstepped rolls, steep groves and flat meadows; you know, 200 feet of 40-45 degree powder followed by a little snowed-over lake, followed by more nice powder. There was a bit of back and forth before I found the exit gully right where the map said it would be, and dropped into a big bowl fringed by cliffs made of swirling columnar basalt. I stopped at the bottom of the bowl, though I could've continued another thousand feet through old growth woods (or all the way out to Baker Lake, had I chosen). The cliffs were sun-warmed and kept dropping loud but inconsequential point releases....sprinkled generously with rocks the size of softballs. I kept an eye out while climbing back uphill. Across the valley I could see three little specks descending Lake Anne Butte, but I was way too blissed out to feel jealous. From SE through SW up high (>5000 ft.) the snow is crusting a bit wherever the terrain concentrates the sun (bowls, gullies, lakeshores), but remains perfectly skiable in most places where it hasn't been tracked. Down low (<4000 ft.) there is something close to corn in some areas. Other aspects remain totally powdery, though settled to about 14 inches from the 2 feet that fell a week ago, and all was apparently stable to about 45 degrees, though I did kick down some wet sluffs on steep terrain in full sun near my lowest point. Also of note: the glistening surface hoar on everything not touched by the sun. Enjoy." Mark December 25, 2001 Tatoosh: "A family jaunt from Narada to the col between Pinnacle and Castle, down the backside to the bench, up to the notch between Pinnacle and Plummer and down the steeps to the lower bench, traverse back thru the old growth to Reflection Lakes. Yes, windpacked, windscoured, breakable crust, death cookies, etc. Good Day!!! abc" Andy Carey December 24, 2001 Tatoosh Range: "Sunny and windy. Snow was wind packed higher up and wind blowing pretty hard so we headed down before reaching the saddle east of Castle into Louise lake drainage. Good snow once we got down into bowl, improving as we dropped to the lake. No recent slides, but lots of burried death cookies out in the middle from older slide. We saw six other skiers early on and at the end of the day. " Jay Carlson December 23, 2001 Red Mountain: "This reporter and Paul K entered Commonwealth Basin on a gorgeous morning intending to visit Snoqualmie Peak. The gleaming site of Red (which was all white) drew us in along with seeing a skin track existing. The track ended at the lower level of the steep face. Skinning was challenging. With significant amounts of wind and sun crust we saw no examples of instability. Hard jumps on switchbacks yielded no fractures. Even in fluff areas well bonded. The gulleys were less crusty, but oh so steep with loong runouts. Halfway up we started booting--crust made it reasonable, other spots big sink. The summit views had some incoming clouds but were still great. For the descent certainly glad I brought the Sumos with AT gear instead of tele with the variable crust. Just required lots of attention and grunts. Even with occasional jump-type turns or big slicers got no fractures. The other significant slopes in the basin including Snoqualmie East and Lundin looked very inviting. Wonderful Christmas presen..." [NOTE: this report appeared incomplete as received] Nick D December 23, 2001 Hauser Pk, Crystal Mountain Backcountry: "A gaggle of probable BC Skiers turned into three by the time we got to the trailhead. Wow. We were the only car at the "upper C Lot" where we usually park for skiing the eastern ridge at CM. "Where is Everybody?" We were a little later than usual; normally there would b 4 to 8 cars by then. We decided they must have forsaken skiing for xmas shopping. Later - it turned out to be the case - we saw 2 other skiers the whole day, as opposed to 2 weeks before when we must have run into 50. Hmmm -- no one to out-fumble for trail breaking pleasures like last time. But then again, no trail breaking! The Gold Hills road was impeccably groomed. Our best guess was there would be lots of nice uptracks up the east ridge from yesterday in the freshies from Thursday and Friday, which turned out to be the case. The weather was what you dream about for a ski tour - clear, calm, 25 - 30 degrees. Snow pit evaluations validated our earlier suspicions that the 6 - 8" snowfall from Thursday/Friday was the only layer we had to worry about which failed at a 3-4. We dug down to the November crust which had a pretty rotten layer above it but the stuff above it, for a couple of feet or more, was near bomb proof. Seems like it would take a major pineapple express now, to soften the pack enough to slide down to that layer; at least where we were. As it turned out, nothing moved anywhere, except for some very light wind transported 2 - 3" surface layers, from the day/night before, which we later kicked around on the way down. As we got towards the top of the ridge the snow became more sculpted; it was obvious that the wind had come from along the ridge from south to north, as the telemetry had indicated. Cement basin beckoned us from the top; our strong suspicions were that it would have been very fluffy and light on that side, being somewhat protected from both the wind and sun. There was also a pair of nice tracks down and a well laid uptrack back up, both of which we drooled over. But alas, with dark coming at 4:30 we lacked the time to accommodate the temptation. The snow down the front side was fantastic in the most highly variable nature; windpacked sastrugi at the top; then wind crust but skiable; then no crust but heavy from sun settling; no, wait, light in the shade; smoother corn-like in the lower sun slopes. Ahhhh it was all good. Then top it off with the road groomer ski right to the car. All in all, a stellar ski day. See for yourself; check out the pics here." Ron Jarvis December 22, 2001 Jim Hill, Stevens Pass backcountry: "We had the good fortune to closely follow another group without catching them until the upper bowl. Only one other party of two followed us. 8" of recent medium density on a rain crust. No recent avalanche activity; we did not dig a Rutschblock. Poor visibility (ice fog) kept us to the trees; never saw the upper mountain. Fairly good skiing. I lost my party's line on the exit, followed other tracks, and experienced the infamous Jim Hell in the lower brush." Brent H December 22, 2001 Mt. Rainier, Mazama Ridge: "With clear and cold for awhile in the Puget Sound region and reports of high winds in the mountains, we expected pretty crusty/crummy conditions. Wow, were we pleasantly surprised. Few skiers out today (everyone doing the last minute Christmas shopping at the malls?) and the snow was really sweet. Did a number of runs on the west aspects of Mazama. Some of the best conditions here that I've seen in quite awhile. It was a little stiffer where more wind/sun exposed but still eminently skiable. A great day and a fantastic Christmas present to have so few hopes with such great results!" Tim December 22, 2001 Mazama Ridge: "Nice powder on the W-facing slope of Mazama Ridge above the road. All the snow up higher on Pan Point and further up on Mazama Ridge is wind-damaged. Dug a pit in a bowl on the backside (E side) of Mazama Ridge and found an rain crust like a sidewalk 1.5 meters down, but no layers with large crystals above that. It was starting to snow in the afternoon as I left, with little wind." rick randall (rrandall@tscnet.com) December 22, 2001 Bullion Basin: "Cold and breezy with thin cloud just covering the sun. Norse Peak very wind affected, wind blowing directly at Union creek slopes so didn't even bother trying them. Good short runs (18" light powder) into Bullion Basin from the E side ski traverse toward the ridge above Union Creek. Nobody else skiing the basin or Union creek." Silas December 21, 2001 Mt. Baker Backcountry: "Oddly enough, it is not expected to snow substantially for at least a couple of days in the North Cascades; it's like someone abruptly shut off the spigot. I squeezed another half-day trip between much-needed sleep and the round of seasonal parties: two of us skied silky-smooth south and east-facing glades between 4200 and 5500 feet, finding Wednesday's snow somewhat more consolidated than it was previously, but still powdery and apparently stable to steeper than 40 degrees. We were in and out of fog all day, with clear windows which would open magically, framing spectacular views which seemed to float out in space, un-anchored to the physical world, before closing again only to reappear elsewhere. At other times, the sunlight filtering through the fog and reflecting off the snow in the old growth glades made the whole world seem to fluoresce in a way that put me in mind of certain psychoactive substances in which I used to indulge from time to time. We did note that a size 2.5 hard slab had released from the usual place on the south face of Mt. Herman, burying the up track put in just yesterday and used by at least three or four parties, sending a few refrigerator-sized blocks of ice and snow almost to the valley floor. This one would have been difficult to predict, having no apparent immediate relation to sun, air temperatures or wind deposition. Enjoy." Mark December 20, 2001 Mira Heaven (Mt. Baker backcountry): "Got my new Miras mounted the other day. I picked them up from the shop and leaned them up against the wall in the corner. Told them I didn't really have time to go skiing just yet. They just sat there purring. Within 12 hours I was driving the Mt. Baker Highway to where the plowing stops. The ski area claimed a couple of feet of fresh with low temperatures and blue skies, and they were telling the truth on all counts There was 18-36 inches of dry powder, lightly wind-affected with hints of slab here and there. Of course, I waited around for a while, hoping that Ron J. would happen along to break trail for me, but eventually figured it was me or no one. There were no tracks leading uphill out of the ski area, and trail-breaking was arduous. Eventually another solo skier caught up to me and took over for a hundred vertical feet. He was then kind enough to pretend that I was in better shape than he (this after 10 weeks running in which I was by far the slowest of whatever people I skied with) and I resumed. Rutchblocks released at 4 on a north aspect right under a ridge, 5 on a south aspect, and everything felt surprisingly stable underfoot. I dropped into some south facing glades I'd been meaning to check out, eventually finding myself on steep timbered ribs between 45 degree chutes. Way below I could see lots of avalanche debris, and a place where a slope had released sympathetically. It seemed a good idea to turn around and head back up. I then skied a little north bowl, then an east glade, and returned through the empty ski area. All aspects were stable in the 40 degree range, with short rolls a bit steeper than that. I saw a couple of places where natural slabs had released a couple of feet deep in the storm snow, plus some scattered point releases. There were also some larger releases buried but still visible to size 3.5, presumably from last weekend's rain. The skiing was truly spectacular: perfect snow on a perfect day. There were a few hints of what will become a sun crust facing south, but on other aspects it'll stay sweet at least until it warms up this weekend. With the visibility good, this is about as nice as it gets in the PNW. The Miras were great: easy to control yet lively, kept me high in the snowpack while breaking trail, and even carved well on the bits of groomers I skied on the way back to the car. The fat tip got bounced around a bit in cut up snow, but this was totally controllable. In general, they seem to respond really well to being skied hard; this was especially noticeable in bounds today but might carry over into weird snow conditions in the backcountry. My Piste Stinx are now my rock skis. Enjoy." Mark December 20, 2001 Mazama Ridge, Mt. Rainier: " I took off from work becuz the weather report was sunny--NOT! But the snow was deep (something like 290+ for the year, 126 on the ground). But there were high winds during the week and there was lots of windpack, windscour, and just dense powder. Gary, Regine, and I skied the gully to Reflection Lake, climbed back up to ski the glades. Nice day. abc" Andy Carey (careyab@yahoo.com) December 19, 2001 Ski Acres/Divide Lake, Snoqualmie Pass: "The forecast and my ability to get away for some skiing coincided, so I headed up to Snoqualmie Pass. Blue sky appeared as I neared the pass, but east winds soon pushed fog into the area, which turned out to be a good thing because it kept the snow great all the way down to 3000', all day long. Skiing up the closed ski area through the beautiful snow, I quickly abandoned my original destination of Nordic Pass, and skied several runs around the Silver Fir lift. The snow was just about the most powdery I have ever experienced at Snoqualmie (I know - not saying much!), and in fact, it was too good in some ways. There was about 14" fluffy powder on top of the hefty rain crust from Sun-Mon, and the snow was so light that it was sometimes too easy to slice through it and feel the crust. Maybe the best were the lower groomed slopes with the last, most fluffy 6-8" on top - heavenly (yes, they had done some grooming even though the area was closed). In the afternoon I thought about skiing down through the forest to Lodge Lake on the area's backside, but it was apparent as I started down that in many places not enough snow had filtered down through the canopy to sufficiently cover the rain crust, so I just bashed around the woods by Divide Lake and got really tired breaking trail by myself. In the woods, there was not a very good bond of the new snow to the crust, and the crust was over more loose snow." There are some photos from this trip here. Charles (tay@turns-all-year.com) December 16, 2001 Heather Ridge (Stevens) : "The forecast didn't look great, with freezing levels up at 5000 feet. The trip didn't start much better with my buddy receiving a $278 ticket in front of my house. Nor when we had to put chains on when the roads were clear! But the skiing... my friend, made up for everything. We arrived at Stevens at 11am and skinned up. We expected mashed potatoes and that's what was given. Heavy, but very turnable. Several laps, superfat skis, and relatively few people out. Avy danger was clearly high and we stayed on moderate slopes. Excellent coverage." Dave December 15, 2001 Wenaha-Tucannon Skijor: "In and out of sun at around noon. Started from the Rose Springs Sno-park S. of Pomeroy, WA. 28 deg. so snow was new but dry enough, still the going was slow compared to other flat tours w/ dogs pulling. I tied three Siberian Huskies to my belt, slapped on my Pellestova's and took off down the Grouse Flat- Pomeroy road. At height of land, we crossed over onto Abels Ridge and skied/skated N. for a good while on the windswept ridge. Lots of snowshoe hare tracks, and one small cat track of some sort- lynx? 12 mi., 2 hrs., negligible elev. gain." David Lowry (dlaurel@owt.com) December 15, 2001 Mazama Ridge, Mt. Rainier: "GREAT powder snow! Avalanche danger was high to extreme, so we joined Gully Gushing Gary for 2 rocketing trips down from Mazama Ridge to Reflection Lake; snowed all day, probably all night. There is a layer of deep powder over a crust/consolidated layer over light powder; could be dangerous. abc" Andy Carey December 15, 2001 Bullion Basin, Crystal Mtn. backcountry: "With forecasted rising freezing levels and a corresponding avy hazard, we decided to see what things were like in Bullion. Given the high winds the last few days we chose to stay on the south and west aspects and not drop off the back side. Found suprisingly good snow albeit a little windpacked in spots. Best stuff was below the high points (a bit more windpacked up high) and in the trees. Saw only 3 other skiers and a large group of Tacoma Mountain Rescue folks on a training exercise. Lucked out on the weather as it stayed cold and snowy all day although the winds really started to pick up again towards the end of the day." Tim December 15, 2001 Union Creek, Crystal Mountain backcountry: "Good conditions on the Union Creek run above 5500', but late afternoon came the leading edge of a major storm (wind, snow, visibility). About 5" new on a firm rain crust. No recent avalanche activity noted, although the lifties were doing a lot of bombing. There was old debris near the base of Union Creek and on the N side of Bullion Peak. 7mi, 4200vf." Brent H December 11, 2001 Cave Ridge, Snoqualmie Pass: "Ron's experience on Sunday at Nordic Pass suggested that the Snoqualmie forest might already have enough snowpack for good skiing, and more new snow at low freezing levels convinced us to try this tour from the Alpental Road, into Commonwealth Basin, and up to Cave Ridge. We ascended on the west side of Commonwealth Creek, in a track nicely set by weekend snowshoers. The snow was 5-6 ft. deep in Commonwealth Basin. The disadvantage of following a snowshoe track became apparent on the climb up to Cave Ridge, with too many switchbacks to easily negotiate on our long skis, and as we climbed we were not encouraged about the prospects of descending the same route - too many little trees still showing between the big trees. After lunch and a warm-up run on Cave Ridge, we descended into Commonwealth Basin to the south of our ascent route, right under the cliffs of Guye Peak, and got some nice powder turns. Snowshoers had, unfortunately, trashed a couple of the best shots through the big old trees, but it was still an enjoyable descent. Everywhere the snow was cold and loose, with no evidence of any wind effects, and the only avalanche activity was a 6" deep loose sluff triggered on a very steep roll. There are some photos from this trip here." Charles Eldridge (tay@turns-all-year.com) December 9, 2001 Nordic Pass, Snoqualmie Pass Backcountry: "Robie, Jeanette and I were eager to sample the freshies and the forecast sunbreaks at Snoqualmie Pass. We got plenty of the first but only about two minutes of the latter. Without any sure destination in mind except up, and the untracked pow up on Mt. Hyak beckoning seductively, we succumbed to the resolve of the turns earner and sprung for a Nordic pass, which allowed us two rides on the Hyak Keechelus chair. One warmup run on the front side and then over the top in more untracked pow with a fairly well settled base that held us up to within 6 to 12 inches of the surface whether we were skiing down or skinning up. None of us had ever accessed Silver Peak in the winter through Nordic Pass and the trail breaking was tolerable, so we decide to head for where we would normally park when accessing Silver Peak in the summer just to familiarize ourselves with the terrain and the route. Found loads of nice skiing in the trees on the way, with good bonding of the snow that has fallen so far, and just barely enough snow to make it over the deadfalls. For a change of pace we skied out the Cold Creek road back to Hyak. Robie managed to stay out of camera range but got a couple of shots of Jeanette in the freshies for your visual conditions eval. For the pics and a map of the tour click here." Ron Jarvis December 9, 2001 Tatoosh Ridge: "Skied up from Reflection Lakes to the Ridge just East of Castle Peak. Some nice powder on the North facing slopes. The rather subtle layers seemed well bonded." Rob Kunz December 9, 2001 Skyline East, Steven Pass: "The best skiing day of the season so far. As predicted 3-5 inches light new on a firm base. Climbed Skyline (Heather) Ridge, from the microwave tower descended the Nose. Down the PCT to the base of Skyline East. Skied this until quitting time. No avalanche activity (except for minor surface sloughs.) Three other parties (6 skiers). Nasty (as usual) descending brush band to reach the PCT at the end. 5200 vf, 7 miles." Brent H December 8, 2001 Jolly Mountain: "As usual, lots of Bilers at the Salmon La Sac Sno-Park. We heard distant razzing all day. The Bilers respected the voluntary restriction on Jolly. 12 inches at Sno-Park; 24-30 inches at 5000'. Rain crusted low and wind crusted high. Very skiable, relatively unconsolidated in between. No one else. 4000vf, 8 miles." Brent H December 2, 2001 Hauser Pk, Crystal Mountain Backcountry: "We never saw the sunny weather that was forecast for later in the day (it was actually dumping again when we left about 3:00 pm). Nonetheless we had stellar skiing and did an extra lap because we just couldn't leave. The Gold Hills road groomer cat still hadn't been down by the upper C parking area when we arrived. Eric, Lori, Jeanette and I tried to out fumble another group of about 6 or 8 bc skiers at the trailhead to see who was going to break trail. We lost. We just ran out of things to fumble with and patience, all at the same time. Luckily there was a single snowmobile track up the road from the day before with only about 8 - 10 inches of fresh on it, so trail breaking could have been worse. Off the 'bile track you could push your ski pole down to the grip with little effort. The road was groomed at the first intersection; then we had clear sailing until the creek crossing. By then enough faster climbing skiers had passed us that trail breaking seemed unlikely for the balance of the day. In fact, it seemed like old home week in the backcountry. I'd say we saw 30 to 50 skiers headed for the upper slopes of the Bullion Basin area, including Kenji Kawai, Brent Hostetler and friend Steve with an extremely sage choice of gear (Sumos under Dynafits and TLT boots - my same choice for the day :-)] ... also others that we recognized but didn't know their names. The up track forked several times. We stuck to the one that went up the soonest on the logic that why continue south into Bullion when there was plenty of snow on the immediate west aspects above us and it was checking out to be fairly homogeneous and stable, except for the last 6 inches or so, which had been deposited overnight. While it checked out stable enough, we weren't quite sure how it was going to ski, being bottomless and not the lightest we'd ever skied. We had Brent to thank for breaking much of the trail to near the top of the ridge just north of Hauser. Sastrugi was becoming more prevalent and winds picking up at the ridge top. Jeanette and I chose to de-skin there, while Eric and Lori continued on to the ridge top. Turned out any concerns of the skiablity of the snow were unfounded. We got our first face shots of the year (and for you Rockies powder hounds, that's a BIG deal in the PNW); the snow turned out to be perfect. We had so much fun we climbed back up to track up another of our favorite lines on the traverse back out (and got another taste of trail breaking in the bottomless snow for our bright idea). To wrap up the day we poached a run down under the Gold Hills chair and back out the (now groomed) road right to the car. All in all, a day to write home to Mom about :-)" Ron Jarvis December 2, 2001 Mt. Baker Backcountry: "Five of us in two cars joined a steady stream of crazed drivers on the Mt. Baker Highway: the eager ones passing on blind corners and against oncoming traffic, others tailgating at speed in compact little bunches. The DOT crews had plowed and sanded, but some slick sections remained, and we passed one fat-tired 4x4 which had spun out and high-centered on a snowbank and another upside down in the ditch. Mister Darwin sure knew what he was talking about. We arrived in the parking lot just as the ski area opened, and geared up while a huge rubber-tired front end loader belched and bellowed and pushed snow around right next to my left ear. About 80 inches of snow had fallen since last weekend, some of it during periods of high, shifting winds, but I had this idea that the wind might have died early Saturday night, and that the final foot of snow would therefore be soft and smooth. I am prone to these fits of optimism, and once we arrived it was clear that winds had howled all night. Up on Shuksan arm there were a series of big slab releases on the usual terrain rolls: a patroller told us that they had gone naturally, after ski cutting and explosives had failed to release them. Slabs had also released on both north and south aspects in Bagley Basin, indicating interestingly varied wind-loading. Everything I touched was wind-crusted or slab, and there were odd layers deeper in the snowpack. On the other hand, the visibility was reasonable (for Mt. Baker) in filtered sunshine. We went directly up to the usual place for skiing in times of instability and took a run down through open glades. My companions skied smoothly and effortlessly on variable windslab, stopping just above the small, steep gully at the bottom. I experienced a certain amount of trouble staying upright, and spent a lot of time trying to extricate myself from various contortions and entanglements. Because I really wanted a last couple of turns, I continued past my companions into the gully at the bottom. This was where all the unconsolidated snow had lodged, and I spent a good 20 minutes or more busting my way out. By the time I staggered back to the spot where the sensible ones had quit, they had lapped me and were ready to head back uphill for a third run. Ah, me. By this time there were others skiing the area, and we opted for a change of scenery after one more run. We dropped into the Bagley Basin, climbed a skin track put in by anonymous others to Herman Saddle and dropped through the glades down the other side. The snow was better here: less wind-affected, more even in consistency, apparently stable. I joined a stranger and dropped through steeper (40 degree) glades to the lake, by far the nicest skiing of the day. Returning down the other side in failing light I returned to my earlier form, leaning uphill, failing to stay in the fall line and in general thrashing ineptly. I caught a brief glimpse of my companions at the bottom, before they (apparently) sprinted back to the parking lot. Obviously, I need to get out more and spend less time fretting in front of the computer. In today's report, the Canadian Avalanche service suggests selling your rock skis immediately, before the market for such things crashes due to what is suddenly a perfectly adequate snow depth. Enjoy. " Mark December 2, 2001 Ski Acres: "Various limitations forced Andy and me to go to Snoqualmie Pass for our skiing, instead of my hoped for destination of Crystal, and we feared that we would completely miss out on the weekend's powderfest. We were, however, pleasantly surprised. Ski Acres (aka Central) was closed, and ungroomed except for single tracks near most chairs, which made for easy ascending. Coverage was excellent on the named runs; at the top, a ski pole could be pushed in to the handle without hitting ground. Our first run on Alpine Bowl revealed that the rain level had briefly risen to about 3200 ft on Saturday (submerged crust), so we found a groomed track to take us to the lofty summit of the area (about 3800ft), and skied the deep, loose snow for another 8 or 9 runs. With all the new, unconsolidated snow, we didn't venture into the woods, and it was clear that the local clearcuts also won't be skiable until there is a better snowpack." There are some photos from this trip here. Charles Eldridge (tay@turns-all-year.com) Back to top |