For 7800ft on Mt Baker:
Today: Periods of snow. High near 23. Windy, with a south wind 33 to 36 mph decreasing to between 11 and 14 mph. Winds could gust as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 19 to 25 inches possible.
Tonight: Periods of snow. Temperature rising to around 25 by 5am. Windy, with a south southwest wind 11 to 14 mph increasing to between 42 and 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 36 to 42 inches possible.
Monday: Periods of snow. Temperature rising to near 29 by noon, then falling to around 19 during the remainder of the day. Windy, with a south southwest wind between 40 and 45 mph, with gusts as high as 70 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 34 to 40 inches possible.
89 to 107 inches over the next 36 hours...
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Got gear
I helped drive the economy today at Beyond's 50% off sale, buying things I didn't really need... 45$ for a windstopper fleece jacket, $50 for some light softshell pants, and 80$ for a softshell jacket (which is 50% the heavyweight WB400 Schoeller and 50% the light stuff - interesting). This was the first clearance sale I've ever been to where there was actually a big selection of stuff that fit (take note Marmot, REI, etc...).
So I felt like I'd tell everyone - it's what consumerism's all about. (oh btw, the pic was taken with my D70, which I got back a few days ago, fixed free of charge - guess I'm still stuck with 6 megapixels for a while)
Friday, September 21, 2007
Back in August...
The aforementioned snow in New York state, from a few posts back:
My brother is a mechanical engineer, not a computer engineer, so it takes a month for him to send pictures over email...
Me and my nephews "looking cool", after having come out of some caves.
The red eft form of the eastern newt:
(eft is a good Scrabble word).
My brother is a mechanical engineer, not a computer engineer, so it takes a month for him to send pictures over email...
Me and my nephews "looking cool", after having come out of some caves.
The red eft form of the eastern newt:
(eft is a good Scrabble word).
Monday, September 10, 2007
Lords of Lame
What do you do when your partner can't leave town until 2pm? Go anyway and hope things go smoothly...
Checking the time shortly before encountering a non-trival section on the traverse and bailing...
As I found out later by looking at a picture, turns out we were only a short distance from the beginning of the nice part of the climb. So we should have gone for it... oh well.
The ultimate lameness... top-roping 5.0 slab after a quick hike to the summit.
But at least we got to watch the sun set over glittering Puget Sound, the Olympics and Vancouver island. And we did summit, in defiance of a Mountaineers party member (with requisite 10ft ice axe) we met on the way up - who when told we were trying to beat the sun to the summit - disapprovingly said the mountain would win.
It was pitch black by the time we made it back to the lake where Ed had stashed two double-size australian beers.
They held much more buzz than anticipated, and so we were forced to spend another hour there watching the stars, the milky way, and meteors. Not a bad way to spend an evening.
Checking the time shortly before encountering a non-trival section on the traverse and bailing...
As I found out later by looking at a picture, turns out we were only a short distance from the beginning of the nice part of the climb. So we should have gone for it... oh well.
The ultimate lameness... top-roping 5.0 slab after a quick hike to the summit.
But at least we got to watch the sun set over glittering Puget Sound, the Olympics and Vancouver island. And we did summit, in defiance of a Mountaineers party member (with requisite 10ft ice axe) we met on the way up - who when told we were trying to beat the sun to the summit - disapprovingly said the mountain would win.
It was pitch black by the time we made it back to the lake where Ed had stashed two double-size australian beers.
They held much more buzz than anticipated, and so we were forced to spend another hour there watching the stars, the milky way, and meteors. Not a bad way to spend an evening.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Should have brought my skis
There is still snow left in NY state. My brother, nephews and I found a snow patch today, big enough to make at least two turns on. Crazy. Kam would love it I guess.
I would update with a photo, but there is no way to get pics off the camera right now. I'm astonished I can even get online - someone around here has an unsecured wireless broadband network.
I would update with a photo, but there is no way to get pics off the camera right now. I'm astonished I can even get online - someone around here has an unsecured wireless broadband network.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Friday, July 6, 2007
Monday, July 2, 2007
R.I.P. Caroline
I learned an old aquaintance of mine was killed in a rappelling accident at Skaha Bluffs last weekend.
Here are some pics from a Utah ski/climbing trip we were both on in 1999:
Caroline on the right:
The last time I saw her was about 3-4 years ago when she and a partner were hiking in to climb Mt Rexford while we were on our way out.
Here are some pics from a Utah ski/climbing trip we were both on in 1999:
Caroline on the right:
The last time I saw her was about 3-4 years ago when she and a partner were hiking in to climb Mt Rexford while we were on our way out.
Abernathy Peak
...can't make any puns with that. So just a plain title.
I didn't get enough video for a genuine mtnPhilms video (Jason wasn't warm to my movie plot we could have filmed with our extensive time at Scatter Lake). Plus he was self-conscious about his skiing, so he didn't want it shown to everyone. So here are just some random clips thrown together:
Everything looks steep (which may not be a bad thing) because youtube doesn't handle wide-screen video properly.
The hardest part of this ski trip was long drive!
I didn't get enough video for a genuine mtnPhilms video (Jason wasn't warm to my movie plot we could have filmed with our extensive time at Scatter Lake). Plus he was self-conscious about his skiing, so he didn't want it shown to everyone. So here are just some random clips thrown together:
Everything looks steep (which may not be a bad thing) because youtube doesn't handle wide-screen video properly.
The hardest part of this ski trip was long drive!
Friday, June 22, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
Rossit on the weather
Ok, to push SkiSickness off the top of this blog, I bring you:
Mr Rossit on the importance of bringing warm clothing when climbing the higher peaks here, even in mid-summer:
Don't be fooled by the hot sun and by the girls wearing shorts, whom you might see at the lower elevations. Bring the warming memory of these things with you as you struggle upward through the cold snow toward the icy summit. Remember that to you, "mountain fastness" means the upper reaches of Glacier Peak, not the speed with which you may woo the girls you saw wearing shorts after you return from the summit.
Why don't they make guidebooks like this anymore?
Mr Rossit on the importance of bringing warm clothing when climbing the higher peaks here, even in mid-summer:
Don't be fooled by the hot sun and by the girls wearing shorts, whom you might see at the lower elevations. Bring the warming memory of these things with you as you struggle upward through the cold snow toward the icy summit. Remember that to you, "mountain fastness" means the upper reaches of Glacier Peak, not the speed with which you may woo the girls you saw wearing shorts after you return from the summit.
Why don't they make guidebooks like this anymore?
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Getting scared
Sometimes, skiing's all about getting scared shitless by taking too little gear for the climb. I don't want to ski with all that crap on my back: That's not what skiing's all about.
Photo by Pandorable nabbed from the cc.com galleries.
-SkiSickness
Photo by Pandorable nabbed from the cc.com galleries.
-SkiSickness
Sunday, June 3, 2007
How many stories fit on Jason's website?
Let's have a look at the following URL:
http://www.cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/baker/colemanheadwall/ch2007/chjune.htm
First breadcrumb:
Fatboy engages in 3 sports as far as I can tell: skiing, kayaking and hiking/etc.
Second breadcrumb:
This is more difficult. Skiing, there are perhaps 100 peaks that might be interesting in Washington. Kayaking... I dunno - 40 rivers? Hiking... hard to guess. Let's use 80 for this breadcrumb.
Third breadcrumb:
This appears to specify the route on a particular mountain. It does not appear to be used in river or hiking trip reports. Thus, ski mountaineering trip reports have an order of magnitude more possibilities, and we can safely exclude hiking and kayaking from our calculations. Let us assume that an average mountain has 5 routes.
Fourth breadcrumb:
The used of this crumb is inconsistent - it may be the final html file, but it can also be an additional folder, usually specifying the year. Some times it adds in the month. But the month can also be a fifth breadcrumb, as in the URL above. Let's consider all of this one "yearly crumb" with 12 possibilities (the months)
Summary
Let's calculate:
3 X 80 X 5 X 12 = 14400 trip reports per year!
It is clear that Fatboy's web-fu is strong, and he has created a very scalable trip report solution.
http://www.cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/baker/colemanheadwall/ch2007/chjune.htm
First breadcrumb:
Fatboy engages in 3 sports as far as I can tell: skiing, kayaking and hiking/etc.
Second breadcrumb:
This is more difficult. Skiing, there are perhaps 100 peaks that might be interesting in Washington. Kayaking... I dunno - 40 rivers? Hiking... hard to guess. Let's use 80 for this breadcrumb.
Third breadcrumb:
This appears to specify the route on a particular mountain. It does not appear to be used in river or hiking trip reports. Thus, ski mountaineering trip reports have an order of magnitude more possibilities, and we can safely exclude hiking and kayaking from our calculations. Let us assume that an average mountain has 5 routes.
Fourth breadcrumb:
The used of this crumb is inconsistent - it may be the final html file, but it can also be an additional folder, usually specifying the year. Some times it adds in the month. But the month can also be a fifth breadcrumb, as in the URL above. Let's consider all of this one "yearly crumb" with 12 possibilities (the months)
Summary
Let's calculate:
3 X 80 X 5 X 12 = 14400 trip reports per year!
It is clear that Fatboy's web-fu is strong, and he has created a very scalable trip report solution.
Satisfying the groupies.
Jason wrote a TR accessed with a ludicrously long URL.
My helmet cam footage has a much better URL.
Now it is time for another nugget of wisdom from Edward A Rossit:
The mountaineer is not happy because of any material wealth he may have. Indeed, he deliberately leaves material comforts and luxuries behind him when he climbs. He does not worship sucess, because success always lies in the eyes and approval of others. The mountaineer is happy and at peace because he approves of himself. He is self-sufficient. He sets his own goal, and then he achieves it. Is there a greater contentment than that which comes from achievement?
My helmet cam footage has a much better URL.
Now it is time for another nugget of wisdom from Edward A Rossit:
The mountaineer is not happy because of any material wealth he may have. Indeed, he deliberately leaves material comforts and luxuries behind him when he climbs. He does not worship sucess, because success always lies in the eyes and approval of others. The mountaineer is happy and at peace because he approves of himself. He is self-sufficient. He sets his own goal, and then he achieves it. Is there a greater contentment than that which comes from achievement?
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Coleman Headwall... in the footsteps of Ben M.
Doing this on the Coleman Headwall is *not* what skiing is about!
Nevermind that though... the rest of the story: Jason and I took about 7 hours to reach the summit, moving slowly so as to let the snow soften. There was a strong wind starting at the Colfax/Baker col.
At the summit plateau, Jason's stoke was very high, so we began the descent right away w/o waiting for the snow to soften any further. It could have been softer, but that might have been worse in the spots where there was an icy base.
Anyway, the headwall was a really fun, serious route. Long pitches of steep continuous turns. Great atmosphere. Probably an audience down at the flats below the glacier. I don't think you could ask for better conditions... the face was minimally crevassed and the snow surface was smooth. We took the "easy" start, down the ridge (the direct start looked icy, and w/o having climbed it first, was not worth the risk). After traversing in, the rest of the route was very direct, taking the skier's right of the rock protrusion at the bottom center of the face.
Somehow, we managed to find a good line across the lower Coleman and back to the cowpath (after I took over route-finding).
Nevermind that though... the rest of the story: Jason and I took about 7 hours to reach the summit, moving slowly so as to let the snow soften. There was a strong wind starting at the Colfax/Baker col.
At the summit plateau, Jason's stoke was very high, so we began the descent right away w/o waiting for the snow to soften any further. It could have been softer, but that might have been worse in the spots where there was an icy base.
Anyway, the headwall was a really fun, serious route. Long pitches of steep continuous turns. Great atmosphere. Probably an audience down at the flats below the glacier. I don't think you could ask for better conditions... the face was minimally crevassed and the snow surface was smooth. We took the "easy" start, down the ridge (the direct start looked icy, and w/o having climbed it first, was not worth the risk). After traversing in, the rest of the route was very direct, taking the skier's right of the rock protrusion at the bottom center of the face.
Somehow, we managed to find a good line across the lower Coleman and back to the cowpath (after I took over route-finding).
Monday, May 28, 2007
Mt Ruth, Glacier Basin
Ok, not a big descent, but certainly part of what skiings about... endless great corn.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Fightin' words
Edward A. Rossit, on why skiers can wear plastic lenses.
Skiers can get away with their plastic lenses where mountaineers can't for two reasons. Firstly, as high as they think they are, skiers are seldom found at the considerably higher altitudes where mountaineers range. At the lower altitudes, where skiing takes place, eye protection with goggles is not nearly as important as it becomes futher up, in thinner, rarer air.
- Edward A. Rossit, "Northwest Mountaineering", 1965.
Stay tuned for more choice quotes from Mr. Rossit in the coming weeks.
Skiers can get away with their plastic lenses where mountaineers can't for two reasons. Firstly, as high as they think they are, skiers are seldom found at the considerably higher altitudes where mountaineers range. At the lower altitudes, where skiing takes place, eye protection with goggles is not nearly as important as it becomes futher up, in thinner, rarer air.
- Edward A. Rossit, "Northwest Mountaineering", 1965.
Stay tuned for more choice quotes from Mr. Rossit in the coming weeks.
Monday, May 14, 2007
"Where it all began"
Some old pics...
This was on one of my first "backcountry ski" trips. We tried to ski some of the slides on Giant Mtn (NY). You read trip reports of people skiing these things frequently now - I think there is even a guidebook. But ten years ago... we never saw anyone or heard of anyone doing this stuff.
We ended up bushwhacking all day until we had to turn around. Much of our descent was thrashing through slide alder. But I just thought it was novel to be skiing downhill not at a resort. This is a nice patch of forest once we were back on the trail. What's that above my head? It's an old style wooden snowshoe (with rawhide webbing). Not the best for climbing mountains. I think I'm wearing all cotton too. I'm lucky I didn't die.
The following photo is from Whiteface Mtn in Lake Placid, probably a year later. Apparently the "slides" are an official part of the resort now, but this was a ski mountaineering adventure back then (the backcountry fad had not yet arrived). At the bottom, after negociating some icy cliff bands, we cut back into the runs at the resort (closed for the year) and skied to the base for a 3600ft continuous run.
By this time I had found more modern snowshoes which I used to ascend. We had a French guy on this trip - I lent him my "traditional" ones. I guess you could say I was mean for giving him the large cumbersome things, but he seemed thrilled - I think it just heightened the North American experience for him. You can see him in the day-glo yellow pants above.
This was on one of my first "backcountry ski" trips. We tried to ski some of the slides on Giant Mtn (NY). You read trip reports of people skiing these things frequently now - I think there is even a guidebook. But ten years ago... we never saw anyone or heard of anyone doing this stuff.
We ended up bushwhacking all day until we had to turn around. Much of our descent was thrashing through slide alder. But I just thought it was novel to be skiing downhill not at a resort. This is a nice patch of forest once we were back on the trail. What's that above my head? It's an old style wooden snowshoe (with rawhide webbing). Not the best for climbing mountains. I think I'm wearing all cotton too. I'm lucky I didn't die.
The following photo is from Whiteface Mtn in Lake Placid, probably a year later. Apparently the "slides" are an official part of the resort now, but this was a ski mountaineering adventure back then (the backcountry fad had not yet arrived). At the bottom, after negociating some icy cliff bands, we cut back into the runs at the resort (closed for the year) and skied to the base for a 3600ft continuous run.
By this time I had found more modern snowshoes which I used to ascend. We had a French guy on this trip - I lent him my "traditional" ones. I guess you could say I was mean for giving him the large cumbersome things, but he seemed thrilled - I think it just heightened the North American experience for him. You can see him in the day-glo yellow pants above.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Où est le stoke?
Still too sleepy and un-stoked from non-ski-sickness to actually get up and go somewhere on Saturday morning. So decision was made to try again by waking up at a trailhead Sunday morning.
The weather: 30% chance of showers overnight, sounding like it would clear up quickly on Sunday.
It poured rain hard at the Easy Pass trailhead all night. I slept better than I have in weeks in the back of my Subie.
The rain didn't stop until 8. A quick drive up to the pass revealed 5 inches of new wet snow at 5400ft, undoubtedly more higher up (1 inch liquid precip overnight on the sno-tels - bet you weather forecasters never saw that coming). Indecision set in... sure-bet May powder with the "crowds" at Blue Lake col, or significantly-revised original plan? As I drove back and forth changing my mind, the Blue Lake trailhead population of cars tripled.
Significantly-revised original plan eventally won out - but unfortunately the stoke lost out to poor visibility and fresh debris from overnight coming down from unseen heights... blah
Gas is now $3.50 a gallon - but I managed to squeeze 29.5 MPG out of my car, so the trip only cost me $37!
The weather: 30% chance of showers overnight, sounding like it would clear up quickly on Sunday.
It poured rain hard at the Easy Pass trailhead all night. I slept better than I have in weeks in the back of my Subie.
The rain didn't stop until 8. A quick drive up to the pass revealed 5 inches of new wet snow at 5400ft, undoubtedly more higher up (1 inch liquid precip overnight on the sno-tels - bet you weather forecasters never saw that coming). Indecision set in... sure-bet May powder with the "crowds" at Blue Lake col, or significantly-revised original plan? As I drove back and forth changing my mind, the Blue Lake trailhead population of cars tripled.
Significantly-revised original plan eventally won out - but unfortunately the stoke lost out to poor visibility and fresh debris from overnight coming down from unseen heights... blah
Gas is now $3.50 a gallon - but I managed to squeeze 29.5 MPG out of my car, so the trip only cost me $37!
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
CrystalFest
Vinnie made a post about it on his extremely prolific blog. Check out the ugli. The Ugli site says they're 4-6 inches in diameter, but mine was bigger.
Also I would like to say that Amar didn't even ski above the lodge. He took runs on the groomers. Amar, skier of anything in all conditions no matter how steep, didn't want to deal with the hard crusty chutes on the Throne. I'd say that might be reason for ouster from the big leagues. I vote we replace him with Dave, who seemed perfectly willing to throw his body down the gnar using bizarre knee contortions that made Vince wince.
Also I would like to say that Amar didn't even ski above the lodge. He took runs on the groomers. Amar, skier of anything in all conditions no matter how steep, didn't want to deal with the hard crusty chutes on the Throne. I'd say that might be reason for ouster from the big leagues. I vote we replace him with Dave, who seemed perfectly willing to throw his body down the gnar using bizarre knee contortions that made Vince wince.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Royal blood
I guess skiing in Royal Basin runs in the family... my brother went in there less than a month before I moved here. Found on an old Mountaineers trip reports board, for May 1997:
Saturday, May 24 - Monday, May 26 - Royal/Deception Basins, Olympics backcountry(M2+) Six of us made the 7 mile trek to enjoy the seldom-skied slopes of Royal and Deception Basins in the Olympic Peninsula. The first 5 miles were on dirt, which made for some heavy packs. We set up base camp in Royal Basin, near the base of Mount Deception.
On Sunday we climbed up to the notch on the East side of Deception, and dropped down into Deception Basin. The South side of the notch involved a little scrambling over scree to get to snow covered slopes. From the bottom we headed South up to yet another notch on the East side of Mount Mystery. We played around in here for a while on excellent snow, getting some steep runs off the headwalls on the East side of the valley. After this we wrapped around the East side of the basin and climbed up Hal Foss Peak (the summit registry showed we were the first ascent of the year). We had a great descent back down to the basin. Near the bottom, the snow got much heavier, and we triggered several large slow-moving slides. One of our party, Johnny, had a nice ride on one of the slides that was a little sobering. We headed back the same way we came in.
Monday we just did a half-day, and headed Westwards through a small glacier valley to a notch in the Needles that gave a great view of more mountain ranges. There was a good-sized snow lip at the top, and we took a bunch of pictures of various members of our party launching off of it.
In general, the snow is still not that stable in this area, especially in the afternoon after the sun's been on it. A solo climber attempting to climb the Honeymoon Chute up Mount Deception early Sunday morning, abandoned his climb after digging a pit and finding a very weak layer 2.5 feet down. We saw the aftermath of a huge slab avalanche that had broken loose on the lower slopes of Mt. Fricaba, and had probably happened just before we arrived. The crown extended several hundred yards, and was probably at least 15 feet high in some places. The run out was about a half-mile in length. (Marc Fortier)
Saturday, May 24 - Monday, May 26 - Royal/Deception Basins, Olympics backcountry(M2+) Six of us made the 7 mile trek to enjoy the seldom-skied slopes of Royal and Deception Basins in the Olympic Peninsula. The first 5 miles were on dirt, which made for some heavy packs. We set up base camp in Royal Basin, near the base of Mount Deception.
On Sunday we climbed up to the notch on the East side of Deception, and dropped down into Deception Basin. The South side of the notch involved a little scrambling over scree to get to snow covered slopes. From the bottom we headed South up to yet another notch on the East side of Mount Mystery. We played around in here for a while on excellent snow, getting some steep runs off the headwalls on the East side of the valley. After this we wrapped around the East side of the basin and climbed up Hal Foss Peak (the summit registry showed we were the first ascent of the year). We had a great descent back down to the basin. Near the bottom, the snow got much heavier, and we triggered several large slow-moving slides. One of our party, Johnny, had a nice ride on one of the slides that was a little sobering. We headed back the same way we came in.
Monday we just did a half-day, and headed Westwards through a small glacier valley to a notch in the Needles that gave a great view of more mountain ranges. There was a good-sized snow lip at the top, and we took a bunch of pictures of various members of our party launching off of it.
In general, the snow is still not that stable in this area, especially in the afternoon after the sun's been on it. A solo climber attempting to climb the Honeymoon Chute up Mount Deception early Sunday morning, abandoned his climb after digging a pit and finding a very weak layer 2.5 feet down. We saw the aftermath of a huge slab avalanche that had broken loose on the lower slopes of Mt. Fricaba, and had probably happened just before we arrived. The crown extended several hundred yards, and was probably at least 15 feet high in some places. The run out was about a half-mile in length. (Marc Fortier)
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Mindless pedestrian rant
Taking the Burke Gilman trail to work, I often get the block by pedestrians trying to cross at the crosswalks. They stand in front of my bike and get in my way so that I have to maneuver around them when the light turns green, apparently unaware that cyclists are faster than them. Not a big problem since there is usually plenty of maneuvering room. And I am partly to blame since I don't like positioning my bike right at the edge of the street given how easy it would be to accidentally slide into traffic.
But tonight the Montlake Bridge was up. I placed myself just behind the cyclist in front of me who was right at the gate. Beyond the gate is a hundred yards of narrow sidewalk on the bridge, on which it is often difficult to pass people who don't keep to one side. While the bridge was up, pedestrians gathered around me. I was ready to bolt when the gate opened again, but two of them moved right in front of me, including a woman blabbing on her cel who seemed to be unable to determine that the cyclist who was in front of her 1 second ago will be catching up to her in 1 second. They walked abreast, blocking my way, for some time before I was able to weave between them.
When you know a cyclist is going to smoke you in 2 seconds, why do you bother pushing your way in front of them? Are you really that clueless to your surroundings?
I suspect these are the same folks that talk non-stop on their cel phones or putting on makeup while driving, in their own little bubble and completely unaware of what's going on around them.
I need to start carrying a "pedestrian beatdown stick"!
But tonight the Montlake Bridge was up. I placed myself just behind the cyclist in front of me who was right at the gate. Beyond the gate is a hundred yards of narrow sidewalk on the bridge, on which it is often difficult to pass people who don't keep to one side. While the bridge was up, pedestrians gathered around me. I was ready to bolt when the gate opened again, but two of them moved right in front of me, including a woman blabbing on her cel who seemed to be unable to determine that the cyclist who was in front of her 1 second ago will be catching up to her in 1 second. They walked abreast, blocking my way, for some time before I was able to weave between them.
When you know a cyclist is going to smoke you in 2 seconds, why do you bother pushing your way in front of them? Are you really that clueless to your surroundings?
I suspect these are the same folks that talk non-stop on their cel phones or putting on makeup while driving, in their own little bubble and completely unaware of what's going on around them.
I need to start carrying a "pedestrian beatdown stick"!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Schnabelkase
We saw these guys dressed in crazy clothes filming some stuff on the moraine in the Asulkan Valley at Rogers Pass. Back at the parking lot, they had a run down van that had "http://schnabelka.se" written on it. They told us it was a "swedish website". You can read a bit about the adventures of the "powder puff boys" here: Schnabelkase.
They also have a blog, where the March 31st entry talks about a first descent one of the guys did in the Rockies. Except it was actually a second descent. The first descent on AT gear though.
They also have a blog, where the March 31st entry talks about a first descent one of the guys did in the Rockies. Except it was actually a second descent. The first descent on AT gear though.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Too little snow, too much time
A ski down the south side of Mt Buckhorn (6988ft)
There was some powder around, but we didn't ski it (in exchange for a summit).
The Olympic rainshadow was not in effect Saturday.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Le col du Roger
On the 28th, Sam, Lori, Greg, Bill and I headed to Saphire Col near Rogers Pass. It was a gorgeous bluebird day, perfect temperatures. Just a fantastic day to be up in the mountains. All photos by Sam A.
Some happy people.
Who's that ripper!?
Lori, Phil and Bill at the edge of a crevasse. "Are you sure it doesn't go!?"
Glacier and mountains.
View down the backside of Saphire Col...
It's my blog, so I can put as many photos of me as I want. One day I will learn how to land with skis parallel to the snow.
Fall down go boom
This nice smooth track (photo by Bob) was made by a car-sized block from a cornice from the ridge-top in the background. Word was that folks hadn't seen blocks so far down the bowl before, nor the cornice crack so far from the edge.
This photo of Sam's is completely unrelated, but was nice.
This is probably the last of the Chatter posts, but I should pound one out for Rogers Pass.
Chatter primetime
This is Hozz (sp?), who hangs out around the lodge and jumps for snowballs. He almost came touring with us one day (between end of cat skiing and start of hot tub, we would often hike for a run to get some exercise).
The late afternoons were also filled with demonstrations of mechanical prowess in the cut block next to the lodge. But no one got any photos of that, so here's another one of me skiing
But it wasn't all glory shots...
Hello Kitty
More of Sam's great photos...
Go kitty! This was just before the last run of the trip.
And this was just after :-)
Drunk people collage.
Blah blah2
This was the most frustrating jump, you totally couldn't see it or the ground from above. Vinnie makes the best of it.
See Kner Rhee. I dunno if it was this bowl or the next one over - but the next day, we witnessed an avalanche come running down from across the valley, apparently across the cat track, from a cornice collapse.
Here I didn't get my gun out fast enough, and am being thrown to the ground by the impact of bullets from the bad guy's gun. All while waiting for the cat to come around.
Morning hike.These are all Sam's photos. Thanks Sam.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)