Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 11:09 pm
Skiing...in July?? Eh, why not.
Because of the hudge snowpack this year, the Cascade volcanos are still skiing exceptionally well. It's melting fast, but there is still good skiing to be had. I met up with TGR mag Patarero on Saturday afternoon and we drove as far up the access road as was possible, to about 4500 ft. We strapped skis and boots to our packs and hoofed it through packed snowpiles and clear dirt road to around 6,000, then began skinning.
A whole lot of above-treeline alpine:
A closer look. What looks like the summit on lookers right is actually a false summit- you can't actually see the true summit from here. You can kind of see the southwest chutes (our descent) coming down from false summit to the left. You can also see the crazy glissade chutes coming down from the false summit:
Mt. Hood in the distance:
Climbers and the glissade lines coming down:
Room with a view:
This was the first time I've used our new Jetboil, and it might be the greatest thing ever:
One of the best parts about sleeping high in the alpine are the sunsets. Mt Hood:
Moonrise:
Mt St. Helens looking ominous and beautiful:
Then sleep...
...then up at 5:15 for the sunrise, breakfast, and more skinning. Mt Hood in morning glow:
We actually woke up to clouds. See the thin little band of rocks on the main face:
...those aren't rocks:
While we only saw a few climbers and one other skier on the ski of Mt. Hood a couple weeks ago, the rangers at the Adams station (you have to buy a $15 climbing pass if you are climbing above 7k ft) told us we were #'s 213 and 214 on the mountain. It's a really busy place in spring climbing season- because it's seen as less technically demanding than Hood, there were a ton of novice climbers up there, many with rented crampons and axes.
I brought my crampons, but never got them out. After a healthy season of Wasatch Vertical Skintrack training via skiing rules, skinning all the way to the top wasn't a big deal, and even with switchbacks I moved a lot faster than the folks booting straight up. A view from the top of the false summit to the true summit:
Summit! Patarero in the left of the frame:
View of Helens (notice the vertical difference from the sunset pic):
Rainier unfortunately shrouded by clouds:
We got to the top around noon, but couldn't ski until around 1:30 because of snow conditions- the clouds moving in and out kept the snow from softening until a little later than normal. We skied from the summit in somewhat crusty snow that was a little firmer than desired, but by the time we got to the top of the chutes, they were in primetime condition. What a descent- 3500 ft of continuous fall-line 35 degree skiing, in perfect corn conditions. I didn't get too many skiing pics, but I snapped these two with my iphone to give you an idea of the chute:
Find Patarero:
I did get my big camera out once, and I think this image captures the day. Mostly sunny, perfect corn, perfect backdrop:
I think my skiing is done until November, but it's been tremendous to be able to ski Hood and Adams in the month we've been here.
Northwest rules!
Because of the hudge snowpack this year, the Cascade volcanos are still skiing exceptionally well. It's melting fast, but there is still good skiing to be had. I met up with TGR mag Patarero on Saturday afternoon and we drove as far up the access road as was possible, to about 4500 ft. We strapped skis and boots to our packs and hoofed it through packed snowpiles and clear dirt road to around 6,000, then began skinning.
A whole lot of above-treeline alpine:
A closer look. What looks like the summit on lookers right is actually a false summit- you can't actually see the true summit from here. You can kind of see the southwest chutes (our descent) coming down from false summit to the left. You can also see the crazy glissade chutes coming down from the false summit:
Mt. Hood in the distance:
Climbers and the glissade lines coming down:
Room with a view:
This was the first time I've used our new Jetboil, and it might be the greatest thing ever:
One of the best parts about sleeping high in the alpine are the sunsets. Mt Hood:
Moonrise:
Mt St. Helens looking ominous and beautiful:
Then sleep...
...then up at 5:15 for the sunrise, breakfast, and more skinning. Mt Hood in morning glow:
We actually woke up to clouds. See the thin little band of rocks on the main face:
...those aren't rocks:
While we only saw a few climbers and one other skier on the ski of Mt. Hood a couple weeks ago, the rangers at the Adams station (you have to buy a $15 climbing pass if you are climbing above 7k ft) told us we were #'s 213 and 214 on the mountain. It's a really busy place in spring climbing season- because it's seen as less technically demanding than Hood, there were a ton of novice climbers up there, many with rented crampons and axes.
I brought my crampons, but never got them out. After a healthy season of Wasatch Vertical Skintrack training via skiing rules, skinning all the way to the top wasn't a big deal, and even with switchbacks I moved a lot faster than the folks booting straight up. A view from the top of the false summit to the true summit:
Summit! Patarero in the left of the frame:
View of Helens (notice the vertical difference from the sunset pic):
Rainier unfortunately shrouded by clouds:
We got to the top around noon, but couldn't ski until around 1:30 because of snow conditions- the clouds moving in and out kept the snow from softening until a little later than normal. We skied from the summit in somewhat crusty snow that was a little firmer than desired, but by the time we got to the top of the chutes, they were in primetime condition. What a descent- 3500 ft of continuous fall-line 35 degree skiing, in perfect corn conditions. I didn't get too many skiing pics, but I snapped these two with my iphone to give you an idea of the chute:
Find Patarero:
I did get my big camera out once, and I think this image captures the day. Mostly sunny, perfect corn, perfect backdrop:
I think my skiing is done until November, but it's been tremendous to be able to ski Hood and Adams in the month we've been here.
Northwest rules!
