Alpine Dreaming
To help foster the stoke!
About Me
- Andy Bond
- I grew up skiing back east in New England before I headed out west to Colorado where I attended Colorado College. After college I started ski patrolling at Taos Ski Valley in Taos NM where spending time in a continental snowpack made me appreciate a deeper snowpack in the interior part of British Columbia. I've spent my last two winters based in Nelson B.C. enjoying the commradarie and freedom to ski in many different areas. Along with skiing I've been guiding for RMI on Rainier, Denali, the North Cascades as well as internationally the last four years. My true passion is in ski mountaineering and looking for new terrain to explore. My hope is to start working this winter on a comprehensive guidebook for skiing in Rainier National Park.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Waiting for some snow
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Cowlitz Chimneys Rainier National Park
Inspired by a talk I had with Ned Randolph (First to ski the Tahoma Glacier on Rainier) about three weeks ago, I decided this high pressure with lousy skiing conditions, was a perfect oppurtunity to go explore the Fryingpan Creek drainage and the Cowlitz Chimneys on the east side of Rainier.
Without a sled I loaded the first chair at Crystal with my partner Rhett and headed out towards the throne to start our descent down towards the Crystal Lakes Trail. This was my first time dropping off Crystal to 410 and found it to be rather easy access to the CL Trail and down to the White River Road. We were able to skate ski most of the road down to the Fryingpan Creek TH.
The view from the White River Road of the Cowlitz Chimneys |
Although having a sled would make this trip a lot easier it really isn't that bad of an approach dropping off the backside of Crystal. We set up camp about 3 miles up the Fryingpan Creek.
Rhett jumping across the Creek |
Rhett booting up the couloir |
Rhett looking down the bottom bit of the couloir |
Rhett skinning up Fryingpan Creek |
Mt. Tamanos (needing some more snow!) |
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Early Season Blues
With high freezing levels and it dumping rain here in the Pacific Northwest with a pineapple express storm. There's not much to do I find my mind wandering to my adventures skiing in British Columbia. Early season is always hard on a skier with sketchy snowpacks and lots of down days.
Kootenay Pass at 1700m just across the Canadian Border is an amazing zone offering all types of skiing from mini golf lines to big northern couloirs.
Early Season skiing with a sympathetic release |
Early Season snowpack, Slab on Facets! |
Kootenay Pass at 1700m just across the Canadian Border is an amazing zone offering all types of skiing from mini golf lines to big northern couloirs.
Twin Lakes Basin, Kootenay Pass (Satan's Choice) |
Jesse Rappeling into Satan's Choice |
Derek enjoying some powder at Kootenay Pass |
Jesse Skiing Satan's Choice |
Kootenay Pass |
Drying out our socks at the Cabin Kootenay Pass |
Jesse enjoying another mini golf line |
I'm enjoying another couloir at Kootenay Pass |
Mike taking the ferry to Revelstoke |
Our home in the back of Mike's Van at Roger's Pass |
Mike bootpacking up Leda Peak at Roger's Pass |
Me skiing in Forever Young Couloir |
Jesse enjoying some storm skiing |
Rallying late night during a storm back across the ferry |
The beautiful North Face of Mt. Fisher with our line dead center |
Jesse bootpacking up Mt. Fisher |
Louie scheming for outing in the Canadian Rockies |
Louie enjoying some powder on Mt. Ogden |
Jesse deep in it on Mt. Ogden |
Out with Kicking Horse boys! |
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Skiing at Paradise
Friday, November 18, 2011
AK Lessons
Last spring Eric Frank and I after guiding a trip for RMI in and around Denali Basecamp flew back on the glacier to climb Mt. Hunter or the native name Begguya, meaning, “Denali’s Child and the Cassin route on Denali. With a Southeast flow over the Alaska range the weather was hard to forecast and didn't offer very large windows.
After a quick turnaround in Talketna, we flew back into Kahiltna Basecamp where we went to bed in blizzard thinking we weren't going to have the weather window to climb Hunter. Looking out of our tent at 6am didn't give us much hope either but the weather cleared and went bluebird by 10am and we packed up and left as soon as we could. Knee to waist deep trail breaking slowed us down and made crevasse navigation hard with Eric taking his first ever crevasse fall in over his head.
The West Ridge of Mt. Hunter is a classic alpine climb first climbed by Fred Beckey, Heinrich Harrer, and Henry Mehbohm in 1954. Although not as technical as some of the other lines that ascend Hunter, The West Ridge is definitely a worthy climb that ascends the right skyline in the photo below.
On the 2nd day we climbed through the technical difficulties on the route through the rock and ice sections. As the day progressed we kept noticing some cloud build up to the southeast until we found ourselves in a whiteout high up on the mountain. With a deteriorating forecast and a lack of food we decided to head down and descend down the Ramen Couloir back to the Kahiltna Glacier.
We down climbed the Ramen couloir thankfully in decent visibility before getting socked in again. The Ramen is probably and easier way off of Hunter than back tracking the entire west rib. Below you can see the ice fall which you bypass by climbing about 800' on the skiers right side to a null. If you follow Joe Puryear's beta from Alaska Climbing be sure to down climb 1200' not 120'. We spent a good 3 hours in low visibility wading through facets looking for the right couloir to down climb. Mark Allen had done three rappels a week before us and Eric and I missed the upper rappel station and found the down climbing to be pretty easy to the cleft where the waterfall starts. On Mark's recommendation we did the first rap to the top of the hanging pillar opting to do a shorter 35m rappel. We were than able to do a 40m rap down to the ground avoiding the swinging free hanging V thread rap. We rolled back into Kahiltna Base Camp at 6am tired and exhausted.
With the weather forecast not looking good we decided to leave and fly out of the Alaska. Once off the mountain the weather turned and we would've had a weather window to get on the Cassin after all. Hindsight is always twenty twenty and I wouldn't have changed our decision to leave a couple of days early. But it goes to show how weather forecasts in the big mountain ranges are hard to predict. A big part of these long trips is patience and the ability to keep your head in it. Although this was my fourth trip into the range it was my first personal trip and really was a great experience.
After a quick turnaround in Talketna, we flew back into Kahiltna Basecamp where we went to bed in blizzard thinking we weren't going to have the weather window to climb Hunter. Looking out of our tent at 6am didn't give us much hope either but the weather cleared and went bluebird by 10am and we packed up and left as soon as we could. Knee to waist deep trail breaking slowed us down and made crevasse navigation hard with Eric taking his first ever crevasse fall in over his head.
Hanging out at the Sheldon Hanger |
From a previous flight off the Kahlitna Glacier Photo: Kate Anderson |
On the 2nd day we climbed through the technical difficulties on the route through the rock and ice sections. As the day progressed we kept noticing some cloud build up to the southeast until we found ourselves in a whiteout high up on the mountain. With a deteriorating forecast and a lack of food we decided to head down and descend down the Ramen Couloir back to the Kahiltna Glacier.
Mt. Hunter (14,573') from 14 camp on Denali with the West Ridge on the right sky line |
Our camp on the West Ridge of Hunter |
Eric and I tired after a big day |
Eric rapping the Cat Ears with the West Ridge behind |
Eric on the 1st rap getting off of Hunter |
Eric beginning the 2nd rap |
Me tired at 2 in the morning wishing I was on the Kahiltna Glacier |
Looking down the Ramen, Wishing I had my skis! |
Eric on the Upper Rib |
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