Waiting for some snow

A P Tex Session on one of these down days

A wax job for when it gets good

We actually found some powder the other day on true east aspects

The Willis Wall obviously with not much snow on it. 

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

Although it was only Dec 6th with a relatively shallow snowpack, we thought conditions would've been reasonable in the north facing couloir. Once in couloir there was three small rock steps filled in with ice that we had to down climb.  My own personal ski ethics are to want to ski a couloir like this one in good style without having to down climb when a full ski descent is possible later on in the season.  With conditions getting firmer we decided to head down a little less than half way up the couloir. 

Rhett skinning up Fryingpan Creek

 

I was never really expecting the skiing to be all that great but it was fun to get back out there and spend a night exploring new terrain and getting some pics of other terrain to go explore in the future.  Big thanks to the NPS for giving us a ride out and saving us about eight miles!

Mt. Tamanos (needing some more snow!)

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.

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!

Skiing at Paradise

Tim and I headed to Paradise yesterday with clear skies in the forecast! Good to run into a bunch of friends up there and the skiing was decent down low.

Droppin in off of Pan Point   Photo: Tim Hardin

Enjoying some deep snow!    Photo: Tim Hardin

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. 

Hanging out at the Sheldon Hanger

From a previous flight off the Kahlitna Glacier Photo: Kate Anderson

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. 

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

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.

Looking down the Ramen, Wishing I had my skis!

Eric on the Upper Rib 

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. 

Whitewater Nelson B.C.

 Whitewater will always have a special place in my heart.  I've been fortunate to call it home for the last two winters.  I can't thank all the people who have taken me under their wing up there showing me their spots and their hospitality.  It's truly a magical place!

Whitewater Ski Area Ymir Peak

Ymir Face

Jesse in the Whitewater Backcountry

Paulie enjoying the goods!

Ally enjoying the sunset at the top of Ymir Peak

Whitewater!