danhelmstadter Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 (edited) Trip: CD - from 10.3k Date: 9/22/2009 Trip Report: Planned for an earlier start -- but ended up leaving at 11:30 am again; and hoofed it up the trail. I met a cool, friendly Englishman just above treeline - he said he couldn't go any higher because he had vertigo issues, and choose stay there while his wife explored higher. I knew exactly where and how to traverse to "the football field" which had lost it's nice smooth snicey coat for a more dramatically icy and textured surface. The weather was warm and sunny. The route up looked like it had not seen crampon point in at least a day, and was a little difficult to follow, but the crevasses -- although numerous and intimidating at times -- were easily negotiated, with few sketchyish bridges -- all and all -- the CD is in better condition crevasse wise than the last 2 years I've been up there, unlike the Easton which is currently heinously crevassed. Snow has melted in the last 9 days since I've been up there, and consequently -- ski conditions have deteriorated somewhat, especially the Roman Wall, which is almost completely melted out to glacier ice -- dirty glacier ice at that. I tried to traverse South in hopes of finding a way to the top -- but I got stopped at ~10.3k by a large crevasse. That whole upper area above the cleaver is a shooting gallery -- at about 10k a milk-quart size rock was rolling towards me in high speed lobs, and exploded into fragments 10 feet away on exposed pebble ice, shrapnel whizzed past as I attempted to protect my face etc... I skied down from roughly 10.3k, mostly good quality snow, it got a little cupped lower down around 8 and 7 k, but all and all quality sept. turns. I traversed way over to the true Heliotrope ridge and enjoyed spraying turns on slightly cuppy snow down to the ice terminus at ~6k. I am fairly happy with the way this video turned out -- although the quality seems to be low at times of high vibration (suncups), my favorite parts are 5:45, 6;40, 7:18 and 818. [video:youtube] I suspect ski conditions will continue to rapidly deteriorate with the continued Indian Summer, hope you can get up there and sample it before they deteriorate beyond the point of being worth it. Cheers to freshiez for October! Edited September 24, 2009 by danhelmstadter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpine_Dreamer Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Awesome - thanks for the ski stoke!!! Brought back great memories from a May ski on the CD a few years back. I don't think I could bring myself to ride the skis over rocks like that, though - I cringed just watching it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpinfox Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Great video! Dropkick Murphys muzak is great accompaniment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_b Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Yeah Dan! October pow I'm ready for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa_D Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 nice ski video! Some of those crevasses you skied by had me on the edge of my seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t_rutl Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 fak that is sweet! i'm pretty sure you were born with skis on but incase i'm wrong...how long you been skiing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danhelmstadter Posted September 24, 2009 Author Share Posted September 24, 2009 yo T -- not long enough ; hope'n for some good new snow with the wedder pattern change next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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