JoshK

Man, not letting the guy watch the SB is pretty mean tho! Poor bastard.

#1 - Report indicates this was a skier. #2 - KEEP THE FUCKING SKIS IN THE MOGUL FIELDS. Keep the snowboards on the groomed runs and out of the backcountry then. Then we can all get along. Last time I checked it was skis that have been used since long before the modern era to traverse snow in the B/C and snowboards that remain akward, slow and inconvenient in the B/C.

sweet! I miss the French! Oh wait...nevermind, I don't...

I recently started wearing an avalung. I figure the difference between even 20 and 30 minutes when your partner is furiously digging (hopefully) could make a big difference in whether you survive or not. I wonder if getting caught in a tree well sucks more as a snowboarder since you are completely attached to the board??

AWESOME!! Looks like a great time. It's pretty neat you got a large group like that assembled. Must have been fun!

Wow, check this out. Looks like we are above normal in snowpack now. Look how sad and pathetic last year's numbers look. CLIMATOLOGICAL SNOWDEPTH INFORMATION NORTHWEST WEATHER AND AVALANCHE CENTER SEATTLE WASHINGTON DAY 15 MONTH 1 YEAR 2006 WAZ012-017-018-019-025-042-ORZ011- DATA IN INCHES, -99 DENOTES MISSING DATA CURRENT CLIMATE PER CENT LAST THRU 2005 THRU 2005 DEPTH AVERAGE OF NORMAL YEAR MAX/YEAR MIN/YEAR HURRICANE 74 65 114 25 111/2000 10/1981 MT BAKER 134 107 125 58 180/1971 15/1981 STEVENS 81 72 112 41 146/1969 6/1981 SNOQUALMIE 83 64 130 22 123/1969 0/1981 STAMPEDE -99 71 -99 13 179/1972 0/1981 MISSION 48 36 133 20 63/1995 12/1981 CRYSTAL 70 47 149 26 91/1971 3/1981 PARADISE 135 111 122 55 216/1969 31/1981 WHITE PASS 50 44 114 13 80/2000 0/1981 TIMBERLINE 120 101 119 52 170/1975 10/1981 MEADOWS 110 86 128 34 144/1989 0/1981

I can't imagine the snow higher up right now. As Ivan said, it starts to get really deep relaly quick, esp. as you pass 4k. Combine with what I saw driving over the passes it seems as if we have a normal snowpack winter again...finally!

First off - Wayne, you suck - I'm jealous. As for me, Ivan and I are going to attempt to wallow up Snowking as far as we safely can. Gonna have to be careful to avoid questionable terrain up there. Everybody enjoy that new snow and play it safe this weekend!

Blake knows his mountains around Stehikin. I've got his back.

I would imagine a glacier tool would be more than sufficient for that scramble. Granted, I haven't actually climbed that mountain, so take that with a large grain of salt. It actually looks like good whippet territory. Pulling the bottom of the pole off and using the whippet as a ghetto-axe is rather effective in my experience. I hardly ever take an axe while ski touring any more since I have those things.

That's a beautiful looking ski-off summit, that's for sure. Great pic!

Yeah, you can tell from the very topography that is a more unusual area of the cascades. The large high elevation "flat" spots between the ridges and main peaks seem more common when I am looking at topos of Colorado, for example.

The MK1XL has guy points. I've guyed mine out several times and found it to be a tank in the wind.

I banged that shit like two months ago. Bond is working my sloppy seconds.

Definitely looks like a great area. I'll have to get in there soon. thanks Rat, -josh

The MK1 is a better tent than the Eldo. It is almost an indentical floorplan but it has a much better pole attachment system (simple velcro instead of crappy breakable plastic things) and then venting is better, IMHO. It was also less epensive last time I checked. It is the same exact fabric as well. Integral calls it IntegralTex where as Bibler calls it ToddTex.

Hey Phil, I posted a map of the area. Is there no way to get from those large flats and ridgeland onto the gentle south slops of Big Jim without significant avalanche slope exposure? The topography makes it look like an interesting area.

So is there noticable burnage visible along 93 between Boulder and Golden?

Aren't you the whiny whiner who's constantly complaining about the poor shrinking glaciers? You can't have it both ways pal. Didn't I say it was GOOD?

And did you climb any?

This is ridiculous. Good, but ridiculous.

Yes, they do affect the taste more but I wouldn't characterize it as a strong or unpleasent taste. I have used those bottles before and never had a problem with that. The question is how long it will take before a study shows those are just as cancerous for you.

I did it as a hike once late in the year when there was no snow pack other than the glacier. I really liked the area, hence the desire to see it in the winter. I dont' see a point 67?? that you refer to. Could you point it out on the map? All the bumps I see listed with elevations are much lower than that. thanks, -josh

I would imagine snow cover in the trees is good now. I was over in Teanaway country yesterday and shit is well covered starting at like 2500 feet on that side.

I'm selling my 45l Black Diamond Shadow pack. It's a great pack but I have too damn many packs and I find myself using my slightly larger ski-specific pack most of the time. This pack is great for anything alpine and includes numberous places to attach crampons, tools, etc. It is also quite light at about 3 1/2 lbs. Check out Black Diamond's Web Page for the specifics. The pack is in great condition and features a light reddish stain from a fruit punch gatorade exploding inside of it. It isn't particularly noticeable if you aren't looking at the pack close up. The only small problem is one of the buckles used to chinch down the top pocket can come undone if torqued down too hard. In normal use it holds find and has never been a problem for me. Other than that all buckles, straps, stiching, fabric, etc. is in great condition. The pack normally sells for $169, so I was thinking $80. Feel free to offer me a fair price as well. -josh