markharf

As others say, the drive itself is not a big deal: ten hours or so including a break for Cheese Whoppers, maybe 11 or 12 if moving slowly over one pass or another. I've tried it on every possible route and found the Coquihalla/Trans Canada fastest from Bellingham, all else being the same. As always in wintertime, take the route with the better weather. Take seriously: low-temp windshield fluid, winter-weight oil, proper engine coolant mix, strong battery. Block heaters are nice, but I've never had one. Don't be unduly paranoid, but if you have reason to suspect other problems, deal with them: this includes obvious stuff like flushing brake lines that might have water in them and replacing useless donut spares. Throw a warm sleeping bag in the back, and carry drinking water and munchies. Noted: all of the above applies at least equally to winter driving in, say, Montana. Hope that helps.

http://www.turns-all-year.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=tr0407;action=display;num=1092637788

The oft-imitated, never equaled Bellingham Herald says: male, 60 yrs. old, AAI course.

Try this: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calories.htm

I mainly just lurk here, mostly because I'm not very good at posting blasphemy, vulgarity, obscenity or heinous insults. Working on it, though. As Sky and Pete indicate, there's plenty of good skiing. I missed last weekend, but I hear tell of tiny suncups and good corn in various north and east exposures at Baker. All of the above suggestions sound good, and none are all that far from their respective trailheads. I'd add Heliotrope and the Paradise Glacier to the list, although I haven't skied on either in a while, plus a few oddities like Hadley Peak. The most comprehensive and up-to-date local information is at Turns-All-Year.com. Hope that helps. Mark

Done for the season as of last week.

I was the tele skier skinning uphill as you and your partner skied the slopes above Hannegan Pass. The spot where you turned around was definitely the nervous crux, with recent wet naturals and a cliffband below; the 1400 foot climb to the summit is a more moderate pitch. Above 6000 feet the fresh snow was not so slushy (though still damp), much more stable, deepening to about two feet by the summit. Trailbreaking was arduous but not unreasonably so. Can't say the skiing or views were very good, but it was a good day out in the mountains as always. Met a few dayhikers on the trail, but saw no sign of other skiers or climbers. Gear notes: Running shoes. Fig Newtons.

Thirdhand information claims it's for real, that the link was originally posted on powdermag.com, and that the helicopter was carrying videographers searching for their buried camera. One died in the slide.

Great report, Dylan. I was just wondering why I never run into you in the 7-11 anymore. Wish I could view the rest of the photos. Fifteenor twenty years ago I hitched a ride from a trucker on the Denali Highway who'd put his meager life savings into some sort of geothermal leases on the flanks of Spurr. He was hoping to sell out to some sort of nebulous Asian interests. I've always wondered what happened to him after the eruption. Enjoy, Mark