ilookeddown

Yea, but not as much as the gym.

I had to get up there

Trip: Guye Peak - East Couloir Date: 2/19/2008 Trip Report: I skied the East Couloir of Gyue Peak today. I approached via Commonwealth Basin. The weather was good but the Couloir was very icy. I started @ 3pm and I think it would have been much better around 10am when it was in the sun. At least it was stable. I got one photo with my phone. It seemed a little steeper than last year but it could have been the conditions. The cliffs at the bottom are filled mostly in too. Gear Notes: Standard stuff

Snow or melting snow from above making most routes wet depending on where you were planning on climbing on the south side of the freeway. There is still snow on the ground before you get to the exit. Far side might be OK since it is mostly south facing. It was cloudy and wet both times I drove by today.

You take exceptional care of your skins compared to most people. I still have pine needles in the glue from when we were at WA pass last spring. As for skin storage, don’t let them get too warm over a long period of time or the glue will turn to slime. I do the same as Snoboy. If you have to put them in the fridge at least use the crisper

Cold dry snow + wind transport = bare rock. Here is couple of pictures of a skier triggered slab avalanche just below the route I took on 1/23/08. I figure some of the snow from up there ended up below.

I agree that is was Silver King. There are a couple of ways to get up there but it is fairly popular when the gate is open. I skied it before the area was open this year and we skinned up Silver Basin and took the ridge up. The coverage wasn’t that great on 11/25/07. Here is the trail map. http://www.skicrystal.com/_DOWNLOADS/crystalmap.pdf

PM if you want to give it a try before it melts out.

I was on skis and went down to explore the NW side the day I took that picture.

From last Monday

Talked about here awile back http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/701505/fpart/1

Wish I could but my days off are Tuesdays and Wednsdays.

I have the day off but my regular partners don't. It should be good weather and would like to tour. I know the Snoqualmie Pass are well and was thinking on doing the "crooked" on Mt. Snoqualmie. If there is any interest let me know. Dave

I have 19 days 6 of which I rode the lifts. Kurt, nice skiing with you last Sunday. We should get out again soon.

Trip: Mt. Margaret - West Date: 12/23/2007 Trip Report: Adam and I decided to go touring today up to Mt. Margaret. It’s not the most interesting tour but we needed to get away from the lifts. We knew the avalanche conditions were considered high so we chose this tour and spent most the way up in the trees. We dugs and tested pits on exposed slopes and found nothing to indicate instability in the snow pack. (Last weekend we found lots of fracturing and very unsafe conditions up at the pass). Anyway, we toured up and skied the west aspect of the mountain. We tried to ski cut all open slopes and couldn’t get anything to go. We didn’t see any evidence avalanche activity the entire tour. We skied some open slopes that were 40 degrees and it was solid. I don’t know what to make of it??????????? Sorry no pics, flat light and bad visibility didn’t make it worth it.

I think you are referring to Kendall Stump. It is the clear cut you can see from the freeway. It can be a fairly safe tour short tour but I have still seen slabs release toward the top. Kendall Ridge is very avalanche prone and you would have to travel through a few terrain traps in Commonwealth Basin before heading up to the base of the ridge. There is some great skiing on both the east and west sides if conditions are good. I know it sucks but my suggestion would be to stay in bounds until things settle out a bit.

Glad everyone is OK. Found the same conditions on the 15th in the Snoqualime Pass area.

I would first suggest you read Sky Sjue’s very informative article he wrote: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/ski-board/ski-intro Second, I would love to tell you exactly what you should get but touring is a compromise between weight and performance. I have a few different binding/boot/ski combinations I use. But, if I could only have one, I would go with an all mountain alpine ski (Dynastar 8800), Dyanfit bindings, and Megaride boots. I would also consider going a size shorter than you think you need for the skis.. I am a little taller and weigh a couple of pounds less than you and ski between a 167 and 171 depending on brand. I hope this helps.

I have looked into them. If you go up to Baker, the Glacier Ski Shop has some they rent out.

Great find! It is just a reminder of how much has changed. I skied my long, thin, strait skis until 2000 when I finally gave in. I need to mount up an old pair to just see if I have become a better skier or if I still suck.

Trip: Near Baker Ski Area - Date: 11/18/2007 Trip Report: It was fun so I thought I would share.

There are a few things that may be going on. 1. You were not clicked all the way into lock (I think you should hear it click 4 times). I sometimes have to use my ski pole to get the tab all the way up. 2. There could be snow under the springs causing the release but this is more common when you are locked down in the heel as well. 3. It could be your boots. I had a pair resoled and I had to cut a notch into the front of the toe so it didn’t press down on the springs while touring. (I think some of the first year Mega Rides had that problem.) 4. Or, like stated before, you could be going so far forward in your fall that your boot is clicking that front tab down causing it to release.

I would rather skin in with a dynafit set up and carry my ice climbing boots than try and ski out on my climbing boots. You may not get hurt on the climb, just on the ski out. Try a flexible 3 buckle AT and ice climb with them. It is not that bad, and if you find it is, than carry the extra weight for the other boots. Or just slowshoe.

I just looked at them and they are the Titanal 3 which the explorer replaced. The sole length is 330mm - 360mm.

I have a pair of explorer bindngs (size XL) I can let go for $175. They have been used twice. I switched to Dynafit a few years back and they have been sitting around collecting dust.