coldiron

I'm looking for partners for steep stuff, and I'm always psyched to ski with anyone that likes to move fast. I'm having a hard time finding partners in Spokane, and figured I'd try further afield. I could meet up for skiing around Rainier, Snoq. Pass, Alpine Lakes, or anywhere else I can get to in 4 hours from Spokane. call (509)475-4056 or email coldiron12@yahoo.com -Scott Coldiron

I have lots of free weekdays and occasionally a weekend. I lead 10d Trad and follow 11's. I'm always psyched for alpine routes, and am hoping to find some motivated partners. Call or email at coldiron12@yahoo.com Scott (509) 475-4056

I'm planning to climb and ski out of 11worth 4/16-4/19. looking for ski and climb partner. Looking at Colchuck NBC or NEC, Ice Cliff Glacier, Triple Couloirs, etc.. would consider other objectives if you've got something in mind. call me and we can discuss particulars. Scott Coldiron 509-475-4056

yep. thanks

I'm planning to climb and ski out of 11worth 4/16-4/19. looking for ski and climb partner. Looking at Colchuck NBC or NEC, Ice Cliff Glacier, Triple Couloirs, etc.. would consider other objectives if you've got something in mind. call me and we can discuss particulars. Scott Coldiron 509-475-4056

I'm planning to climb and ski out of 11worth 4/16-4/19. Any beta on snowpack & recent weather trends? I've already checked NWAC and NWS. Also looking for ski and climb partner. Looking at Colchuck NBC or NEC, Ice Cliff Glacier, Triple Couloirs, etc.. or your objective. call me and we can discuss particulars. Scott Coldiron 509-475-4056

I split my time between Boulder and Spokane and have lots of time off. I could meet you for RMNP climbs and/or Cascades climbs if our schedules work out. Have pretty similar climbing level. email me at coldiron12@yahoo.com if interested. Scott

Brand new Atomic Tour Race skis, never used, mounted with Dynafit TLT bindings. These skis are superlight, rando race ready and weigh 1600 grams (3 lbs. 8 oz.) per pair. These also make excellent spring ski mountaineering boards for steep descents and tight couloirs. The bindings have 1 season of use, in excellent condition, race modified with climbing post removed. Sold with skins of your choice: 100% mohair, fast gliding race skins or wall to wall cut BD Glidelight with better grip. I can email pics if interested. $450 plus shipping. call 509-475-4056 or PM me. Scott

Hi Ben, Glad to hear you're going to race. The events are a lot of fun and somewhat addictive. All the fast guys are going to be on 160-165 cm lightweight race skis with dynafit bindings. 100% mohair skins are the fastest(Ski Trab, Dynafit, Colltex, in 60 0r 70mm width). Most use a bungee tip which makes it much easier to rip skins without taking off your skis. climbingskinsdirect.com makes a great skin that I cut wall to wall, with tail hook, which I've been using with great results for the steeper, technical climbs. Always carry extra skins. Use the absolutely smallest pack that you can fit a small shovel in(The Snow Claw is preferred by racers, but we don't bring them in the back country). An inexpensive and very good pack option is the CAMP XLP 290(Try Mountain Gear . It's also a great all-around super light day pack for trail running. It has a speed ski-carry attachment and a Velcro-ed bottom pocket for skins or crampons. This means that you can put skins on or put skis on the pack without taking it off, which is crucial for fast racing. Dynafit, Ski Trab, and Ortovox also make good race packs, or if you're so inclined, both of these functions can be home-brewed with a pack you already own. World Cup racers all use Nordic race poles, but I think for most of our courses carbon adjustable poles work just as well and sometimes better. If you opt for Nordic poles, get the biggest baskets you can find and cut them to about 10-20 cm less than your regular nordic length. Scarpa F1's or Dynafit Race Pro are the best boots, if you can afford them. If not, use what you've got. Some of the happiest skiers I see after the race are on Fritschi's, 4 buckle boots and fat boards. You'll see a lot of hydration bladders, but I think a water bottle holder on your pack strap is the way to go. This is also an easy home-brew modification. No point in lugging around 8 pounds of water you can't get at when your tube freezes. If you plan on racing hard at all, dress much lighter than you would for a typical outing. You can keep a lightweight shell in your pack if you get cold. I don't think it's worth skimping on gloves, but I'm a wimp about racing with cold hands. Yes, you get lots of style points for creative suffering. I use to enjoy crumpling to the snow with leg cramps, but I've kind of played that one out. Good luck at Vertfest. OR puts on a great race and provides great prize money and schwag. All the US Ski Mountaineering Team will be racing in Switzerland at the World Championships that week, so the odds just got better. Scott

I went to ski Ullrich's but ended up skiing part of the West Ridge Notch Couloir due to snow conditions. TR here

I arrived at the Esmeralda TH Monday night with plans for an alpine start to climb and ski Ullrich's Couloir. I woke up at 5:30 and was chagrined to find out my cell phone battery had prematurely died, thus no alarm. It was cloudless and clear as I left the car at 6 a.m.,with warm temperatures forecast. I was hoped a fast pace would make up for some of the lost time, but was somewhat resigned to the fact that I would probably have to turn back early to be safe. I was able to put on skis at 5000 ft. and made good time up to Long's Pass. The sun was just hitting Stuart as I dropped off the cornice down Long's, and the skiing was awesome down to about 5400 feet. I tried to ski directly to the base of Ullrich's and ended up in the red rock cliff bands a little too far west, above Ingall's Creek. I had to pick my way down and scramble some easy rock steps down low, but was soon at the creek. A narrow section with some handily placed boulders looked to provide an easy alternative to a sketchy, ski-booted log crossing, but I fell for the old rolling rock trick and went in, managing to soak my boots and pants. Since the weather was looking good I didn't stop to change, and my pants were dry in 20 minutes. I highly recommend Mountain Hardwear Transition clothing, as I was never even uncomfortable with my pants soaked at 7:30 in the morning. By 7:45 I was booting up Ullrich's. Bypassing the first rock step to the left led me up a buttress between Ullrich's and the West Ridge Notch Couloir. I found the 4th class scrambling up the buttress to be quite enjoyable, so chose to continue up the the rock. Soon, my pace was much slower than I would have liked, but the fun and easy mixed climbing was worth it. At around 10:30 I was only at 7500 ft. and I was starting to feel the heat. I checked an off-shoot of Ullrich's and found the snow to be rotten and no fun to ski. I climbed back over the buttress and found a finger of snow that led into the West Ridge Notch Couloir. On that side the snow was still somewhat firm with a decent corn surface. I found the West Couloir to be a really fun ski with good coverage almost to the creek. Looking down at the bottom of Ullrich's On the way out I ascended the rock steps leading to the unnamed peak which sits north of Long's Pass and got some good photos from the summit. I also met a few fellow skiers out enjoying the sun, and got a picture of me with Long's Pass in the background. Down the Esmeralda side I still managed to find some good snow on westerly aspects for the ski out. A good day out in the sun and back at the car at 3:30 in the afternoon.

I was on Stuart today. The road is open all the way. I ran into a couple at the TH who had just done the south face of Ingalls as a mixed climb with crampons and tools. They said there was ice in the cracks and patches of snow on the face, but it was melting out and drying up fast. It got pretty warm today. they post-holed a lot getting to the route. The skiing is really good right now, so bring skis if you can. The snow on Stuart was firm, no post-holing.

We brought mountain bikes on Sunday. It was a good choice. I found it to be much easier to get over the snow sections with my tires deflated to 10-15 psi. With cold nighttime temps you can ride all the way to the TH.

My friends Paul and Jonah joined me for a trip to Stuart on Saturday night. We were unsure of road conditions and brought our mountain bikes, which turned out to be a good move. The road was impassable at about 5 miles from the Esmeralda trailhead so we parked the truck, threw our bags on the ground and went to sleep for a few hours. After much fiddling with gear we got started at 4:35 Sunday morning. Cold temperatures made the packed snow plenty hard for riding, but I was sliding around quite a bit initially. I deflated my tires to about 15 psi, and then the riding got pretty fun. The snow coverage was intermittent, going from 2-3 feet of hardpacked snow to sections of bare ground. We rode to within two miles of the trailhead and stashed the bikes, thinking that we would have full coverage from that point (we didn't). I parted ways with Jonah and Paul at the Esmeralda Trailhead at 5:30, as I had planned for a speedy ascent and they were more inclined to go at an easy pace. The coverage was good after the initial 50 feet of trail and I made good time towards Long's Pass. I took a circuitous route higher up, ascending the ridge to the East of Long's Pass because I wasn't exactly sure of the trail, and wanted to make sure I didn't end up in the Ingall's basin. From the top, the way was obvious and I dropped down to Long's and found an easy route through the cornice. The run down to the base of Stuart was awesome- chalky snow and big GS turns. After poking around a little I found a log to cross the creek on and was hiking up the Cascadian at 7:35. The first two or three hundred feet of vert. was bare, but after that there was good coverage to the top. At about 7,000 feet I began to feel the effects of the long, fast approach and was wishing I had got more sleep- 2 1/2 hours was apparently not optimal. For the next thousand feet I was really dragging ass, and felt like hell. Then I heard voices up ahead and soon caught a glimpse of two climbers above me. For some reason the human contact gave me a second wind and I started to hammer again. I quickly closed in on them and followed their tracks up the left side of the couloir. At about 8400 feet they were in some steep terrain in rock bands on the West side of the Couloir. I called up to see if they were looking for the notch that you use in the summer to descend from the peak. they said they were, but soon reported that it was too steep. It looked to me like they weren't going anywhere that made sense. I traversed right under the rock bands and found myself at the bottom of a steep snowslope that went up toward the false summit and was bounded on the right side by a large fin of rock. I thought it looked like the steep section merged with the main couloir right below the false summit, so I started up. It quickly became much icier and steeper than I wanted it to be. Below me, the climbing party was retreating. 3,500 foot downclimb in crampons, yeehaw! My calves were soon burning from frontpointing the "snice", and I was going very slowly, kicking each crampon placement carefully. I was now wishing for ice tools, and my new ultralight Camp Corsa axe was not giving me the secure feeling I craved. (At 7 oz. the Corsa is awesome in the pack and works well on moderate slopes but it was scary on 60 deg. snow and ice.) I usually use a Whippet as a second tool on stuff like this and really noticed the difference relying on one light alpine axe. After climbing very slowly upward for for 4 or 500 feet I finally reached the top of the fin and my altimeter showed 9.000 ft. Of course, the route didn't go. It dropped off sharply to the right above the rock fin. Above, it terminated in the rock of the false summit. I cussed a bit, wished I wasn't there, and eventually downclimbed the icy section until it felt safe to hack out a ledge and put my skis on. The skiing was actually a lot better than the downclimbing and I had fun skiing the rest of the way down to the main couloir. By now, clouds had moved in and it was storming a bit, so I was more than happy to skip tagging the summit, and ski the 4,000 foot run to the base. The snow felt pretty punchy on the lower slopes as I started up to Long's Pass, so I climbed the ridge to hiker's left which turned out to be a very safe and scenic route out of the basin. By the time I got to the top it was cooling off again, and snowing as I began the ski down. I saw Paul and Jonah's tracks down, so I figured they must have turned back and would be waiting at the truck. The snow was a little soft, but not punchy like down lower- just lots of fun to ski. I reached the Esmeralda TH at 2:45, and began the slog to the bikes. It was too spotty to keep the skis on for long and I was sooo happy to reach my bike. The rest of the way down was awesome, as someone in a high clearance rig had driven most of the way up and their ruts went almost to the ground. I soon found that a gentle touch would get me nowhere and I was blowing through the drifts at top speed, spraying snow and fishtailing like mad. Paul and Jonah were waiting for me at the truck and we wasted no time in hightailing it to Ellensburg for some barbecued pig of dubious quality. I think it'll still be a few weeks before the road is open all the way. The snow is still really deep and continuous for the last few miles. Does anyone have recommendations on good grub in Ellensburg?

I was thinking soloing something skiable in the area Thurs. I would do an alpine climb if you're still looking for a partner. 509-475-4056 scott

Thanks for the Cannon info Tony. Is the North Couloir long enough to make the approach worthwile? Also still looking for Upper Teanaway beta. How many miles from truck to trailhead? Possible on a mountain bike with studded tires? Anyone?

How close can you get in a 4wd to the trailhead? Do you think it would be at all feasible to ride the rest of the way to the trailhead over snow with studded tires on a mountain bike? Just an idea- If it's packed down from snowmobiles I should be able to ride in a ways, but slushy deep snow or fresh snow would shut me down.

Yeah, I'd like to see the picture. Did you go in on Teanaway?

Cannon Mt. North Couloir looks interesting. I found a couple TR's but no good approach notes. Is it obvious where you turn off the main trail? I've climbed in the area but don't recall Cannon. Also how much vert do you get and appproximate pitch?

I want to ski something in the area this week. A long day would be good, something kinda steep would be even better. Scott 509-475-4056

I want to climb and ski something in the area Wed. or Thurs. (Apr. 4 or 5) Any info on route conditions or suggestions would be appreciated. Wouldn't mind some company if anyone is interested. Scott 509-475-4056

Ski Partner wanted for thurs. I would consider another destination, would just like to ski something challenging. long approach OK. 509-475-4056. Scott.

I've grown accustomed to the camaraderie of a good meal on the eve of a race- a chance to catch up with friends. I relish the opportunity to connect with fellow Randonee Racers, the rare few who understand my fanaticism about one of America's lesser-known but most dynamic sports. Over pasta in Crested Butte, we share stories of peaks skied, or trade training tips in a funky Mexican restaurant in Cle Elum. Most important, we share a love of skiing and find it perfectly normal to toil uphill for hours to make turns on death-chunk strewn hard pack, or last week's powder dump turned to mashed potatoes. Saturday night, it was burritos in a North Bend strip mall as the Traslin Brothers and I discussed course conditions for Sunday's race. Hours ago I had skied the course, a new and challenging route up the steep Southern boundary of Alpental. A ladder hanging over a cliff band added a bit of exposure to the climb, and a steep descent of Upper International promised to spice up the downhill portion of the race. It had been pissing rain since noon though, and the snowpack was a slushy mess on my last run. At the race meeting, organizer Martin Volken had caused quite a buzz by suggesting that a hard freeze overnight would make ski crampons the tool of choice Sunday morning. After a good meal and store trip for pre-race provisions, we returned to the hotel, where we found ourselves still applying skin wax and laying out race clothes as midnight approached. Our roommates from last weekend, the Slovakians, had surely been in bed since nine, with race gear neatly stacked and ready. I guess their rigorous pre-race schedule had its merits after all. We awoke to warm temperatures Sunday morning and realized that slush and rain, not ice, would be our hurdle to overcome today. Disorganized by nature, I had somehow managed to develop a system that left me well prepared for the five previous races of the season. That system collapsed disastrously on Sunday morning, and the last 5 minutes before start time found me making two frantic sprints back to the lodge for forgotten items. I burst back onto the start line just as Martin finished his countdown, a bit flustered but ready to go. Conditions were not bad for the first climb, and light rain even gave way to occasional glimpses of the sun. The snow was soft, but not slushy enough to keep skins from gripping. The course went straight into steep switchbacks, relenting into low angle gliding just when you thought your quads would burst. Slovakian World Cup Racer Peter Svatorjansky took the lead, followed by Canadian Andy Traslin and myself, with a second chase group of Kevin Grove, Scott Putnam and Mike Traslin keeping the race for the podium spots interesting. I stopped twice on the first climb to take off my gloves and tie my modified boot closure cord, annoyed that I hadn't done it before the race. No matter, I had scouted my line well and made good time down International and Snakedance, making big turns down the shoulders of the runs, which hadn't been carved up into moguls. Andy was still there when I reached the bottom checkpoint, and after a mediocre transition I charged out after him, less than a minute back. Andy is always strong late in the race, and I knew I'd have to suffer to catch him. I saw the gap slowly closing and was feeling good about the battle for second place until I felt my left ski begin to slip back with each stride. Looking down, I saw lots of skin tail flapping free. I knew I had about four minutes on Scott and Kevin so I took my pack off, jammed my ski in the snow, and swapped out for a dry skin. Up ahead, Andy had disappeared over a rise so I quickly gave chase. To my dismay the new skin was soon coming loose, but I pushed on, worried that I might be passed if I stopped again. The offending skin soon dropped off into the snow and I now had no choice but to stop. I was frantically wiping the bases dry with my bare hands and hardly noticed the sting of the cuts at first. My brand new Ski Trab race skis were supposed to have super hard edges and come with a race tune, but I didn't expect the six cuts on my hands, especially the one deep enough for stitches that proceeded to turn the snow red at my feet. After another changeover, Scott and Kevin were right on my heels and I began to worry about finishing the race if my last backup should fail. I felt the slipping again minutes later, and looked down to see my skin tail flapping once again. I knew I had no choice but to push on, and that certainty pushed me to reach deep and ski faster. The loose skin tail soon balled up underfoot, but the soft snow allowed me to push through, and the gap between me and the two behind quickly widened. The traverse out to Piss Pass was accomplished with a kick-double-pole motion onto my good ski which was gliding well, and soon I was back at the downhill gate ripping skins and following my previous line down Snakedance, this time leaving a trail of blood drops on the snow from my cut-up hands. I crossed the finish line comfortably in third place, a little bloody but happy to have dealt with all my gear problems and still finished well. After a too-short bit of conversation and exchanging stories at the lodge I was rushing to my car with an armload of Outdoor Research shwag and another weekend of good memories. I had a plane to catch to Salt Lake City where I met up with my good friend Zahan Billimoria, who'd just raced in the Black Diamond Powderkeg. The trip back to Jackson Hole was filled with racing stories and excited plans to ski the backcountry. I'm looking forward to another great weekend of racing, story telling and visiting with friends new and old at the North American Championships in Jackson. If you're in the area join us on Saturday. You may suffer a bit on the course, but there's a beer waiting at the finish and plenty of people to commiserate with. Scott Coldiron you'll find results here: http://www.life-link.com/raceresults_alpental.htm and lots of pictures here: Many thanks to Martin Volken and his people at Pro Guiding for an exciting course and to the great folks at Outdoor Research for putting on the race. Kaj, Todd, Dan and many others from OR are really excited about Randonee Rally racing and it shows in the quality of the races they support.

Depending on who you want to believe, The Alpental Rando Rally is this Sunday at either 8 a.m. sharp or 9 a.m. sharp. Awards will follow at either 1:30-2 p.m. or 3 p.m., and lift tickets will be available for either 20 or 22 bucks, a good deal at either price. It's described here as "A gruelling randonee rally across Alpental and its backcountry" Ooh boy, grueling, that ought to bring out the spectators!! http://www.summitatsnoqualmie.com/wi...ntcalendar.asp Other info is available here: http://www.life-link.com/alpental_registration.htm It will be a kick-ass race at either time. Show up to watch or race if you're in the area. World Cup racer Peter Svatojansky (6th in 2006 World Cup Team standings, 8th in individual), will be there, along with a few fast Canucks (and, I hope, some fast U.S. racers.) Alpental always draws a big turnout, and Martin Volken runs a good race. Apparently, the race will not be the 2002 course detailed on the life-link site(time for an update?). I heard it'll be mostly inbounds and fun to watch from the lifts. Anyone that is privy to actual start time please post it. This is the third race in three weeks of which Outdoor Research has been the title sponsor! Thanks.

Peter Svatojansky on the bootpack- 1st lap SLOVAK DOMINATES VERTFEST Randonee racers at the Crystal Mountain VertFest got the chance to test themselves against one of the world's best this weekend. Slovakian national champion Peter Svatojansky won in convincing fashion in the challenging 4900 ft. Ski Mountaineering Race, then an hour later took first place in the downhill oriented Sturtevant's Freeride Blitz. Peter is an eight year veteran of the European World Cup Circuit and has racked up an impressive string of results, including bronze in the World Championships and European Championships, and two fourth places in Europe's premier race, The Pierra Menta. We can expect to see more of Peter this season as he is living in Vancouver for the winter. He is sponsored by backcountrysafety.com for his North American visit and his Slovakian expat friend Stan Faban is acting as interpreter and manager. I got the chance to hang out with Peter and Stan, along with Canadian racers Mike and Andy Traslin over the weekend, in mighty close quarters as it turned out. I guess we've got something in common with our randonee racing brethren over the pond. They're not getting rich at it either. So, in true dirtbag ski bum fashion, the 5 of us crammed into one hotel room for a couple of nights. We had all packed beefier skis and boots for post race touring in addition to our race gear, and you can imagine the conglomeration of ski gear and wet, smelly clothing that took over our room. Combine that with nighttime emissions from two evenings of Mexican food and you understand why we got on the road so efficiently each morning. Friday evening as we checked out the course we met Martin Volken setting bamboo, and Couloir's Craig Dostie skiing with Outdoor Research owner Dan Nordstrom. It was good to see some of the people behind the companies that support our sport, and we were happy to hear that both Craig and Dan planned to race the next day. Martin told us that Crystal allows uphill skiing inbounds, and it became one of my new favorite areas. I'll go out of my way to support a hill that is as backcountry friendly as Crystal Mountain. Fifty people lined up for Saturday morning's race with clear sunny skies overhead. As the gun went off, the Slovak, myself, and the two Canadian National Team members quickly jumped into the lead and opened a widening gap on the field. I settled in behind Svatojansky, determined to match his pace for as long as I could, with Andy a few strides behind me. Andy and I managed to stay just behind Peter for quite a while, but his pace never wavered, and the gap between us slowly widened as we reached the top third of the 2600 foot climb. Scott Coldiron Andy Traslin Mike Traslin nothing like a day of pain and suffering in the mountains with all your buddies A traverse off the peak lead to a steep descent, and I charged down with Andy right on my heels. On wobbly legs now, I blew a turn in the heavy snow and lost a ski. Traslin pulled ahead into second place. The second climb went up the same route as the first but seemed steeper this time. My kick turns weren't as crisp now up the steep, narrow technical section and I saw Andy pull further ahead. Up ahead was Peter, looking as fresh as he did at the start, each stride smooth, long and efficient, even as he kick-turned up the steep headwall we had boot packed on the first lap. Below me Mike came into view, solidly in fourth place with no one in sight behind him. I was able to push hard again on the next section, a lower angle traverse, but Andy seemed to have another gear, and at the top I had lost my chance to catch him. The final descent dropped sharply off the other side of the ridge after 2300' of climbing, leading down a spicy chute before funneling into fast, open groomers. Lots of prize money! After an hour to rehydrate and get to the top of the peak we lined up for the start of the Sturtevant's Freeride Blitz. Event organizers had planned an event for big skis and alpine boots, and were surprised that our group of four had entered on ultra light race gear. In a Chinese downhill race off the peak on double black terrain, the dynafits and light skis fared well, showing that randonee racers have downhill skills too. Peter was especially impressive, his technique was rock solid technique and his line would have been ballsy even on big boards. We all reached the bottom within seconds of each other and the 1000 foot climb quickly strung out the racers, with Peter, the Traslins and myself again taking a big lead. The race ended with another 1000 foot drop then a short skin to the finish line. The Crystal Mountain event was one of the best I have been to. Racing during the middle of the day with folks cheering us on from the lifts was a welcome departure from some of the races with 8 o'clock starts and the management pushing to get racers off the mountain as quickly as possible. It was done quite safely too, with the Crystal Ski Patrol carefully watching sections were a collision could be possible. Martin Volken's well planned course combined with lots of volunteers and Outdoor Research’s enthusiastic staff made for a fun, well-run event. Well over 200 skiers and snowshoers took part in the races, clinics and demos that VertFest had to offer. Looking over the crowd of smiling faces at the awards ceremony and hearing people share stories from their day, it was clear that the this group of backcountry enthusiasts would take away good memories along with their tired legs and sore muscles. Scott Coldiron Some pictures of our tour the next day: Nice view of Rainier from here The Traslin Brothers (nice matching toques!) [/i]