Dan_Miller

In the original NPS proposal for North Cascades National Park, a telepherique to the summit of Ruby was planned. Park's people were concerned that the masses couldn't really see any of the alpine splendor. We wouldn't want them to have to put their cervical spines into extension now would we! Luckily cost was prohibitive. And perhaps more importantly the North Cascades Conservation Council lobbied long and hard to counter it.

Good for you in understanding the importance of developing strong 'muscle memory' skills in this important alpine ability. Don't hesitate to really practice the 'on your back, head downhill' techniques, particularily given that it's the least intuitive. Not being an Oregonian, I can't speak to where the best areas on Hood might be. However slopes in the neighborhood of 30 to perhaps 45 degrees in angle are what you should be aiming for. The lack of a consolidated snowpack at present will be somewhat of an impediment to your self arrest goals for a bit yet. Possibly check with Mt. Hood Mtn Guides, no question they have their practice areas well "sussed out" I only climbed Hood once, a ton of years ago, and then only on skiis. Oregonians, help this person out, with some timely, accurate advice.

JayB and I concur. Another satisfied customer for East Ballard's/Phinney Ridge's Jim Mates and Custom Boot Fitting. Both for AT boots, and even single, fairly rigid mountain boots.

Today's update from WSDOT's Jeff Adamson (04/14/11 at 5:26 pm.) is below my brief response to Gene. Gene, Here's the pertinent portion of yesterday's WSDOT update: "off Silver Star Mtn. - and it came all the way to the road at MP 171 near the gate." I guess I take this to mean somewhere in the vicinity, not necessarily in the Creek bed itself. My suspicion is Mr. Becker was speaking in generalities i.e., below Silver Star Mtn. If I read WSDOT's message correctly it only really mentions that an avalanche came down to the highway from Silver Star Mtn, not specifically Silver Star Creek per se. I agree wholeheartedly with your comment Gene, no question about that. To have come down S.S. Creek itself would have entailed massive mature forest blowdown. Really unlikely given all the forested terrain you ascend to access the normal ski tour route most folks usually take. I've been up that route perhaps 4 times over the years and find it difficult to believe it came right down the creek bed; my thought is likely east of the Creek itself. I'll stand corrected if need be. Hi all, Week one is history: Wednesday and Thursday were pretty unexciting. Wednesday weather was cooperative - overcast, a little chilly, but no new snow. The work got started at Early Winters where the snow depth was about 4 -1/2 feet and got progressively deeper over the seven miles to the Silver Star Gate. The V-Plow was effective that far, but from the gate on, it's too deep for that tool, so the V-Plow attachment was removed from the loader and replaced with its usual scoop. The loader mounted blower attachment can't take the "bite" that the full sized Kodiak snow blowers can (about 10'), so it is about at the end of its usefulness, too. Wednesday, the crew used the loader with the blower, the loader with the scoop and a grader to finish the clearing fog line to fog line to Silver Star Gate - including the staging and parking area. Duane Wooley and Tyler Miller from Twisp have done the lion's share of the work so far. Thursday was overcast, a little windy, temperature was around freezing all day and there was some snow off and on for about three hours in the morning. Work progressed above the gate, but the going was slow. Duane and Tyler used loaders with buckets and a grader to cut through about halfway to Lone Fir Campground. We'll try to get a progress report on the west side work on Monday. Also on Monday, a rental D-6 caterpillar arrives from Spokane which will speed the clearing operation considerably. There was some good news from the Wenatchee shop in that the Kodiak blower that got crushed is running again and if no other systems turn out to be damaged, it could be on its way north sometime next week when the steering gear and new glass gets here. The following week, the big D-9's will join the party to attack the deep slides such as the 65' accumulations below Liberty Bell. There are a couple new pictures on the FlickR site from today (Thursday). Stay tuned. Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov (509) 667-2815 Oh, you can drive to Silver Star Gate and the parking area is clear and at your service for the weekend - but try to be out of the way on Monday so they can get in and out of there with a low boy (for the D-6 cat).

This morning's (04/13/11) update from WSDOT's Jeff Adamson on the HWY 20 clearing operation. Hi all, (Something went wrong with the e-mail system yesterday afternoon, so this update is a few hours late.) On Tuesday, the eastside crew hit the starting zone (Early Winters) and it was only 14 degrees due to the clear skies (and no new snow all day!) That also meant that by 3 p.m., it was 36 degrees - almost balmy! Don Becker reports that the loader-mounted-blower worked well, and was able to clear off all the snow they broke up Monday to about halfway between Early Winters and Silver Star Gate (where the V-Plow established a cut through on Monday.) That's Duane Wolley behind the wheel of the loader/blower in the photos. He'll pick up where he left off. The party consisted of three players most of the day - the blower, a grader and the V-Plow. The plan to push on to Lone Fir Campground got held up with a new snow slide in a location Don has not seen come down in his 2+ decades on the North Cascades - off Silver Star Mtn. - and it came all the way to the road at MP 171 near the gate. On the Westside, Kim Glass tells Dustin that his crew used snow plows to cut through from the Diablo Gate (MP 134) to about halfway between Canyon Creek and East Creek at MP 143 on Monday. Tuesday they worked clearing the ditches through that section to handle the snow melt and the rain that's coming. It has also been brought to my attention that today is April 13 and that it was April 16, last year when Tootsie was serving coffee and cinnamon rolls to those of you in line, waiting for the gate to swing open. What a difference 50+ feet of snow makes! Here are three more pictures of the eastside work on day 2, featuring the loader mounted blower: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157626170712679/ Jeff Adamson, adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

Another update from Jeff Adamson at WSDOT received on 04/11/11. Hwy 20 is now plowed to Silver Star Creek and as a result another great ski tour becomes a little easier to access; unfortunately, still only from the Mazama side. Hi all, Just got a brief update from Twisp Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker on the opening day: The crew got to Early Winters with a V-Plow and a Loader at about 7 a.m. - it was 25 degrees and it snowed lightly off and on through the noon hour. We started at MP 177 - the Early Winters Information Center where the late winter barricades were set up (about 7 miles west of Mazama) and were able to make a cut all the way (six miles) to Silver Star Gate at MP 171. Tomorrow the loader mounted snow blower from Leavenworth shed will start the clearing to make the path we made today, drivable from Early Winters to the gate and clear the parking area out so we can use it for staging the rest of the equipment (snow blowers, graders, etc.). Tomorrow, we'll use the V-plow to start making a cut toward Lone Fir Campground. The new photos will be posted soon: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/5598996290/in/set-72157626170712679/ Day one is done! Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

Many thanks for the TR and fine vistas from an extraordinary viewpoint in maximum snowpack conditions.

A lot of detail here, even a tiny Corbet's Couloir entrance complete with fixed hand line. Us little people love this perspective. Now, how about a tiny Valle Blanche.

This would be one of the best years in awhile for it to be a reasonable thing to consider. Perhaps choose the North Face route for the Shukssn portion if things get too warm between now and your June proposed trip window. As you seem to be well aware, there are a lot of if's involved. Best of luck with the ongoing snow melt.

Fresh in from Jeff Adamson at WSDOT: Question is, will WSDOT have to pay costly helicopter time to drop explosive charges to knock down cornices, and stabilize the immense amount of new snow in nearly all the known avalanche chutes? I'm thinking yes! Hi all, The plan is to start the clearing on Monday! Until then, SR 20 is still closed at Early Winters on the east side and at Diablo Gate on the west side. The crew will start the clearing from Early Winters to Silver Star Gate and plow the parking area out so we can stage the incoming equipment - snow blowers, graders, excavators and caterpillars. Our crews work Mon.-Thur. so Fri.-Sun. the staging area is available to you, as long as you leave our equipment alone! We hope to get to Silver Star by Tuesday - then to Lone Fir Campground by Wednesday and to Cutthroat Ridge by Thursday. Once we get to Cutthroat Ridge (week 2) we're into the avalanche zone and our Avalanche crew will have to be there to monitor the slopes before any work is allowed on the highway below. If we've still got avalanche issues on Stevens - the work on the NCH could be delayed. You may have noted that in last week's snow slides on Stevens Pass that one of our two Kodiak snow blowers got caught in a natural slide at Old Faithful #3. It would normally be one of the pieces of equipment that would go north, but It's not going to be available until all the broken glass in the cab gets replaced, the crushed steel panels get straightened, the broken steering gear gets replaced and all the hydraulic and cooling system leaks get repaired. See the photos: To begin with, we'll start the work with the crew and equipment from Twisp and only one "imported piece" - a loader-mounted snow blower from the Leavenworth shed. The Westside crew has been given the go ahead to begin work on Monday, too - dependent on weather/avalanches, of course. So far as the weather starting to become spring-like: Not!- we've got a forecast for a potentially signficant snow event Sunday night to Monday morning, but we're hopeful that it will dump at the higher elevations and allow us to get started down below as planned, without a lot more new snow. A second event is forecast for Wednesday-Thursday - but we'll deal with that as we get closer and see if it really materializes. So, to answer the question everyone is asking, "When will it open?" The answer is "We don't know." There are just too many wheels that can fall off from real wheels or caterpillar tracks to avalanche danger that has delayed us for days at a time during clearing over the past 30 years, to crew issues including having to send them elsewhere to deal with emergencies to illness - flu nearly shut down the entire operation for several days a few years ago. All that being said, just the volume of snow up there right now coupled with the wet forecast for the rest of the month promises that we won't have a "quick" reopening. Over the last several years, we've done it in about four weeks. An optimist might be comfortable with six, this year. Since I get peppered with calls from reporters at this time of year, I'll share some interesting data I'm keeping handy about the NCH, Stevens and Blewett and those of you who still have your studded tires on: North Cascades Significant Dates: Closed: 12/1/10 Recent Opening Dates: 4/16/10, 4/24/09, 5/1/08, 4/26/07, 5/1/06, 3/10/05-Earliest ever Noteworthy Openings: Latest- 6/14/74, Next Latest- 5/21/76, Never closed- 1977 Snow Data: 1/1/11- 4' Rainy, 5' WA, 3/1/11- 5' Rainy, 6' WA, 4/1/11- 9' Rainy, 10' WA Stevens/Blewett - Snow Data: (roadside depth/total for the season) Stevens: Jan. 1 - 4'/14' Season, Mar. 1 - 8'/27' Season, Apr. 1 - 9'/37.5 Season Blewett: Jan. 1 - 4'/7.5' Season, Mar. 1 - 2.5'/11' Season, Apr. 1 - 1.5'/13.5 Season Extended Studded Tire Deadlines: (RCW says 3/31, unless extended) 2011 -April 14 / 2010 -April 17 / '09 - Not / 2008 -April 5 / '07 - Not / '06 - Not I expect to have some pictures from the crew and their take on how things went the first day by sometime Tuesday, so expect the first "real" update no later than Wednesday. Let the adventure begin! Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov (509) 667-2815

Sterling 5mm (or possibly 6mm) accessory cord will serve you very well for prussik material.

I'll have to concur wholheartedly with duckfeet on his analysis of heart rate monitors without chest straps. Accuracy will suffer significantly. Quite likely it's not worth the money for a unit without said chest strap. I've had excellent luck with the two Timex models I've had over the last 12 years or so used nearly 6 days every week.

Another North Cascades Hwy. message from WSDOT's Jeff Adamson: HI all, Here's the news release that I sent out to the media a couple minutes ago: Washington State Department of Transportation - NEWS North Central Region - PO Box 98, Wenatchee, WA 98807-0098, 509-667-3000 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 30, 2011 Contact: Jeff Adamson, Communications Manager, 509-667-2815 (Wenatchee) Clearing the North Cascades Highway starts April 11 Deep snow and avalanche danger forces latest start in 20 years TWISP - It's shaping up to be the latest reopening in 20 years for the North Cascades Highway. Up to 15 feet of snow has fallen in the last month and the avalanche danger is extreme, forcing the reopening to begin later than normal this year. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) plans to begin clearing State Route 20 on Monday, April 11. The 34-mile stretch between the Skagit and Methow valleys has been closed since Dec. 1. Last year, crews started clearing snow on March 22, and only four weeks later Tootsie Clark was serving her famous cinnamon rolls to the first drivers at the gate when it opened April 16. WSDOT cannot shift the avalanche crew and snow-clearing equipment from Stevens Pass to the North Cascades Highway until the threat of snow and avalanche danger subsides. "We've received a third of a normal season's snow total in just the last month," said Avalanche Supervisor Mike Stanford. "We haven't seen this much snow in years. Right now, there's a lot of deep, unstable snow in the avalanche chutes above the highway." Avalanche control was required today on Stevens Pass due to new snow overnight followed by heavy rain and warm temperatures. On the annual North Cascades assessment trip on March 17, crews found snow 60 feet deep burying the road below the Liberty Bell Mountain avalanche zone. Pictures are posted on Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157626170712679/. The work is expected to take as many as six weeks to complete this year. For maps, pictures, frequently asked questions and a history of opening dates for the North Cascades Highway, visit the website www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/northcascades/. Subscribe for reopening e-mail updates here: www.wsdot.wa.gov/emailupdates. ### WSDOT keeps people, businesses and the economy moving by operating and improving the state's transportation systems. To learn more about what we're doing, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/news for pictures, videos, news and blogs. Real time traffic information is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic or by dialing 5-1-1. To unsubscribe to WSDOT media releases please reply and type REMOVE in the subject line. That's pretty much the story. We're really hoping that this day or two of warm temps might bring down some of the scary cornices that have formed at the top of some of the avalanche chutes. The forecast we're seeing isn't generating anything like confidence that spring will be here by April 11, but it's providing enough optimism that we're setting the date (as firmly as we ever can.) For those of you who venture up above the gates while the highway is closed - I'll bring to your attention a couple of new links in the left column of the NCH webpage - It was brought to my attention that the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service has remote weather stations at Rainy Pass and a few miles further down the west side at Swamp Creek that were available on the web. Those links now allow you to check out the weather/snow accumulations on the west side as well as the east (Washington Pass) from the comfort of where-ever your computer lives. I don't expect to be writing e mail updates until we start the clearing work from the east side on April 11 (unless something changes), but the west side crew would like to start cleaning up the big slide below Ruby Mtn., a few miles above the Diablo Gate, perhaps as soon as next week, so Dustin might be writing the first "real" updates and posting the photos. Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov (509) 667-2815

Just received from Jeff Adamson @ WSDOT//4:30 pm, 03/18/11 Hi all, I'll jump to the end of the story first - It looks like we won't get started clearing the North Cascades for at least the next 2-1/2 weeks and maybe as late as sometime in the week of April 11th. 12 to 15 feet of snowfall over the last four weeks, which is about a third of an entire season's total, means there's still lots of deep and unstable snow in the mountains. Our forecaster says there's more coming next week, but it's the week after - that is, the last week of the month - when it looks like there's going to be a big (season ending, maybe?) series of snowy fronts coming. In short, it means we can't take the avalanche crew and any of the equipment from Stevens until the potential for weather to bring more snow and more avalanches is over. Usually, by the first day of spring, that's the case. This year, with La Nina, the weather is hardly following a normal pattern. For the past five years, we've actually had less snow in the North Cascades than what had been normal for the previous decade. It allowed earlier starts and faster openings. This year, may be the latest start in the last twenty years and it's pretty certain it's going to take more than four weeks to clear. We had a forecast that said Thursday was going to be a dry day - a break between the avalanche chute-filling-snowfall we experienced from the weekend through Wednesday morning on Stevens. The avalanche crew borrowed the radio crew's snow cat (they had to leave their's at Stevens) and loaded up a couple of snowmobiles and headed to Twisp Wednesday afternoon. At about 7 a.m. Thursday morning, the parade started up the highway from Early Winters (where the plowing stops) under chilly, windy but sunny skies. The snow depth there was 4 ½ ft. compared with 3 ft. last year, 2 ft. in '09 and zero in '08. (Check out the pictures on Flickr - ) By about 1 p.m., battling deep and very soft snow below Liberty Bell Mountain, they turned back. The temperature was rising, increasing the avalanche danger and the snow cat was dancing sideways on the 50 to 60 feet of slush topped snow under LB 3. There are remote electronic snow pillows at the Washington and Rainy Pass summits so they already knew that there were 10+ feet of snow there. The west side crew did some investigating of their own and reported no snow at the Diablo Gate, but a big slide a few miles east, below Ruby Mountain and more snow from Whistler was deep over the road. (The Westside crew is going to try to get started clearing the Ruby Mtn. slide as early as next week if weather and other duties allow. Note: the Ruby Mtn. avalanche chute starting zone is about 7,000 ft. and the highway above Diablo where it dumps is around 2,000 ft., so it's not hard to imagine how we end up with snow depths below some of the NCH chutes that are up to 70 ft. some years.) As the avalanche and Twisp maintenance crewmembers headed up, they took their annual assessment measurements. The first avalanche chutes one encounters are Cutthroat Ridge #1, 2 and 3. They all had 12 ft. of snow over the road this year compared to 3 to 4 ft. last year. CR #6, 7, 8 and 9 all had 20 ft. of snow on the road compared to 4 to 10 ft. last year. The totals below Liberty Bell Mtn. were 60 ft. for #1-2-3 and 40 ft. for LB#4. Last year they were all under a dozen feet and didn't even require the usual caterpillar work to cut down the piles to snow blower height - we did it with just the snow cat. Avalanche Chief Mike Stanford says the avalanche danger is very high and there are cornices at the top of some chutes that will have to broken loose before he could allow anyone to work on the highway below and since some of them aren't in the range of our portable artillery - we may have to place charges with a helicopter to even begin the clearing effort this year. He is hopeful that temperatures/ rain/wind might break them off naturally over the next two weeks, but. (Where are those Oak Harbor sonic booms when you need 'em?) Yes, I've already been told that this is great news for cross country and bushwhackers, heli-skiers, snowshoers and snowmobilers - but I'm equally sure that those of you who want the highway open for fishing season and Easter aren't happy with what I'm writing. It's going to take another few days to evaluate the data, the weather and get the paperwork started for the private caterpillars and operators we're going to have to bring in to help. When that dust settles, I'll send out another e mail with the firm starting date. Happy Spring! (It starts Sunday, at least on the calendar.) Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov (509) 667.2815

Just received from Jeff Adamson at WSDOT: Hi all, The web pages have been updated with another postponement: SR 20 - Maintenance and Avalanche crews hoped to do an assessment of the North Cascades Highway on Mon., Mar. 14 to determine how soon work can begin to reopen the highway. More new snow has postponed the trip again, to no sooner than this Thurs., Mar.17. The avalanche crew was up on Stevens pass doing avalanche control until about 6 a.m. this morning and with the forecast snow on the way, they expect to be doing avalanche control again on Wednesday. There's a window of cold/dry weather Thursday afternoon to Friday, so sometime on Wednesday I should hear whether they can make the assessment trip Thursday. It looks like there's more snow coming on the weekend, but we're hoping that will be the last (significant) blast of winter. On Stevens, we got a foot of new for the 24 hours ending at 6, this morning. We're getting the 4" forecast for today, right now and there's another 8" forecast overnight. We've gotten 160" (13+ feet) of snow at Stevens in just the last 4 weeks, which is a third of the snow total for the entire season (since Nov.) It's likely that the North Cascades has accumulated a similar amount. Last Thursday a snowmobiler estimated the snow on the pavement at Washington Pass at between 10 and 11 feet deep - and we've had at least 2 more feet fall since then... Stay tuned! Hope to have something positive to pass along Wednesday. Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

Wow, Dave excellent work! Any chance we'll see an Android app down the road for the non-IPhoners amongst us?

Thanks to all; the Admins, the Mods and the interesting range of message Posters. This is such a cool thing to have. I've been around since way before something like this was even vaguely contemplated. It's worked out extraoredinarily well. I can't imagine life without it!

The Mountains of North America by Fred Beckey is a worthy addition to the titles already presented.

From WSDOT's Jeff Adamson at 4:45pm 02/28/11. Hi all, Our Avalanche Control Team and the Twisp Maintenance Superintendent were planning to do the assessment of the North Cascades Highway on Tuesday and then it was postponed to Wednesday and now the trip is postponed until next week. We've got mountain snow forecast through Thursday and the Avalanche crew can't be in two places at once, so they're going to have to stay at Stevens handling the avalanche control there for the rest of the week. (We did control work from 2 to 6 a.m. this morning and brought down a lot of snow, but there was a lot to bring down - We got 32" of new from 6 a.m. yesterday to 6 a.m. today.) You may also be aware, it's still snowing along the entire west slope of the Cascades - as I'm writing, Snoqualmie is still closed for avalanche control. (They've been getting more snow than Stevens today as the storm track is heavier to the south and coming in low - Snoqualmie is a 1,000' lower than Stevens, too). When the assessment happens isn't that critical - as a matter of fact, the later it's done, the more accurately Mike and his snow wizards can make their predictions. The assessment trip is to determine how soon the clearing can begin and what resources (people and equipment) are going to be needed. Oh, in answer to the question you didn't ask - it has been costing around $250,000 for the spring reopening effort. We are hoping we won't have to rent a lot of the big caterpillars (which WSDOT doesn't own) to keep the price down, but the reopening budget is secure. Despite the budget cutting the Governor and the legislature have done (are doing) - they all said no to any cuts to winter highway maintenance. I'll let you know when the assessment trip is rescheduled and then what they found and what it means. Later! Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

La Nina, yah a bust, except for right now and the next two or three days. Take advantage of it! 13 inches new at the top of Alpental overnight.

Great job again Dan. You just keep reminding us of all the fun we might be having.

Still appears that the road is blocked well before the Eldorado gravel pit parking lot. Lifted from NOCA's Current Conditions website on 10/31/11 Cascade River Road Mile 106 off SR 20, in Marblemount Elevation at road's end: 3660 feet. Partial Closure Road is paved to ~ mile 10, then gravel with some potholes and washboards, but generally drivable for low clearance vehicles. Not suitable for large RVs due to steep and narrow sections and some sharp switchbacks. Please drive slowly, road is narrow. Seasonal closure at mile 20, Eldorado Creek, 3 miles before the end of the road. As of Jan. 21, Skagit County road closure at mile 8 due to rock slide damage -- also damage has been reported further up the road at mile 12 (Hard Creek) and other areas.

I'd contact the folks at Alaska Mountain Guides, they're based in Haines, AK. I suspect they'll be more than helpful.

Thanks Dane, I would certainly have missed that one. In my opinion, most anything by Barry is worthy of a read.

Great photos again as usual Josh! Up along the Stetatlle Ridge, especially up towards the East MacMillan Spire is a very cool trip in winter as you found out. Keep after it.