Dan_Miller

This, just in from WADOT: Hi all, It happened. The highway closed itself. We're getting slides now - the crew is cleaning up one at Liberty Bell #2 that came down a little while ago. The gates won't actually be closed and locked for another couple of hours since we've got cars parked up there and we've got to find and get those recreational users out. In the meantime, we don't want anybody else up there because we don't know when or where the next slide is going to come. (But we know it will!) Hi all, The North Cascades Highway is closing at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning unless it closes itself sooner than that. Our avalanche team won't go back in to reassess the conditions until Monday. Right now, they've got a couple dozen avalanche chutes between Diablo and Silver Star that are full and becoming more unstable by the hour as the temperature continues to climb. You'll find this information on our traffic and roads web page and on 5-1-1 and on the North Cascades web page and the information is also going out in a statewide news release from Olympia that will also include avalanche and snow melt and river level issues statewide. The NW Avalanche Center has also issued a back country avalanche warning advising everyone to stay home this weekend. You can stop reading now - that's the news - but to answer some questions you haven't asked yet: "No, avalanche control isn't an option under these conditions on the North Cascades." Here's why: As opposed to the passes that stay open all winter, we don't have any avalanche control facilities in place on SR 20. On Stevens, we've got two M-60 tanks positioned to shoot explosives into the starting zone of the avalanche chutes on the west side of the summit. We've also got a remote radio controlled box of rockets to address some avalanche chutes on the east side of the summit and we've got some snow-cat-usable trails cut above the starting zones of some of the other avalanche chutes that aren't in the range of either the tanks or the remote controlled rockets. (Those are the places where the avalanche crew has to drive up and set off satchel charges by hand. It's what Mike Stanford was doing in the 3 a.m., 100 mph wind video that KING TV ran back on Feb. 10 when we were closed for 54 hours. By the way, that's still available on the WSDOT YouTube site). The only avalanche control tool we've got for the North Cascades is the howitzer which can be mounted on the snow cat's trailer. It works okay to dislodge snow from the lower portions of Liberty Bell's chutes, but most of the other chute's starting zones are out of range and we don't have any snow cat trails cut in because that's Park Service or Forest Service land and for a highway that's closed 5 months a year, it would be pretty hard to justify putting those kinds of permanent "roads" in place. Besides that, we couldn't put them in above a lot of chutes at all, due to the terrain. The North Cascades, besides having more avalanche chutes than anywhere else, also has some of the tallest/longest ones. Delivering ordinance to the top of an avalanche chute that starts between 7 and 9,000 feet isn't feasible. This weekend's situation is highly unusual in that by this time of year, the chutes aren't still full. This spring has been so cold that, while full, the chutes have remained stable. This 30+ degree rise heats up the top layer of snow, making it heavier and creating a slip-plane with the layer below. That's what's happening now and if it slides, what's coming down is going to have the consistency of wet concrete and will probably bring rocks and wood debris with it, so you wouldn't want to be on the highway when that happens. If they find significant slides on Monday - it could take several days to clean up. All we can do is tell you to check the web pages or call 5-1-1. I'll send another e mail Monday when the crew gets back in radio range and tells me what they found and what happens next. Jeff

BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE STATEMENT FOR THE OLYMPICS WASHINGTON CASCADES AND MT HOOD AREA NORTHWEST WEATHER AND AVALANCHE CENTER SEATTLE WASHINGTON 830 AM PDT TUE MAY 13 2008 NWAC Program administered by: USDA-Forest Service with cooperative funding and support from: Washington State Department of Transportation National Weather Service National Park Service Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Pacific Northwest Ski Area Association Friends of the Avalanche Center and other private organizations. This statement applies to back country avalanche terrain below 7000 feet and does not apply to highways or operating ski areas. WAZ513-518-519-019-042-501-502-ORZ011-141700- && ..RAIN AND SIGNIFICANT WARMING TO PROVIDE SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASING AVALANCHE DANGER THIS WEEK... With the exception of a few periods of brief warming, an unusually cool and snowy spring has been experienced in the Northwest to date. This has produced periods of great late season powder while maintaining a mostly stable and generally refrozen mid snowpack below a diurnally developing layer of moist to wet snow or slush in the upper 1 to 3 feet of near surface snow. Field reports have indicated surface snow conditions ranging from the good-a few inches of recent soft snow over a firm base, to the bad-a trap crust over mush, as well as a variety of conditions in between. The overall cool conditions have produced some, though rather limited spring avalanche activity as daily warming has slowly warmed and weakened near surface snow. Most meltwater percolation and associated snowpack weakening have been confined to upper snowpack layers, at least at mid and upper elevations above about 4 to 5000 feet. However, this rather benign spring snowpack evolution is expected to change significantly this week, when rain at slowly rising freezing levels Tuesday into early Wednesday should be followed by sustained high freezing levels reaching 13,000 to 15,000 feet later Wednesday through Saturday. These prolonged and unusually high freezing levels for May are the highest since last summer. In any case, rainwater weakening and lubricating of near surface snow Tuesday should be rapidly followed by increasing amounts of meltwater percolating into and weakening progressively deeper snowpack layers. Combined with some early winter faceting and weakening of several layers near the ground, this sudden and sustained warming of the Northwest snowpack should result in a significant spring avalanche cycle, with some slides possibly involving all of this past winter's snowcover. An increasing moderate to considerable avalanche danger from rain on Tuesday should precede a considerable to locally high danger expected to develop in many areas mid-late Wednesday through Saturday. While the rain affected danger increase should develop on all exposures, sun and warming related danger should initially develop most significantly on southeast through southwest exposures Wednesday and Thursday. However, its cumulative effects should progress to most exposures and to increasingly high elevations later Thursday through Saturday due to the combined effects of very warm temperatures, high sun angle, substantial snow melt, light winds and only minimal overnight refreezing of surface snow. Due to the evolving danger, a variety of avalanches are likely and should range from initial small wet loose releases to increasingly large wet loose or wet slab slides, with some isolated slides possibly extending full path length or more, and some extending into relatively flat terrain runouts. As a result, back country travelers from climbers to snowmobilers, skiers to snowboarders, hikers to snowshoers, should all exercise increasing caution in avalanche terrain Tuesday and Wednesday, with travel in steeper avalanche terrain not recommended Thursday through Saturday, especially on slopes not experiencing recent avalanche activity. Travelers should be especially cautious on slopes with overhanging cornices or below icefalls, which may become very active later this week, and may be the trigger for some of the larger slide releases expected. This statement will be updated as conditions warrant. &&

Way to keep your head about you Amar! It seems you two did just fine. This has been one of the most informative TR's in awhile in my opinion.

My understanding of the solar panel is that it enables the NPS to power their radio communications 'repeater.' There is one on Ruby and another one on McGregor Mtn. to the East.

From today's NPS Daily Ranger Report: North Cascades National Park (WA) Man’s Body Found In Remote Section Of Park On May 2nd, a park trail crew found a man’s remains on the East Bank trail in the Ross Lake portion of the park, about 24 miles from Canada and eight miles from the Highway 20 trailhead. It’s not known which way he was heading, but a Canadian phone card was found on his body along with some herbal supplements. The victim was of Asian origin and about 30 years old. Cotton clothing and an estimate that one to two months had elapsed since his death suggest that he may have succumbed to hypothermia. No one has been reported missing in that area, nor has anyone been reported missing who matches his description. The body was evacuated from the remote setting by helicopter and turned over to Whatcom County. The investigation is continuing. [submitted by Kinsey Shilling, Chief Ranger]

Hi all, There is no truth to the rumors that the North Cascades Highway will reopen this weekend! As of last night, the east and west crews are still about a mile apart between Bridge Creek and Whistler Mountain (that's about 3 miles east of Rainy Pass). We're still on track to be able to reopen next Thursday morning, May 1st. Don Becker, the Twisp Maintenance Supervisor who is directing the reopening effort, says he has sent the rented equipment and contract workers back home. The caterpillar work is done and the roadway below the Liberty Bell Avalanche Zone is cleared, but there's still more "grooming", that is, clearing up to the guardrail and cutting pull out areas where we can. Getting the snow blowers through that zone earlier in the week so they could work on the highway from Washington toward Rainy makes the reopening by next Thursday, realistic. The weather is still the determining factor. It was pretty amenable this week, but it's going to warm up until Sunday night when there's more snow and cold forecast through Tuesday. The warm could bring more snow from the avalanche chutes onto the roadway. New snow could come in heavier than expected and fill 'em up again. On the other hand - colder temps can also stabilize everything and make a Thursday morning opening, MORE likely, so we'll just have to wait and see. Monday, the crews will clean up anything that has come down and start clearing that last mile separating the east and west side crews - they're hoping to meet (a single cut) by Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. If you haven't checked the NCHighway web page in the last couple of days - there's a new write up from Dustin's trip up from the west side on Wednesday along with more photos on flickr and more video on YouTube. www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/northcascades/ Stay tuned! Jeff

More: Do note that Hwy 20 "may" open next weekend. Hi all, Avalanche Control Technician Mike Stanford took some video on Monday of the Bombardier snow cat at work below Whistler Mountain between Rainy and Washington passes. The Kodiak snow blowers can "eat" a pile of snow no more than 6 to 7 feet high. The caterpillars and snow cats are used to "shave" the drifts down to that depth. The other thing the cats do is define the roadway edge so the snow blower driver can follow the path they've established and not run into the guardrail. (Clear forward visibility can be an issue for the snow blower drivers, especially if there's any wind, rain or snow to deal with...) We got the video posted on YouTube and elsewhere and I thought you might want to see it. Windows Media: http://media.wsdot.wa.gov/asxgen/video/northcascades/SnowCat_NC2008.wmv Real Player: http://media.wsdot.wa.gov/ramgen/video/northcascades/SnowCat_NC2008.rm YouTube: A couple of other quick notes: I get this question occasionally and you may be interested in the answer as well. "How much does it cost to reopen the North Cascades every spring?" The budget for this year is $136,000. The price tag usually runs about $150,000 - but we're always optimistic that we can shave that a little. This year, we may go over a bit since we've had some equipment breakdowns and repairs that got a little pricey and it's taking six weeks to get it open, instead of four or five, like the last couple of openers. The crews also got notice that WSDOT's Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, Dave Dye is paying them a visit next week. He wants to see the work first hand, thank the crews and emphasize to the public that the reopening continues to be a high priority for the department, despite the maintenance budget being $8 million + over due to the awful winter we're still enduring. I'm expecting to get another update late Thursday which ought to tell us if we're still on schedule for an opening next Thursday or Friday. Stay tuned! Jeff Oh, Dustin just let me know he posted a link to the video on the North Cascades Web Page, too. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Traffic/Passes/NorthCascades/2008/

More on the Cascade River Road access mess. Below is a recent posting from WTA's online blog called The Signpost,. Posted by: Andrew Engelson on April 15, 2008 Will you be able to hike to Cascade Pass and Sahale Arm this summer? It's not a sure thing. Officials from the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and Skagit County are in a dispute over who will fund and repair a damaged bridge on the Cascade River Road. In last December's storm, landslides crashed into the Hard Creek Bridge, located at milepost 12.7. The road provides access to Cascade Pass, one of the most popular and spectacular hikes in the North Cascades. Early this year, the county was denied a FEMA grant for repairs of the bridge, said Jeff Miller, assistant public works director for the county. As a result, Miller told me "the road will probably not open this summer." Miller said that without federal funds, the county could not afford to spend the estimated $.5 to $1 million required for a new bridge, especially considering the county's entire roads budget is just $4 million. He did think it was possible a temporary bridge could be constructed by late summer, but without funding nothing was certain. Skagit county and the Forest Service have exchanged letters about the county's attempts to abandon its responsibility for maintaining the Cascade River Road. The Forest Service has countered that the county is solely responsible, since the road was first created in the late 1800s and predates even the existence of the Forest Service. The road was considered for a cross-Cascades highway in the mid-20th century until plans were abandoned. District Ranger Jon Vanderheyden told me that the Mount Baker District has offered to work with the county to secure an Emergency Funds For Federal Owned Roads (ERFO) grant, but didn't receive a response from the county. "FEMA was really the wrong way to go," said Vanderheyden. He noted that the county and Forest Service previously worked together to repair a similar bridge washout on Sibley Creek about 10 years ago.

It would be my opinion, that during the first week of 'this' July there will still be significant snow in the Pickets, unless we have an unseasonably hot springtime. The cross country travel you will encounter in that part of the North Cascades will be just about right for your Asolo's, I'd think. They wouldn't be much different from what I'd head to the Picket's in, based upon my past travels there. (Last summer I wore my La Sportiva Trango S Evo's. Other times in the past I've worn a totally rigid soled leather boot there.) About all I'd suggest that they are fairly well broken in. As if, that's not pretty obvious!

I received one of those emails from Amazon too. Doubtless, it 'is' a conspiracy of sorts!

This will keep people off the West Ridge of Forbidden for awhile. Cascade River Road (off State Route 20 at mile 106) Partial Elevation at road's end: 3,600'. CLOSED at mile 12.7 due to bridge damage caused by avalanche. Engineers are currently assessing level of damage--no estimate of repair timeframe, but expect mid- to late-summer at earliest. Additional road repairs at mile 20 and beyond cannot be completed until mile 12.7 damage fixed. Road passable to mile 12.7, small turn-around, no trailers. Leave room for repair crew rigs to pass by. Bikes are allowed on the road beyond mile 12.7, but may encounter downed trees or other washouts (as well as lots of snow right now).

I hate to overdo this but the NWAC is just so persistent. Not sure if Heather and I will head out there tomorrow or not. Anyway here's the most current report: SPECIAL AVALANCHE STATEMENT FOR THE OLYMPICS WASHINGTON CASCADES AND MT HOOD AREA NORTHWEST WEATHER AND AVALANCHE CENTER SEATTLE WASHINGTON 10 AM PDT FRI APR 11 2008 This statement applies to back country avalanche terrain below 7000 feet and does not apply to highways or operating ski areas. && WAZ513-518-519-019-042-501-502-ORZ011-121700- OLYMPICS- WEST SLOPES NORTH CASCADES AND PASSES- WEST SLOPES CENTRAL CASCADES AND PASSES- SOUTH WASHINGTON CASCADES- EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES- EAST SLOPES CENTRAL CASCADES OF WASHINGTON- EAST SLOPES SOUTHERN CASCADES OF WASHINGTON- NORTH OREGON CASCADES- 10 AM PDT FRI APR 11 2008 ..SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASING AVALANCHE DANGER EXPECTED FRIDAY AND INTO THE WEEKEND... Over the past week most west slope Cascade areas have received 1 to 3 feet of snowfall with up to 4 feet on Mt Hood. Sunny and very warm conditions Friday and again Saturday should melt and weaken surface snow and increasingly deeper layers. This is the first warm weather of the spring and should lead to a natural avalanche cycle. Recent reports Friday morning from Mt Rainier personnel indicate there have already been natural wet snow avalanches reaching the road towards Paradise. These wet snow avalanches are likely to travel fast and run long distances, entraining considerable snow as they descend. Therefore, backcountry travel on steeper sun exposed terrain is not recommended during and late mornings and afternoon both Friday and Saturday. Stability tests are strongly encouraged to help determine how easily near surface snow may release. Be sure to make every trip a round trip and be around to enjoy the rest of the spring. $$ Backcountry travelers should be aware that elevation and geographic distinctions are approximate and that a transition zone between dangers exists. Remember there are avalanche safe areas in the mountains during all levels of avalanche danger. Contact local authorities in your area of interest for further information. NWAC weather data and forecasts are also available by calling 206-526-6677 for Washington, 503-808-2400 for the Mt Hood area, or by visiting our Web site at www.nwac.us. Kramer/Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center $$

Today's (04/10/08) report on the snow clearing: Good progress this week, despite some scary moments. Twisp Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker says they've got a path almost shoulder to shoulder to milepost 164 which is just below Spiral Gulch and the Liberty Bell Mountain avalanche zone. Don says the work has been slowed down by colder and much harder snowpack which is about 6-feet deep between the avalanche chutes. As a result of the heavy rains last fall, when these upper avalanche zones filled and dumped, they brought a lot of debris down with them. That means the avalanche zones are being cleared using front end loaders and excavators instead of the Kodiak snow blowers. "The blowers ignore guardrail and shoot the snow over the edge, but you can't do that with excavators and loaders - finding places to put the snow, not to mention the boulders and trees, is a challenge," says Becker. The eastside D-8 and D-6 caterpillars are working ahead of the road clearing equipment, cutting those huge drifts below Liberty Bell 1 and 2 from 50 feet or more down to about ten feet so the snow blowers can finish the clearing down to the pavement. On Tuesday, work ended earlier than planned when the big Bombardier Snow Cat took a tumble above a Cutthroat Ridge avalanche chute and ended upside down. An immediate work zone safety meeting took place (after determining the operator only suffered a slight cut on the forehead and the vehicle had a couple broken lights - both were back working on Wednesday). Here's what's up there right now, east and west: 4 Kodiak snow blowers, 3 Caterpillars (1 D-8, 2-D-6),2 snow cats, an excavator, front end loader, and grader. Weather has been clear or overcast, but temperatures have remained about 40 which kept the avalanche chutes that still have the 10-inches of snow they got a week ago, stable. Becker says they're hoping the warm temperatures forecast for the next several days will either melt it in place or cause the snow to slide by Monday. "We're bringing all our equipment to a site below Cutthroat Ridge so nothing we'll need Monday morning will stranded on the wrong side of a big slide." Don also sent me some new photos which we're posting to the Flickr site, (but it may take a day). www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157604271503716/ On Thursday morning, the eastside crew had some extra eyes observing the clearing effort. Wenatchee World reporter K.C. Mehaffey and a photographer came up to do a story. Should be in Friday's edition and the World does have a free on-line edition on their web site: http://wenatcheeworld.com/

SPECIAL AVALANCHE STATEMENT FOR THE OLYMPICS WASHINGTON CASCADES AND MT HOOD AREA NORTHWEST WEATHER AND AVALANCHE CENTER SEATTLE WASHINGTON 10 AM PDT THU APR 10 2008 This statement applies to back country avalanche terrain below 7000 feet and does not apply to highways or operating ski areas. && WAZ513-518-519-019-042-501-502-ORZ011-111700- OLYMPICS- WEST SLOPES NORTH CASCADES AND PASSES- WEST SLOPES CENTRAL CASCADES AND PASSES- SOUTH WASHINGTON CASCADES- EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES- EAST SLOPES CENTRAL CASCADES OF WASHINGTON- EAST SLOPES SOUTHERN CASCADES OF WASHINGTON- NORTH OREGON CASCADES- 10 AM PDT THU APR 10 2008 ..SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASING AVALANCHE DANGER EXPECTED FRIDAY INTO THE WEEKEND... New snowfall in April now totaling over 40 inches in some areas should be increasingly warmed, melted and weakened by the first truly spring-like weather of the year Friday, Saturday and early Sunday. Mostly fair skies and the highest, sustained freezing levels since last fall should make the recently received snow increasingly wet and weak over the next several days. As a result, a significant slide cycle is likely in the Washington Cascades, Olympics and Mt Hood area. A variety of avalanches including cornice falls, loose, wet loose, slab or wet slab slides-depending on location-are expected with some involving most or all of the snow down to the late March crust. While such slides may start out relatively small, they should entrain considerable moist snow as they descend, with some slides at lower elevations-generally below about 3000 ft-possibly gouging into the weakening snowpack all the way to the ground. Back country travelers should exercise increasing caution and awareness over the next several days and back country travel in sun exposed avalanche terrain is not recommended. Stability tests are strongly encouraged to help determine how easily near surface snow may release. Be sure to make every trip a round trip and be around to enjoy the rest of the spring.

Here's the current lowdown on WADOT's snow clearing activity on Hwy 20, The North Cascades Highway. By the end of the work week (Thursday afternoon)on the east side, the 7 man crew from Twisp had cleared SR 20 from shoulder to shoulder to CR2 - that's the second avalanche chute in the Cutthroat Ridge zone at MP 167. It had taken all day to cut through the 15 to 20 feet of snow on the road, below CR1 at MP 166. The day wasn't without it's challenges. One of the snow blowers broke a reel (the spinning part on the front that throws the snow) and it was out of service until afternoon. Then, just an hour before their week would end, a second blower burned out a starter motor. Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker says the mechanics will have both ready for work Monday morning. Besides the blowers, loaders, graders and excavators they've been using, Monday will also bring some "paid help". Lloyd Logging crews will assist in the effort to cut the piles of snow in the avalanche zones down to "snow blower-sized bites" (which means cutting the snow pack down to about 7 feet deep above the pavement.) A big Bombardier snow cat with a blade (usually stationed at the Loup Loup ski bowl), rented D-6 Cat and Lloyd's huge D-8 will be welcome additions to the party! Becker says there hasn't been any significant new snow all week and crews made good progress Wednesday and Thursday, despite the equipment breakdowns. Last weekend's 10 inches of new snow is making the avalanche crew a little nervous. That snow refilled the avalanche starting zones and as temperatures warmed on Thursday afternoon, some slide activity was noted. "Too warm, too fast, is our biggest concern," said Becker, "If those chutes are full and unstable, we can't risk people's lives and I'll pull them off the job, if it's not safe to work there." More photos coming...Jeff

A clarification on Devils Thumb, it's actually the NW face of the peak that is the real prize, albeit a quite dangerous one with serious serac fall hazards; which eems to have been the demise of some who've attempted it. It is an astounding edifice when closely viewed. We spent many hours watching it calve one afternoon a number of years ago.

Whittaker Mountaineering, just outside the Park's Nisqually entrance rents tents to independent climbers. http://www.whittakermountaineering.com/rental.asp

Anyone have any idea where Gary Brill is teaching his avalanche courses this season? He teaches locally; i.e., Seattle area, and without reservation I can wholeheartedly recommend him as a very astute, experienced and knowledgeable avalanche instructor. Listen, everyone; six people have died so far in less than two months in this area: whereas 1 would be too many. Enough said! I concur on the Bruce Tremper book, although possibly somewhat technical for some (fully studied, snow science is a complex subject), with almost too many variables to list. The Jill Fredston, Doug Fesler book, entitled: A Guide to Evaluating Snow Avalanche Hazard (a little less technical, although quite thorough) is also a recommended read. A little web search revceals that Gary Brill is again teaching his worthwhile classes through the auspices of Vertical World and REI.

I suspect that 'racsom' is referring to such devices as the 'Snarg' or 'Warthog' made at one point by Chouinard. These were designed to be pounded into the ice and then twisted out in the manner of a modern ice screw. I still have one, a "Warthog' which can come in handy for a swiftly placed anchor(kind of in the 'quick and dirty' mode). They had somewhat less holding power than the ice screws of their day; and of course were very dependent upon the solidness of the ice they were placed in just like any ice or snow anchor.

Richard Bouche, DPM The Sports Medicine Clinic 10330 Meridian AVE N Seattle, WA 98133 206-368-6100 Quite likely the most experienced and compotent sports med podiatrist in this area. He certainly has kept this old climber in the game for quite some time. Hanman, PM me for more info, if interested.

Ahh, the immediacy of CC.com. Thanks for the clarification Woodchips!

NORTH CASCADE HWY Elevation: 5477ft / 1669M Temperature:N/A Conditions & Weather: Pass is to close tonight at 7 PM. Compact snow and ice on the roadway. Traction Tires Advised, Oversize Vehicles Prohibited // Snowing Updated: 10:57 AM, Nov 30, 2007 This is the most current info available and is promptly updated when conditions change

There is a product by Mcnett called MiraZyme Odor Destroyer. I've not tried it but it might be worth a look.

I'm with 'mtnview' above on this one, except I use them on the Trango S Evo's. This is the best rockclimbing boot/crampon setup I've yet used. The points are somewhat shorter than others, and seemingly less wobbly. I just turn the points towards each other and strap them to the pack. I've never felt the need for carying cases. Extra unecessary weight in my humble opinion.

Thanks for the TR. Having viewed it from the Mt. Baker Ski Area many times; now, I know what it looks like from the summit.