Dan_Miller

It was a productive day in terms of clearing and widening, but Monday is going involve some significant "clean up" based upon a snowslide today and the 12 to 14 inches of snow forecast to fall tonight, through tomorrow. First things, first. The highway is cleared, guardrail to guardrail all the way to Blue Lake (between Washington and Rainy Passes), About 1:30 this afternoon, a slide came in down Liberty Bell chute #3 and dumped 8 to 10 feet of snow across both lanes. Needless to say, the avalanche crew is not heading back to Stevens Pass - they'll be at Liberty Bell on Monday, so the maintenance crew can clear it again (and the rest of the new snow on the highway.) By the way, the westside snow blower test is happening Monday, not today. Happy Easter! Jeff Adamson (509) 667-2815 adamsoj@wsdot,wa.gov

I don't write 'these'. I'm only the conduit. Protect the Pika! I just got back to Wenatchee from a visit to the North Cascades. I was escort for Mark Mahnkey, aka The Geezer. Mark works for Boeing, but is better known for his website and Blog. He also had been deputized by an old friend and editor of the Omak Chronicle, Roger Harnack, to take pictures and write an article for his paper. Mark picked me up in Wenatchee at 7 a.m. (having left Lynnwood several hours earlier) and we headed north arriving at the Silver Star Gate at 10 a.m. (after a mandatory latte' stop at the Mazama Store). Twisp Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker met us with the mandatory safety checklist (sign it or get back in your car and leave) and then wired us up with avalanche beacons and a handheld radio so we could listen in on the crew (or cry for help?) The weather was beautiful - blue skies, sunshine and 40 - 50 degrees (depending on where you were standing). We headed up to meet the crew, with a few stops on the way at the beginning and the end of the Cutthroat Ridge avalanche zone, then at Spiral Gulch before arriving at the Liberty Bell avalanche zone, where the Kodiak snow blower, a grader and a loader were working (below LB#1) and a loader and the snow cat were busy below LB#2. The second Kodiak had been sent on ahead to cut a path past LB#3 & 4 and around the corner and up to the Washington Pass summit. On Tuesday, equipment breakdowns cost the crew about half a day - another flat tire on a Kodiak (this one a simple patch repair that the Twisp Les Schwab took care of) and some traction gadgets on the snow cat's treads that came off and had to be replaced. Tuesday's progress widened Monday's single cut from the end of Cutthroat Ridge around Spiral Gulch to LB#1. By the end of today (Wednesday), the clearing and widening was completed through LB#1, 2 & 3 plus a double cut to the summit. There's more snow forecast late tomorrow, so an increased danger of avalanches could still be in the offing, but as of today, the avalanche crew's work and the monitoring is done. The avalanche chutes between Washington and Rainy Passes (Whistler) never even reached the road this winter. Thursday, the crew will be widening to the Washington Pass summit and beginning the cuts toward Rainy Pass. (Here are the mileposts so you can check the maps link on the NCH home page and get a feel for the progress: Silver Star Gate is at MP 170.5. Lone Fir is at 168.5. Cutthroat Ridge runs from MP 166.5 to 165, the beginning of Spiral Gulch. Liberty Bell runs from about 164.5 to 163. Washington Pass summit is at 162.5, Whistler Mtn. is at 160.5 and Rainy Pass at 157.5. There's still 3-4' of snow on the pavement from there down to the vicinity of Granite Creek, MP 148, but the road is clear and dry from there down to the West Gate at MP 134.) The west side crew is working in the cleared section, installing concrete jersey barrier in a rock fall zone, fixing guardrail, cleaning culverts, shaping shoulders and generally getting ready to open. Thursday, they'll also be contributing to the clearing effort in an unanticipated manner. There's a loader-mounted snow blower that has just been rebuilt and the contractor needs real snow to test it in, so the crew will take a plow and clear from Granite Creek as far as it can go and then fire up the blower and "test" it until everyone's satisfied it's ready for service. It will be interesting to see where we are by the end of the day on Thursday on both sides! I've also been told the furry little critter in Tuesday's pictures is not a mouse, but a small earless rabbit called a Pica who was monitoring the work when the crew got to Spiral Gulch (which is also called the hairpin, the annex and several other monikers). We can only assume that last year's native project director - the snow bunny - has been replaced with a smaller cousin (which might be appropriate for the amount of snow we didn't get this year.) Here's the Flickr address for the pictures again - www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157623371473447/ - Tuesday's are posted; today's will be up tomorrow (Thursday). Stay tuned! Jeff Adamson 509.667.2815 adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov

It's a 'public service.' Yesterday was winter again on the North Cascades, but who knew how it would turn out? (Not Don Becker!) Our intrepid Twisp Maintenance Supervisor called me in the morning with bad news (and this morning, got close to a computer and sent me the pictures that are on flickr, now: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157623371473447/) Anyway, he said when they got to the gate, there was two inches of snow on the pavement and it was snowing pretty hard. About 5 miles west, at CR6 (where they had stopped work last week) there was 8" of snow on the pavement, and it was snowing even harder. Don wasn't optimistic about how quickly they were going to be able to re-clear the highway to CR6, much less, progress too much further west. He called about 4 and said it snowed all day, but the crew made amazing progress. They had completely cleared the entire roadway from CR6 to the end of the avalanche zone at CR12 and the Kodiak had a single cut completed from there to almost Spiral Gulch, below Liberty Bell Mtn. Avalanche Chief Mike Stanford had already started cutting the snow at the bottom of Liberty Bell (LB#1) with the snow cat! The biggest glitch on Monday turned out to be a flat tire on one of the Kodiaks. That didn't happen until late in the day, but Don had to bring the wheel down to Wenatchee last night, so it could be repaired. Kodiak #2 rejoined the fray about mid-morning with one new "boot". The forecast calls for more snow, off and on for the next several days, but if yesterday is any indication - it may not delay the clearing effort nearly as much as one might expect. They key will be how much more comes down and how fast. Don says the avalanche crew says we're still stable, but several more inchges on top of what's come down could shut the clearing down if it "layers". (Pray, cross your fingers, whatever works!) Stay tuned!

The weather was yucky - light snow most of the day - overcast and gray. On the other hand, it was 40 degrees at 4 p.m. and they had a double cut (both lanes) cleared from Cutthroat Ridge Avalanche Chute #1 (CR1) 8-10ths of a mile to CR6. There were quite a few more people up there today, as well more equipment. Since they were in the avalanche zone, the avalanche crew had to be there. Today's pictures that should show up on flickr soon show Avalanche Supv. Mike Stanford on the Pisten Bully, plowing the pile below CR#7 so when the blower gets there Monday, it will have "bite size" snow to chew through. Avalanche Tech John Fleckenstein is on the snowmobile monitoring the slope stability and coordinating the snow cat and snow blower work. (Avalanche Tech Brandon Levy took the other snowmobile several miles further west to try and fix the Washington Pass Weather Station - Any of you who have clicked on that link know that the snow measurement sensors haven't been working, so send positive thoughts to Brandon!) The maintenance crew completed a double-cut (both lanes) from CR 1, 8/10ths of a mile to CR 6 by the end of the day. (Wow!) (The addition of a second Kodiak snow blower didn't hurt...) Where they were between chutes, the snow on the pavement was still only about 3-1/2 feet deep. They're optimistic they can clear through the last six chutes in the Cutthroat zone (these are the largest ones) by Tuesday. The forecast says the snow will continue tomorrow, but we're hoping there won't be too much "re-clearing" necessary on Monday (and hopefully,not enough new snow to ramp up the avalanche danger.) Enjoy your weekend. (Officially, I'm on spring vacation next week, but I'll take a few minutes when Becker calls my cell phone, pull out my laptop and send you the daily update. Shoot, I might even go up and take some pictures myself!) Jeff Adamson 509-667-2815 adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov

The second Kodiak Snow Blower left Wenatchee this morning and was chewing snow between Lone Fir and Cutthroat Ridge by 1:30 this afternoon. The day was nearly as nice as yesterday - 46 degrees instead of 50, and more overcast. When work wrapped up this afternoon, there was a double cut (both lanes) from Lone Fir where they started this morning to Cutthroat #1 (the first avalanche chute on Cutthroat Ridge). (That's about 2 miles). Tomorrow morning the Avalanche crew will join the effort, along with their snow-cat/plow. (An avalanche crew member has to be on site, monitoring the slope before maintenance crews can operate any equipment in avalanche zones.) Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker provided me with the update and also took some more pictures, but won't be back to his computer until tomorrow morning, so I'll get those pictures posted on our flickr site when I get them. I got several e mails today asking what's up with the west side crew, so here's what I told them: The Westside crew isn't involved in the clearing because it was pretty much done for them. The first nine miles above the Diablo Closure Gate had already pretty much melted off. As a result, it didn't make much sense to bring in another blower to work the west side. The Westside maintenance crew used a snow plow to clear down to the pavement from Newhalem to a few miles west of Rainy Pass. For the next few days they will be doing normal maintenance there, (straightening signs and concrete jersey rail, fixing guardrail, cleaning out ditches and culverts), getting ready for the opening. Sorry, but we're probably not going to be able to have an "east meets west" photo op this year - but on the plus side - it's likely to be one of the fastest clearing operations ever. (That will translate to probably a third less costly than normal, which with our current budget situation, will help put our winter maintenance budget back in the black!) Probably won't be posting much in the way of Westside crew pictures on Flickr. Jeff Adamson 509-667-2815 adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov PS: A usual opening costs $200-250,000. The last update for the week will come to you late tomorrow or Friday morning.

By this afternoon, the crew had the highway from the Silver Star gate (MP 171) to Lone Fir Campground (MP 166) cleared and widened. They had hoped to have a single cut through to Cutthroat Ridge (MP 168), but the 2nd snow blower that was supposed to join the effort today didn't show up. It's in the shop in Wenatchee because it wouldn't start. Repairs have been completed and it's headed for Twisp tomorrow, but won't be on site and working until late Wednesday or Thursday morning. Tomorrow, the crew is expecting to clear and widen all the way to Cutthroat #1 (the beginning of the avalanche zone) where the Avalanche crew will join them on Thursday morning (along with their snow cat/plow). If we don't have any more equipment or weather delays, they're hoping to clear the highway through the 12 Cutthroat Ridge avalanche chutes by Tuesday (which would be record time!). That would put them into the Spiral Gulch/Liberty Bell section sometime Wednesday. (We'll see...) Don (Becker) says the weather was great today. After starting out cold (about 23 degrees at 7 a.m.) it turned sunny and got up to 50 degrees by 3 p.m. Check out the pictures from day 1 on flickr: Expect another update late Wednesday or early Thursday. Jeff Adamson 509-667-2815 adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov

They're making progress already! The Twisp Maintenance Supervisor, Don Becker, who is in charge of the reopening effort tells me it was about 35 degrees with broken cloudy skies that were providing snow flurries off and on this morning as the crew arrived at the Silver Star Gate and started unloading equipment. The 5-yard loader cleared the 3-1/2 feet of snow in the staging area, the low boy unloaded the Kodiak Snow blower and by 10:30 it was chugging toward Lone Fir campground (about 2-1/2 miles away.) If all goes according to the plan, a second snow blower will join the first tomorrow, along with a grader and they hope to have both lanes cleared another two miles to Cutthroat Ridge by Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday morning the Avalanche crew and the snow cat will join the fun as the crew and equipment begin clearing through the first of twelve avalanche chutes in that zone. There are pictures on the flickr site - of the snow blower headed north last Thursday afternoon and the snow cat, loaded and ready for tomorrow's trip to Twisp. Later today, I should get some pictures from Deed Fink (the lead tech from Twisp) of the Kodiak doing it's thing and some "housekeeping?" photos - Look for them! The weather tomorrow and Wednesday is supposed to drier and sunnier. Stay tuned. Jeff Adamson 509-667-2815 adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov

Just thought you'd like to know that everything is set for the reopening to begin on Monday. Expect an update on Monday's progress as early as I can get it to you on Tuesday. In the meantime, I've sent some pictures of the Kodiak Snow blower that I took yesterday afternoon, as the mechanics got finished with it and loaded it on the low boy for the trip to Twisp. (And you can also look at the pictures from last month's assessment trip, again!) Weather next week looks wet and chilly, but probably not dangerous so stay optimistic for an early opening! Jeff Adamson 509-667-2815 adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov

Things won't be made in Calgary for long. That's a near certainty. I've sure been pleased with the items of their's I've purchased thus far. Things will change! But I guess we all want to build a business from the ground up and then sell it for a ton of money at some future point, don't we?

I'll certainly have to second Dr. Layton's positive comments concerning FF's sleeping bags. I've had a number of them over the years, and will again choose their brand even over Western Mountaineering's line up of bags. My current FF Swallow, with Epic shell material is truly a winner.

All other things being equal it's going to open earlier than average! Hi all, The February 22 assessment trip to the North Cascades produced a target date of March 22 to begin the reopening effort. The assessment team and observers arrived at the Silver Star gate about 8 a.m. yesterday. It was clear and 14 degrees. Avalanche team members, John Fleckenstein and Brandon Levy took the snowmobiles and headed west to the other side of Rainy Pass. Avalanche Control Chief Mike Stanford drove the Sno-Cat with 3 passengers - Twisp Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker, North Central Region Assistant Administrator for Maintenance, Dave Bierschbach and our "new" Acting Regional Administrator, Dan Sarles. (Don Senn retired last fall after 33 years.) Dan has been in NCR on the Construction and Engineering side for the last couple of decades, but this was his first winter visit to the North Cascades. He was treated to beautiful clear skies and sunshine, but nothing approaching "normal" snow conditions. Snow and debris amounts are lower than in previous years. They dug a snow pit near the summit that revealed a shallow and stable snow pack, right now. They found a surprising amount of huge "hoar frost" crystals - many as big as playing cards (up to 3.5") that could become a problem on some of our avalanche paths depending on the amount of new snow we get in the next month. (It would become an immediate unstable slip layer. However, if we don't get any significant new snow between now and the opening, most of the avalanche zones should melt back without dumping any more snow or debris on the road. That leaves just the eight * chutes that historically release more of their snow onto the road as the spring temperatures rise". (*Cutthroat Ridge #6, 7, 8, 11 & 12 and Liberty Bell #1, 2 & 3). The reopening starting date is two days after the (Mar. 20) first day of spring - about the same as the last four years. We really can't start any earlier since our mountain pass maintenance crews (Leavenworth, Stevens, Blewett and Twisp) are on their round-the-clock winter schedule until Mar. 15. That's (obviously) the soonest we can release any of the snow blowers and bring in the other equipment and crewmembers we'll need. The Mar. 22 start date provides four working days for the equipment to go through inspection, service and modifications, plus transport time to Twisp. The assessment team took snow depth measurements from Silver Star Gate(MP 171) all the way to the bare pavement they found about nine miles above the west side closure gate (MP 134). · Silver Star Gate - 3.3.' compared with 2' last year. · Cutthroat Ridge #1 - 3.3' compared with 7' last year (and 25' in '07). · Cutthroat Ridge #6 - 9' compared with 25' last year. · Cutthroat Ridge #12 - 6' compared to 25' last year. · Liberty Bell #1 - 12' compared to 40' last year. · Liberty Bell #2 - 10' compared to 30' last year. · Liberty Bell #3 - 12' compared to 40' last year. · Washington Pass - 6' compared to 5 ½' last year. · Rainy Pass - 3.3.' compared to 6' last year. · The lower than normal snow amounts should make for a faster than usual opening - maybe as few as three weeks instead of the usual six. El Nino has affected our snowpack; especially below 3500 feet elevation. The avalanche crew, however, is looking warily ahead to next year as history has shown us that the winter following an El Niño year is often a big one. The photos are available on the WSDOT Flickr site (check out the Hoar Frost pictures!): www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157623371473447/ Expect the next update in about a month. Jeff Adamson 509.667.2818 adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov

As best as I can determine, the Trango Alp Gtx has at least somewhat of a leather upper (perhaps a bit more durable), while the Trango Evo S Gtx has an all synthetic upper and consequently less weight. The vibram soles on the two models have a different rubber compound and slightly different lug pattern.

Just making use of the February high pressure system. Well used time gentlemen!

Statistically the best chance for good weather is found during the period of the last two weeks of July through the first two weeks of August.

A very cool place to be in the winter, for certain. Especially overnight!

Oh No it's Back/ New Year, New Thread Hi all, This is a "spring fever" e mail. Yes, this "El Nino" winter has been pretty mild (especially compared to last winter's January highway washouts when we had 200 state routes closed at one time!) I've gotten a couple of e mails asking if the North Cascades might open early. If I were a betting man, I'd say yes. I could see it opening earlier than the last 40 year average, but probably not anything approaching '05's March 10 opening. (The chart shows what happened that year - we were open 16 days and got clobbered with snow that closed the highway for another 10 days.) Year-Open 2009 04-24 2008 05-01 2007 04-26 2006 05-01 2005 03-10 then 03-26 to 04-04 (temp. closure) 2004 04-08 2003 04-14 2002 05-07 2001 03-22 2000 03-30 Closure History web page: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Traffic/Passes/NorthCascades/closurehistory.htm (And, anticipating some of your "annual suggestion" e mails - WSDOT cannot legally set up a betting pool for an opening date.as much fun as it might sound!) So, here's the plan: The Avalanche crew tentatively plans to go up the last week in February to do the reopening assessment. (That's about their normal timing.) While we're always being urged to open the highway as soon as possible (preferably by the opening weekend of fishing season), I've also gotten e-mail from some recreation providers who ask we not open early (before Easter) because when we do, it costs them business! (I guess we'll never please everyone!). Another note - I checked that last "El Nino" year for Stevens Pass and found we had almost no avalanche control and low snow accumulations until March when we got hammered with almost 200" of snow. (By way of comparison - there's about 79 inches on the ground today and the total accumulation for this season, so far, is only 225 inches.) (Again, by way of comparison, last year's season total was about average = 434"). Expect another one of these updates when they do the assessment in about 3 weeks. Happy Winter! Jeff Adamson 509.667.2815 (24 hr.) adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov

Thanks for the clarification Dane. It was the "Wart Hogs" that were pound in screw out (I still have a fairly beat up one in the gear archhives.) It may even be that I've twice made that mistake when responding to posts concerning them on CC.com (old age doubtless).

I think what you're discussing Braydon is a 'Snarg' a pound in, screw out, (note Dane's correction below) ice tube with exterior and interior ribs that also had a long narrow slot on the bottom (in line with the hanger,for ice pressure release, expansion.) My recollection (neither had or actually used one), is a little hazy. I've no question whatsoever our man Dane could fill in the particulars. A Google search of 'ice snarg' reveals more. I was having difficulty recalling the manufacturer. And everything Gene said is really true as well.

The KING 5 interview they did with the pair last evening was just great. Factually accurate, nothing out of line. Reality is, sometimes we're overdue on our climbing objectives. To my mind at least, that kind of comes with the territory. However, the folks at home always get somewhat concerned.

All's well that ends well. :tup:Thanks again Dane and of course SMR. As some may know, those unplanned nights out can be pretty miserable. I've never done one in midwinter however.

Thanks Dane. Let's all keep our fingers crossed! Better up on Chair than some far remote location I suppose. Come on guy's, Rigorous Attitude. Yesterday and last night's Alpental telemetry data: Just how was last nights' weather for someone stuck out there? Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center Alpental Ski Area, Washington Wind sensors unheated and may rime MM/DD Hour Temp Temp Temp RH RH Wind Wind Wind Hour Total 24Hr Total PST F F F % % Avg Max Dir. Prec. Prec. Snow Snow 5400' 4300' 3120' 3120' 5400' 5530' 5530' 5530' 3120' 3120' 3120' 3120' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (some missing data for this range) 2 7 1000 32 34 36 94 96 2 4 103 .01 .17 -0 61 2 7 900 30 34 34 98 96 3 4 103 0 .16 -0 227 2 7 800 28 34 33 99 98 1 4 103 .01 .16 -0 227 2 7 700 28 34 33 99 97 1 3 104 0 .15 -0 227 2 7 600 28 33 33 100 98 2 4 100 0 .15 0 227 2 7 500 28 33 33 99 97 3 5 99 0 .15 0 227 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 7 400 28 33 33 99 98 5 6 97 .02 .15 -0 227 2 7 300 28 31 33 99 97 5 6 100 .01 .13 -0 191 2 7 200 28 31 33 99 98 7 9 116 .02 .12 -0 227 2 7 100 28 31 33 99 99 7 10 131 .02 .1 -0 227 2 7 0 28 31 33 98 98 7 10 119 .02 .08 -0 227 2 6 2300 27 32 33 99 98 7 9 111 .02 .06 -0 227 2 6 2200 27 31 33 98 98 7 9 93 .02 .04 -0 55 2 6 2100 27 31 33 97 98 8 11 95 .02 .02 -0 59 2 6 2000 27 31 34 98 98 6 10 97 0 0 -0 57 2 6 1900 27 31 34 96 98 6 9 117 0 0 -0 59 2 6 1800 28 32 34 96 97 6 9 95 0 0 -0 60 2 6 1700 28 32 35 93 97 7 11 107 0 0 -0 61 2 6 1600 29 32 37 88 96 5 9 109 0 0 -0 61 2 6 1500 30 33 38 86 95 6 11 118 0 0 -0 61 2 6 1400 29 33 37 86 96 5 9 100 0 0 -0 61 2 6 1300 30 34 39 82 94 4 8 117 0 0 -0 61 2 6 1200 30 33 39 85 95 6 11 116 0 0 -0 61 2 6 1100 29 31 37 86 94 7 11 117 0 0 -0 61 2 6 1000 28 31 36 92 96 10 13 106 0 0 -0 61 2 6 900 27 30 35 94 96 10 14 103 0 0 -0 60 2 6 800 26 30 33 96 97 11 15 105 0 0 -0 60 2 6 700 26 30 33 98 98 10 16 125 0 0 -0 59 2 6 600 26 30 34 98 98 11 17 135 0 0 -0 59 2 6 500 26 30 34 98 98 13 22 125 0 0 -0 60

If the low snow conditions in the North Cascades continue as they presently are the suggestions of Eldorado and the Easton Glacier route on Mt. Baker might well fit your current skill set. However, there are some many good choices. You could PM me for more ideas. Given a little more info on what your inclinations are, any of our suggestions could be more fine tuned.

A rope, some form of anchor, some tat and an autoblocking belay device perhaps! Many things seem to be 'Hasty' for the NPS; e.g., hasty searches, etc. Which is, if you think about it, pretty good for the rescued party. Email Stephan and ask him: stefan_lofgren@nps.gov

No, any guide service cannot take you up Mt. Rainier.Read this: Mount Rainier Climbing Guides Blog Let it be well known that the guide services who are awarded Guiding Concessions bid for the right to have a shared monopoly of sorts on Mountain Guiding withing the park, and that for economic reasons they guard them zealously, as any commercial opertaion might protect its territory. The boot advice is quite good however. It could be that your intended choice of a boot is a little too much for this point in your climbing career, particularily for summertime use.

From this morning's (02/05/10) NPS Morning Report: All's well that ends well. Mount Rainier National Park (WA) Skier Rescued From Snow Cavern In Avalanche Area On Sunday, January 31st, ranger Dan Van Der Elst responded to a visitor report of a woman who had fallen into a "hole" in the snow while skiing. Van Der Elst followed the reporting party to a moat beneath a short waterfall in an avalanche-prone snow gulley about three-quarters of a mile from Paradise. After an initial size up, he called for resources and assistance. Ranger Stefan Lofgren responded on skis with a hasty lower and raise kit. Due to the unknown condition of the woman and the avalanche danger, Lofgren quickly rappelled down the 20 feet into the moat through the waterfall she had fallen through. He made a quick medical assessment and rigged her up for a raise. Within 10 minutes, she was hauled back to the surface through the waterfall. A team of six other rangers arrived on scene as she was being pulled to the surface; they helped pull Lofgren out, walked the woman to Paradise, and packed out the rest of the gear. She suffered no traumatic physical injuries. [submitted by R. Chuck Young, Chief Ranger]