Frankazoid

Congrats on your 35th rainier- anniversary and a new line! Looking forward to fotos!

Rad, a few days ago I skied vesper, and while on the summit I could hear shouts from Morning Star.. My partner and I were almost convinced the shouts were "help", but shortly thereafter realized it was just climber communication on MS. So I chuckled just now when reading your Initial post on the SAR team dispatched to your FA.. The climbers were on MHC. Really nice looking route; was staring at that exact line on my way to Headlee Pass thinking it could make for an excellent rock climb.. little did I know! Would love to get on it this season.. (perhaps follow, haven't climbed much since I developed a skiing problem)

Not sure what the 'tay' is for enthusiasts in that area, so here I post..Anyone know of reasonable approaches to good skiing from the westside of the park, with current road and snow conditions?This I know: From west entrance you can drive to lake McDonald lodge, and one can hike the road 12 miles beyond that. Logan pass can only be approached on the weekend when the road crew rests, making it way too big of a push for that 2 day window.I'm looking for a comfortable single day approach (8-10 hours of biking, hiking, touring to base of objective X, or less!), that will land me at a good zone to lap on the second day, or just a single, long ski objective with climbing that requires nothing more than steep booting w/axe.And if you know of a better forum/info resource for the area please chime in!The rangers do not have any info as they don't go out on skis into the high-country, unlike areas around here, so I learned..Thanks!

Wouldn't mind keeping it.. but trying not to accrue any more bad karma than necessary : / Let me know the model and area.

it does seem a bit too warm on sunday night- monday and the no freeze thing is really putting a damper on things. last year on Ruby was a great example of how spring cornice collapse can trigger lingering deep instabilities... https://www.nwac.us/blog/2017/03/26/ruby-mountain-low-probability-high-consequence/ Deep instabilities are present still in central-north as I observed on Pilchuck a couple days ago.. 6' -ish crown @5000' NNE-N aspect from recent cornice collapse. I would be interested in going if conditions were better..

Trip: Mt. Pilchuck - Summer trail variation up, NW descent from summit to TH Trip Date: 05/03/2018 Trip Report: cut n paste from TAY: Hiked in from Heather Lk TH, gated; skinned last 2 or so miles to Pilchuck TH. The winter up-route from the TH is in good shape still but it's going fast.. Was on top of the se gulley around 10am, a foot of pole pen, and I don't think it would have made a big difference if I had been there at 5am. Little to no freeze. I made one ski cut towards the right side, found it tricky to lift the leg and let snow drain; was solo so.. bailed and skied the wnw ridge a ways and dropped onto the N slopes, then NW down the open rolling terrain to the TH- fun turns in the sun all the way to the TH. The glop is getting faster at least.. When I got back to the pilchuck TH I looked up and noticed a really large crown, about 6+' is my best guess.. on the N slopes @ 5000', underneath the lookout and east of where I skied on the north slope. It spanned a huge portion of the slope. Likely the result of recent cornice-fall. Deep instabilites still exist in the region, and this is also noted on the latest nwac north-central bulletin. Ran into one other skier while walking the road back to Heather Lk th, he was cruising down on his MT bike (bring this!) and slowed to chat briefly.. Never saw him up there but I guess he watched me ski from the ridge. Nice bumpin into you whoever you are. Photos: (rolly ridge photo is Larrison Ridge) https://photos.app.goo.gl/9RQNU6PwqZuf9gpW6 Gear Notes: Bring a mountain bike Approach Notes: included in TR

Bump- fyi these '179's' are almost as long as my 185 line opus's for those who instantly turn their head at the number.. 150, no binders..

The black and red ones.. and best pettit model imo. About 1 season on them- many more to be had. Fair condition. Drilled once for size small marker duke or baron @ center with a 306mm bsl. Really playful sidecut and plenty of camber for excellent firm snow grip. Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=CpO060qyxmw $150 come get'em!

Found good turns east of the crest on consistent texture/ density windpack while the passes were glazed over, earlier this week.. Before departing all seemed hopeless - Not so. There will be good skiing out there, somewhere.

Did this route and it was great. Stuart lk th > arrive at sherpa glacier, skiied the north zone of stuart for the remainder of day > camp at base of sherpa > climb > arrive on stuart e ridge and climb higher> ski cascadian > longs pass > fun ski out the teanaway.. reccomended.

Thanks, Pete. It sounds like it's a good time ski this through-route, in spite of the lack of frozen nights..

Curious about conditions on the sherpa glacier, and what the approach to it via mountaineer creek might look like? Anyone been in the zone? Also wondering what the passage looks like to go over the top of sherpa, and down the cascadian.. Thanks much!

Nice.. If that doesn't work out for you, I'd recommend trying on the Dynafit Radical. It's the widest, most comfortable dynafit out of the box. Also the cheapest I believe.

Iv'e enjoyed the Dakine packs iv'e had in the past.. And they mention board carry in the description for this day pack: http://www.dakine.com/sport/snow/backpacks/poacher-36l-backpack.html I personally would go for this as a day pack, and the cilogear 45L ski pack for bigger trips.

I imagine you would want to put the board back together and on your pack when booting the final pitches of your objective? That's common. There are a few good packs out there but the ones I call 'good' are designed for A-frame ski carry. A pack for day tours? 30+ Liters. 45+ for multi day. I'm in the market myself and am considering this 30 Cilo Gear pack. http://www.cilogear.com/30zskipack.html Airbags could help ya out, But better to learn how to avoid slides all together. Plus the weight.. Knowledge and experience can help you more than a saftey cushion. Not sure of what bags might be best for intact-non spilt board carry. I also use an avalung on some tours. Sometimes i'll bite down on the avalung when ski cutting something that has the potential to crack off big. With that, I'd recommend learning how effectively ski cut on small isolated features when the snowpack is unstable. If you don't already know how... disclaimer: small features can also kill you or cause trauma!