Alex

FWIW, if the local Alpental conditions continue (cold, little precip) that line forming to the left of SLL in this pic (left third of the pic, big icicles!) is something new. Can't quite see into the corner to see if it will go without the icicles touching down?

so jealous!

awesome!

yeah way too much approach tax, go Muir. Probably fine but winter road closures can add up to 24 miles RT if going in via White River. Roads are plowed to Paradise all year.

Your revised plan is very good. I think its important to be conservative here as any kind of injury will make you lose weeks in the season at the very least. In 1993 I was working as a liftie on Mt Hood and over the course of the season I got 52 days in, but that was with 2 sprained knees, 2 sprained ankles, and a very serious back injury that plagues me to this day. I was not patient enough then to heal completely before the next injury came along, and I was an expert skiier even then! I would just add a few things... Agree with your gut: dont try to learn to tele if you dont know how to ski yet, it's quite difficult to learn and just adds length to your apprenticeship, for little practical gain. I've been skiing since I was 4, and tele for 18 years now, and I am back on AT gear half the time in the backcountry now Someday when you get bored of fixed heel skiing, go try tele Renting is an OK way to go. If you believe budget will be a problem, start visiting Second Ascent/Marmot as they often have used AT setups. I would highly encourage you borrow some setups and try them out a few times before you commit to anything. I was super lucky and borrowed a friends Dynafit setup for a long weekend of touring before I pulled the trigger on a used pair of boards WITH Dynafit bindings for only 200?! Sometimes the stuff you'll find at Marmot/SA is not always a deal, but you'll get some exposure to different options. Don't feel the need to buy new! Be very patient with the gear purchase, a good pair of AT boards should last you 10+ years. Also, realize that the boards and boots are just part of the cost: you MUST have a beacon for any serious off piste sliding. Don't be cheap, get a great beacon! Its part of the ritual to go and practice with it with your friends early season. I'd recommend a metal-bladed shovel, and a probe. Skins are actually getting very costly these days, and for serious usage only last a limited time so budget for skins as well. If you're lucky you'll find them on sale or get them used off craigslist in good condition, but sooner or later you plunk down serious money for skins, so budget for it. As for late spring plans, my first recommendation would be to go ski St Helens from the top in late March/April. Its much less variable than Adams and will be easy for you to walk up in boots, and easy for you to walk down should it not be working out. I've skiied off the top of Adams and Hood but Adams wasnt that great of a ski - some very steep terrain and some real low angle stuff that wasnt inspiring. St Helens is good for the money. Finally, most religious b/c skiiers read TurnsAllYear regularly, its a good place to meet other b/c skiiers.

I think you should have a solid season of front country skiing under your belt, however you affoard the lift tix, before you head off B/C skiing, to get the balance basics down. You should be able to survival ski down anything at any lift area. It shouldnt take overly long (eg more than a real season - say 10-15 days) if you were a very solid snowboarder. B/C skiing is much more difficult than front country skiing and if you are not solid on the basics, you are going to get hurt, and then your partners have to get you out. It is vastly easier to get hurt on skis than on a board...knee, tib/fib, ankle injuries are very common especially in the extremely variable conditions you'll find in the backcountry. If you are overly committed and know this is your path, then you can do your front country skiing on an AT setup, and not end up with two sets of gear in the end....

thats alot of cacti!

Definitely. With the very high winds and large amount of precip I would check the av hazard before venturing forth if you're looking for freshies over T-giving.

I'll probably be firing up the http://wastateice.net/Conditions.aspx page for 2011-2012 this weekend. You can send reports and pics to me and I will post them Thanks, Alex

Scottish Lakes, up near Stevens?

Definitely. Can't believe its already been 5 years since we climbed that West Face and scoped those lines!

looks like alot of fun, who says you have to summit for the good times??

the new pic is awesome! looks like a great line but moreover seems like you hit the perfect (narrow) window for conditions to realize the route. I think the relative accessibily of the route is a real draw.

Your descent line is essentially "Dougs Direct" which is a good approach/de-pproach to the E Side of Jo'burg in the Summertime.

triple tup

The last post on this thread is 5 years old. Still, 30m ropes are a bad idea, I think. The first crux pitch is typically a 60m+ lead .02$

Looking for used ski boots.

Nice! There is another couloir over to the left of this one, how did that look?

Thanks for the correction on the publication date. Interesting that the Climbing mag article I was reading would re-tread the Twight pics, I thought it would be the other way around.

I was trying to be egalitarian, I suppose the moniker grand cours was misapplied. Suggestions on a better name? Selected Winter Climbs in the Cascades seemed a bit used. As an exercise over lunch I listed all the routes in the Cascades I knew of and considered might be compiled into such a list, in the spirit of the "Six great North Faces of the Alps", of which 3 are serious mixed alpine climbs (Eiger, NF Matterhorn, Grand Jorasses) and 3 are much more pure rock climbs. I didnt come up with a complete list but the ones that stood out to me as "grand cours" potential (for Winter climbs) were NF Index NF Dragontail NF Greybeard NF Big Four There are alot of other routes that would probably be added to such a list, but I purposefully didnt include any routes that had seen only one or two winter ascents eg Slesse, Johannesburg If you added classic rock lines that *have* been climbed in Winter at least once but are not commonly climbed in Winter, I think Bear, Slesse, and Stuart would be there (All that said, I think the climbs in the cascades pale in comparison to the climbs in the Can Rockies.)

A vote for Slot Couloir as a good beginner trudge N Buttress Couloir Colchuck Lane Peak routes (Zipper, etc) For the "grand cours" routes I found the list interesting but it seems a grab bag of all different level routes. I would have stuck with a general level of difficulty, say TD and above, for "grand cours" routes.

Contact TimL who occaisionally posts here and is a long-time Spain resident climber, or I can send you his email addy.

great shot! its on!

Agree with Bob, I'd like to see some pics of Colfax, it usually forms up well after the first fall storm....

from your description the writing was clearly on the wall that you guys were not ready for those conditions for any length of time, so sounds like you made the right call turning around. looking at the weather today, yes it's nice. hindsight is always 20/20. dont regret a good decision. this is all supposed to be fun!