none_dup1 Posted February 26, 2001 Share Posted February 26, 2001 The NW side of Snoqualmie saw quite a bit of action this weekend. The weather was stunning and the snow stable. Laurie Andrews, Bob Davis, my wife Kirsten, and I headed up to do the NW Face gully route yesterday (Sunday), which Phil F., on his excellent website, describes in great detail and calls the "Enigma Gully." Along the ridge leading down into the basin below the NW Face we found the beautiful bivi site of two people who we then spotted part way up the New York Gully route. See Nelson/Potterfield Vol. II. Once down in the basin, we traversed across the bottom of the face and then up the 1,000' gully, which seemed like honest 45 degrees in places. Deep snow, but stable. When we got to the top, who should we meet but Phil F. and his friends Matt and Greg, strapping on their tele skis and getting psyched to ski the gully. They had come straight up from Alpental. We watched as they took off one by one, set a few turns, and disappeared around the corner. Not a run for the timid as an uncontrolled fall could be ugly. From the top of the gully it's a short hike through small trees to the summit. We did not see the New York Gully pair, but trust they topped out. From our vantage point, the route didn't look too icy, but only they can really report on this. The "Enigma Gully" is a great conditioner in a beautiful setting. Follow the Nelson/Potterfield description to get up and over the ridge at 5,200 and then down into the basin, then cross the basin past the start of the New York Gully route until you hit the top of the fan of trees. Look up. You'll see the gully. Follow it all the way to the top, then bear left and hike the last few hundred feet or so to the summit. Many descents are possible, but we went down the West Ridge which took us to within about 100 yds. of the car at the upper Alpental parking lot. Short rope optional at this point in the season; we didn't use ours in the gully. No snowshoes needed, but ski poles were very helpful. Three of us used our aluminum crampons, and they were fine. This is a good route to climb up or ski down. Enjoy! John Sharp Bellevue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregm Posted February 26, 2001 Share Posted February 26, 2001 I'd just like to add that the ski down was totally rad! Good snow the whole way, just wide enough to turn, and rock walls rising near vertical for a hundred feet on both sides. This is a very esthetic route but only do it in perfect avalanche conditions. The skier is rewarded with an additional 600 feet of vertical when the gully opens up. Good climb, great ski. P.S. Nice to meet you Mr. Goodtime. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
none_dup1 Posted February 26, 2001 Author Share Posted February 26, 2001 Way to go Greg! The whole way up, Bob and I were wishing we had skis. The snow seemed perfect. Hope our tracks didn't blow the run . . . Any word on the New York Gully climbers? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfort Posted February 26, 2001 Share Posted February 26, 2001 When we climbed back over the ridge, the NY gully guy's stashed equipment (firn skis) were still there - looks like they hadn't come down yet, but it was only 3pm. Whoever it was, I hope they post something to cc. The snow in the NW face gully is pretty tracked up now, I wouldn't bother skiing it until more snow comes :-) Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
none_dup1 Posted February 26, 2001 Author Share Posted February 26, 2001 Thanks for the report. Glad you had an awesome day. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highclimb Posted February 26, 2001 Share Posted February 26, 2001 yeah those guys on the NY gully came back fine. it was Colin (he posts here regularly) and one of his climbing buddies i forget his name. the conditions of the route are as follows: no ice at all just snow covered rocks, and they couldnt find the aid pitch....weird huh? i was at home sitting on my ass looking at climbing books and my partner was out there haveing a blast without me!!!!! lame huh?...hahaha. Aidan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
none_dup1 Posted February 26, 2001 Author Share Posted February 26, 2001 Many kudos to them for doing it in such thin conditions. Weird about that aid pitch, though! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted February 26, 2001 Share Posted February 26, 2001 Yes, Mark Bunker and I climbed the NY Gully yesterday. The route finding is obvious, and we definitely followed it. We climbed something that might have been the "overhanging flake," or the "offwidth crack" but there was no knifeblade crack. There was barely any ice, and no screws were used, but it is a very cool route. The "box" gully is a really cool feature and makes for difficult but quite enjoyable climbing. Although it doesn't look it will happen this winter, that route must be really, really, cool with ice on it. Phil, Matt, and Greg's ski descent looked really cool. A first descent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeadam Posted February 26, 2001 Share Posted February 26, 2001 No, that couloir has been skied many times and is called "The Slot Couloir" by the ski fraternity and not "Enigma Gulley" as championed by the boot kicking posse. Martin Volken will be including that as a ski tour in his forthcoming publication. Good work Juan and Colin. I think Juan is amassing an impressive amount of winter routes this year. Mike http://alpinelite.com [This message has been edited by mikeadam (edited 02-26-2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
none_dup1 Posted February 27, 2001 Author Share Posted February 27, 2001 Juan, an avowed boot kicker and sometimes skier, will climb anything so long as it is easy. Viva el pollo elastica! Juan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfort Posted February 27, 2001 Share Posted February 27, 2001 Hmm, I guess I don't feel so bad about publicizing the Enigma Gully/Slot couloir as a ski descent, if it's going to be included in a book! With that, and Selected Climbs II, it looks like the "undiscovered days" of the NW side of Snoqualmie Mtn are coming to an end. Oh well - I'm sure there are many more "NW side of Snoqualmie Mtn"s to discover. We were quite certain it's been skied before - it's a natural ski route, and not that difficult or dangerous in the nice conditions we had - we're certainly not "extreme" skiers or anything, or even very good at all :-). The only reason it probably doesn't see much traffic is because it is so hidden. You can't really see the gully from _anywhere_, even from the bottom most of it is hidden. When is Martin's book due out? It'll be nice to have a skiing guidebook for the Cascades that doesn't include things like Mt Margaret or Annabilis. Colin, congrats on New York gully. Here is a picture of your footprints from above: Phil  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeadam Posted February 28, 2001 Share Posted February 28, 2001 Phil, I was looking at one of the final beta versions of the book today and it looks like it will be out soon. Certainly in time to plan trips for the next season. There is some really burly stuff in there including the "Snoqualmie Haute Traverse" that Martin did with Mike Hattrup. http://www.skinet.com/magazines/skiing/feature/00/1528.html Guess I better ski more often. This year was nearly nada. Mike http://alpinelite.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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