Jim Posted April 20, 2005 Posted April 20, 2005 A friend suggested this for a ski this weekend. The only time I was up there was in a whiteout so I don't know the terrain. Is it worth an exploratory trip? Quote
AllYouCanEat Posted April 20, 2005 Posted April 20, 2005 Go for it jim. There is an easy approach and it is one of the most popular ski destinations in the cascade pass area. That doesn't mean it is exceptional, but it isn't bad. FYI There is plenty of skiing to be had off the backside of Hidden Lake Peaks. I would go to the top of the tallest one, ski back down the ridge a bit, then down and around the mtn down to hidden lake, climb back to the pass below the peak and go home. Go get it! Quote
Jim Posted April 25, 2005 Author Posted April 25, 2005 Bummer - partners bailed on me the last minute so I chose to ski Vesper Peak solo instead. Well, not exactly solo. I passed two groups of 15(!) from BOALPS and hooked up with a group of 5 hikes and we shared duty kicking steps up to the pass. On the SW side of the pass the snow was soft so the skis were a big advantage. Had the summit to myself for half an hour then skied down, talked to the hikers, and then at the lake chatted with the BOALPs folks setting up camp. No one else on the way out except some mountaineer types practicing some belayed snow climbing on the east side of the lower basin (?). Quote
wolfs Posted April 28, 2005 Posted April 28, 2005 What was snow like on vesper? We had considered it as last weekends tour but decided we should go e of crest after i had a couple days of totally unconsolidated snow at Snoqualmie (I was thinkin Vesper would be same). Is Headlee Pass gully skiable? How much of talus slopes below skiable? Any? Quote
Jim Posted April 28, 2005 Author Posted April 28, 2005 I've seen it better at Vesper but I thought it was fun. The gully below the pass is more of a jumble of avalance debris then I have seen at this time of year, with a couple of scraped bare spots. I'm on tele so it's gotta be decent conditions for me to ski that slot, so I passed. The far side SW facing of the pass was post-hole heaven. So booting it would be a pain. I found some way around the avalanche debris so you could ski to about 200 yds from the switchbacks on the way down. Not as good as usual for April. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.