Alpine_Tom Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Climb: Cannon Mtn Attempt-North Couloir Date of Climb: 2/19/2006 Trip Report: It was more of a snow hike than a climb, but heck, it was a beautiful day for it! Got to the trailhead (which is now on Icycle Road) around 7:30, and headed out. The approach road is closed, of course, but well packed down from snowmobiles. Got to Stuart Lake trailhead by about 8:30, put on the snowshoes, and started up the fire road past the gate. The road is actually in pretty good shape, aside from some washouts and patches of slide alder. If you decide you want to give this a go, do yourself and others a favor, and bring along a machete! Eventually, after the road switches back and goes through 50 yards of especially heinous slide alder, you leave the road and head up the hill, due south. It was clear that the snow was way too powdery and unconsolidated to try the N. Couloir, unless I wanted to drown in powder snow, so I headed on up the NW ridge. By 1:00, I was at 5500' over 3000' feet from the summit, so I turned back. On the way back down along the fire road, I dropped straight down the hillside, and gained the road somewhere east of the bridge (I found a log to cross over) and headed back down. A beautiful day in the hills, great views of Cashmere and Stuart. Gear Notes: snowshoes, ski poles. Approach Notes: road to Stuart Lake trailhead was closed, but easy walking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony_Bentley Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Did I miss something or did it snow between last weekend and today? There wasn't any powder in the couloir last weekend and I can only imagine that it is still consolidated since the pressure system hasn't changed much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Surface hoar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfort Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 If he was drowning in powder, that would have to be some big surface hoar... maybe last weekend's crust has disintegrated with the cold temps? Hard to believe though, that was some thick crust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpine_Tom Posted February 20, 2006 Author Share Posted February 20, 2006 Well, I didn't make it to the couloir. I assumed, though, since I was wading in power on the ridge, that it would have been a lot worse in the couloir where there wasn't any sun. Maybe I was wrong. Were you the ones with the skis? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweatinoutliquor Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Any purdy pics? Sounds like a fun workout! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaphappy Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 It did in fact snow a bit last Mon. The wind was kickin as well, creating some deposits, but there wasn't any "wading" as of last Tues... course I was a mile or two away from the Cannon Couloir. - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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