Alpental Conditions Update

[Jens]

Climbed at Alpental 1-4ish areas yesterday with Mizuki. Alpental 1 featured rotten "snice" on the slab. The short steep step at the top took a screw but was very hollow. The other "Alpental" flows to the left all were nearly non existent or buried with snow. We found some ice bouldering at the far left end of the meadow. I was surpirsed at how little ice had formed in comparison to other years that have had the same amount of cold for the same duration. The flows seemed to have fallen vicitm to much higher volumes of water flow than normal.

safety: Snowpack was very stable at our aspect and elevation.

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Now for my soapbox.... Any chosing to climb "Turkey Line" or "Stellar Falls" at Alpental: It will only take one asshole to end access to these climbs. It was opening weekend at Alpental and the ski area was a zoo. I highly recommend you climb these routes on Mondays when Alpental is closed. These climbs are right in the thick of the action unlike Pan Dome at the Mt. baker ski area. If you absolutley insist on climbing these routes during ski operating hours, please pick a foggy tuesday afternoon or something (don't go on weekends- Some patrollers or OK with us climbing here and strangely, others are not. If one of them asks you to leave, just pull your rope and bail. If this climb raises some eyebrows, the USFS will just simply close the climbs. I observed one ice climber once who was ready to fist fight a a beginning skiier that had slipped and fallen on his gear. He cussed out the skiier at the top of his lungs with clenched fists. We could lose this resource in a heatbeat. Be nice, dont' argue, and be an ambassador for the sport.

[spicoli11]

There always has been an issue there with the climbers and skiers....I'm suprised they still let it happen

[scottgg]

Thanks Jens! I was up in the Alpental valley on Sunday, and there was ice everywere! The cliffs around "Source Lake Line" had a bunch of good looking multipitch ice, and the Rap Wall had some cool daggers coming off the top.

NY Gully looked like it had lots of white stuff (ice?) on it, East Face of Chair looked really good, but the NE Slab on The Tooth was very thin and didnt look fun.

Snowpack was good, seemed like one big layer.

The upper parking lot is open, and there is a nice ski trail leading to the backcountry. Yippee!

[MCash]

Thanks for the report Scott. Did you take any pics?

[mattp]

I agree: diplomacy is in order.

 

When I raised this point two or three years ago I was told I was completely wrong and it was no problem and why should climbers worry at all about access, but it strikes me as obvious that climbers will lose if there are significant negative interactions between climbers and skiers or ski area personnel.

 

And consider that, from a ski area management or safety point of view, our mere presence in the area and the disctraction that we create could under the wrong circumstances be thought to be a problem.

 

Keep a low profile. Play nice with the other kids.

[scottgg]