[TR] Couloir above twin lakes - 12/7/2006

[ilookeddown]

Trip: Couloir above twin lakes -

 

Date: 12/7/2006

 

Trip Report:

Adam and I skied a couloir above twin lakes near Silver Peak today. If you have ever driven to Silver in the spring you know the one I'm talking about. Conditions were very icy but manageable. The couloir is about 1600ft of vert. and I guess about half as narrow as the Slot. The entrance is around 50 degrees and mellows to around 40 toward the bottom. I would like to go back when there is some fresh and check it out again. Its north facing but you have to wrap around the mountain and approach it from the south side to reach the couloir. Anyway, here are some pic. I didn't get too many b/c my camera got hit with a chunk of ice while trying to take a picture.

 

Gear Notes:

Standard touring including ski crampons.

[kevbone]

Looks great, thanks for sharing.

[Weekend_Climberz]

:tup:

 

Nice pron

[philfort]

Another Snoqualmie Pass gem...

[lancegranite]

Nice!

[Mjölner]

Where did you guys start your approach from - Hayak? or did you come in through Annette Lake/Olallie?

[ilookeddown]

Well we took the flat, long FR 9070 from the water treatment plant to trail head 1303. I think it might be worth touring up Hayak, ski down to Mill Creek, back up to the groomed trail that wraps around Mt Catherine to the east and ski down to FR 9070 then tour west to trail head 1303.

 

I guess you could take the Lake Annette trail but at that point you might as well ski the very appealing east face of Silver down to twin lakes then skin up 1800ft from the lake to the couloir. When you ski down you end up east of the lakes which puts you further from the car.

 

[Mjölner]

Sweet. thx

[RedNose]

When I lived at Hyak I was calling this terrain feature the "Disorient Express". I am not sure who made the 1st descent of it, but I have never spoken to anyone who has skied it other than myself and a few others. There is a narrower, steeper, more sustained line that feeds off the PCT traverse line between the meadows and the benches below Silver Peak.

[spicoli11]

Off tinkam or silver?

[philfort]

I know of at least 3 groups who skied it within a few week period last winter, but yeah, I suspect it doesn't see much traffic. We skied it last weekend, and it was in pretty good shape.

 

Not sure what other line you are talking about... there's at least one short steep chute coming off of the NE ridge of Silver (only 400ft high though).

[RedNose]

Off Silver, but enroute to Tinkham, the line feeds in lower down. It is not as obvious of a line, or particularly aesthetic, but it drops in steep, is a wickedly narrow garbage chute, and comes out near the western side of the lake with similar elevations. You have to climb back up and out unless you are going to traverse all the way back to Hyak on the groomed road. If you hike the PCT in the summer you will recognize it to the north of a small creek crossing. The various chutes near the top of Silver have been skied as well.

[philfort]

Ah yeah, I know the thing you're talking about now.