John Frieh Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 Beautiful. The NF looks like it would go as a good ski. Was that your impression on the descent? Disclaimer: I hate it when people give advice on shit they dont really have the credentials to do so (the 5.8 trad leader dispensing advice on how to train for rock climbing )... I backcountry ski but I lack the credentials to start spitting advice on what is and isn't. Basically I'd say confirm with Dave: he is a way better skier... With that said it was my impression that the part of the north face that you could ski would be rather short... i.e. a lot of hiking for not a lot of skiing. But hey... it's the cascades: get with the MO right? I think the "plum" that is still waiting to be skied is the East Face couloir East Face coulior ascent: Justin and Darin East Face couloir descent attempt: round 1 East Face couloir descent attempt: round 2 Then again maybe the kids are already planning on skiing the NE face this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dberdinka Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 (edited) A pic of the unclimbed ice route mentioned above, ~600' vert I'm guessing. Edited January 11, 2008 by dberdinka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbb Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Skiing the North Face (our descent) would be fairly casual for a solid back country skier. Slopes up to 40ish degrees, but open and rolly. The exit chute at the very bottom might present some trouble. There were waterice patches that we downclimbed around, followed by a narrow scoured couloir. Justin and Darin made a rappel here once. You could continue the descent by looping back under the East Face, or skin up to Salish peak and go down the moderately open valley by the Squire Creek Wall (essentially reversing Beckey's approach beta for the NE buttress on Three Fingers. The whole thing would have great position and views. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dberdinka Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 For anyone planning to ski the East Face Couloir my thoughts would be that it would very difficult to find it in good condition in mid-winter. The lower half has a funky weird double-fall line that gets hammered by ice, snow and rock peeling off the east face. It bakes in the early morning then goes into shade quite quickly. We found a breakable ice crust over looser snow which would make for horrible skiing. Maybe best in the spring or after a warmer than average dry spell? Other than that the angle probably isn't more than 45 with plenty of width. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skykilo Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Some of us went there five years ago and observed that POS double fall line firsthand and nobody's thought it worth the approach since. It sure does look pretty in a picture, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeleRoss Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Indeed....that was one of the biggest POS that I've seen someone actually mention as a ski line...fun day though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllYouCanEat Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Does look nice doesn't it? Definitely a POS though. Why the hell did we go in there 3 times? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted January 14, 2013 Author Share Posted January 14, 2013 Bump. Conditions are likely prime for this most of the week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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