ryanl Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 Trip: Mt Matier - NW Face- ski descent Date: 9/8/2007 Trip Report: Sometimes you're lucky enough to meet people who inspire thanks to their boundless passion and superior skills. I was lucky enough to share an adventure with four such people this past weekend. Sky, Jason and Josh Hummel, Dan Helmstadter and I all headed up to Mt Matier this past Saturday to ski its northwest face. Evertyhing about the trip went smoothly. On Friday I met up with Sky and the Hummels for pizza in Seattle before heading to Bellingham and Dan. From there we crossed the border without trouble and wove our way around Vancouver, thru Whistler and Pemberton, to the trailhead at Cerise Creek. It was late, and we were tired, so three of us threw our pads and bags on the ground while the other two stretched out in the truck. The air was cold and the sky was clear. Stars were everywhere. By morning my bag and pack were encrusted with a light dusting of frost. Fall was here, and the sweet smell of skiable snow hung about us as we prepared to leave. The view of Matier shining in the sun quickly warmed my bones. We set out about 8:30. The hike to Anniversary glacier was on nice, well marked trails. We made quick time and soon found ourselves at the lake beneath the glacier. The scenery was stunning. Sky and Dan set the pace up and thru the glacier to the Matier-Joffre col, where we got our first view of the Northwest face. As usual, I swallowed hard at what lay before us. Soon, though, the sheer beauty of the face lured me in and before I knew it I was crossing the Bergschrund behind Sky and Dan with ice axe in hand. One of the beautiful things about ski mountaineering is the way it combines soloing with partnership. Dan summed it perfectly on Turns-All-Year when he said that we each made our way up the face in our various styles. For Dan and Jason that meant a straight on bull-rush up the gut. For Sky it meant traversing a bit to find conditions he liked, and then heading straight up from there. Josh wasn't feeling it so he decided to wait it out from below. For me it meant traversing to the far climber's left so that I could use the rock band that bordered the face for rest when I needed it. I didn't feel strong enough to commit to 1800vft of nieve. I did my best to practice French technique, given that I'd brought only one tool. As I told Sky later, for the first third of the face I was wishing for a second tool while knowing that I only needed one. It was a good experience. By the time I encountered the 15 ft section of black ice at the top I was feeling confident with my technique and was enjoying myself. From the top of the face there was a short scramble to the summit. The sun was out, by now hitting the face with full force, and we all lounged about enjoying the moment. Several hours later we decided the time was right. The descent was perfect. The entire face had softened to cream of wheat. Sky, Dan, and Jason took the natural and beautiful line down the center, linking 1800vft of turns without stopping. I, on the other hand, decided to descend the way I came up and had to traverse an ice field that blocked the face half way down. When asked later "what the f**ck I was thinking" all I could say was "not much". Lesson learned. We survival skied the anniversary glacier, now in the shade, with the exception of one last patch of sun softened goodness just before our shoe stash. From there it was a short hike down to our car, where we arrived about 10 hours after we had set out. Thanks Hummels, Sky, and Dan- it was a great trip and I couldn't have had a better time. For Dan's write-up, go here: http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=7757.0 For Jason's, here: http://cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/canada/Matierpeak/matierpeaknwface2007/matiernwface2007.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 stokey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skykilo Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 I'm surprised Dru didn't correct this. I'm the one who conjured 1800 ft, so apologies to Ryan for the quibble, but I don't think the face could be more than 1000 ft. But it's all good. Here's a picture of Ryan skiing the face. Jason is at the top. Josh is at the bergschrund. My tracks on looker's left, Dan's on looker's right. Click it for a big version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyclimber Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 Nice trip. "The air was cold and the sky was clear. Stars were everywhere. By morning my bag and pack were encrusted with a light dusting of frost." I love the fall... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skykilo Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 It was cold up there. I was glad to have my zero-degree bag. Here's one more climbing pic 'cuz I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 I'm surprised Dru didn't correct this. I'm the one who conjured 1800 ft, so apologies to Ryan for the quibble, but I don't think the face could be more than 1000 ft. But it's all good. i just loked at the pikshers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Serl Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 I'm surprised Dru didn't correct this. I'm the one who conjured 1800 ft, so apologies to Ryan for the quibble, but I don't think the face could be more than 1000 ft. But it's all good. i just loked at the pikshers nice trip, spectacular photos, but, yah, sorry gentlemen, this face is a little short of 1800 feet - like, just under HALF that high! basemap shows the bottom of the face at pretty much exactly 2500m, and the summit is 2783m, so max height is 280m = 850 feet! i led an ACC trip up it years ago which required roping the newbies, and i ran a 50m rope out fully 7 times, so there was 350m of runout, which at 50 degrees slope angle gives 270m of 'rise'. anyway, keep cranking those turns - impressive stuff... cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeLau Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 That's still 850 ft more skiing then i got this weekend lugging a bike up and then riding down whistler. Jealous. So all of you aired the bergschrund? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllYouCanEat Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 There was a route through. No jumping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllYouCanEat Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 (edited) dup Edited September 11, 2007 by AllYouCanEat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony_Bentley Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 Awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Layback Posted September 24, 2007 Share Posted September 24, 2007 I think the distance in terms of surface feet is in the 1,800 ft area. When we climbed it back in August I know we did at least 8 pitches with a 200 ft rope. Vertically, it's probably half of that as it was a pretty consistant ~40-45 degree slope to the top. Maybe that's what you meant. Nice job and great pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelawgoddess Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 ryan, fantastic! i am so glad you are still going at it like you are. lovely photos. hope life's being nice to you all around! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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