telemarker Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 (edited) Trip: 8 Mile Mountain - NE Face Date: 3/9/2008 Trip Report: This was the last day for Kyle Flick to use his Mission Ridge season's pass, so we decided to ski 8 Mile Mtn. I have to agree with other posters, the b/c conditions have been outstanding so far, and it's not even spring. After touring on Mt. Cashmere earlier in the week, I obsessed a bit on 8 Mile Mtn., it's NE Face. It's appeal is obvious, compelling, irresistable. Exposed skiing above some large cliffs, preserved powder with a Northern aspect, and the best views of Stuart. We started from the car late, around 7:30am, skinning up the road but soon were passed by a local sledneck, carrying himself and Ludwig up somewhere to make some turns. We needed the exercise anyway. The views start early on this tour. Within a couple hours, we were skinning across 8 Mile Lake. The sunny, open slope up and right of Kyle was our approach to 8 Mile Mtn. It was one of those days where the skins have a fortress-like bite on the corn snow. The views started opening up very nicely, with Mt. Stuart seemingly within arm's reach right to our south. I played a bit with my camera's EV values to bring out the clouds more. Unfortunately, there's no auto camera-tilt correction. Looking back down on the lake. A few shots of the approach to the summit. Mt. Daniel Kyle skinning final bit. Booting up. Base of Rainier and the Interglacier behind him. We topped out at 2.30pm. The summit of 8 Mile Mtn. is a large, flat plateau. The light and clouds today made for softened contrast and rich details. I had a hunch the snow on the north side would be pretty good, and my hunch was correct. Kyle decided to avoid skiing above the cliffs, and chose to start lower down on where there was a better run-out. This allowed him to take a few shots of me on the upper slopes. This is a rarity that I actually get photos of me, climbing or skiing. The upper slope. Me dropping in, praying the slope doesn't rip out. The powder, a bit heavy, was solid and fun skiing. On the lower slopes. Enchantment Peak From the summmit, we skied down a drainage on the north side to 8 Mile Lake, retraced our skin track across the lake, and were back at the car by 4.30pm for a full day in an incredible location. Edited March 10, 2008 by telemarker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat_Roslyn Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Va Va Voom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Meanwhile, I was eating a peautbutter cookie at Fireside Bakery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle_Flick Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 That's okay Bug, we were powered on the Home Fires Bakery's croissant cinnamon twists for the tour. Thanks for stopping in and introducing yourself to Linda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanl Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Great trip telemarker. I'd never really looked at 8 mile before- thanks. I might have to pay a visit one of these day..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 That's okay Bug, we were powered on the Home Fires Bakery's croissant cinnamon twists for the tour. Thanks for stopping in and introducing yourself to Linda. Oops! Home Fires, scratch, scratch. Still good treats. My daughters always insist on the cinnamon rolls and they were almost as good as my peanut butter cookie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericb Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Trip: 8 Mile Mountain - NE Face Date: 3/9/2008 Question for anyone....is the left hand of this aspect of Colchuck visible here the face that is climbed once you exit the couloir proper of the North Buttress Couloir route? Heading up there next weekend and trying to get an idea of the snow conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevino Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Yeah, thats it. Although it looks a lot steeper there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grtmtnchic Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 It's appeal is obvious, compelling, irresistable. Absolutely! Looking good, John. Again, glad you made it out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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