[TR] wa pass - birthday tour 5/1/2010

[spionin]

Trip: wa pass - birthday tour

 

Date: 5/1/2010

 

Trip Report:

 

crap, i didn't mean to throw this into ice forum (habit, weird)...

 

 

doug (cbcbd), dave (dbconlin), karsen, and i went out and did the birthday tour this saturday. it was awesome.

i tried this tour last year (this same weekend), for my first go at tele, and we didn't get super far (surprise!). as it turns out, around the same time, dave and karsen had "the worst tour ever" on this route when their partner's unleashed ski made a trip down into one of the basins, forcing them to spend the day searching for it instead of making sweet turns.

anyways, we all wanted to get back and do it right.

 

the weather was just around freezing with almost no wind, and occasional pockets of fog made for flat lighting, though nothing that ever interfered with route finding. there were a few inches of fresh snow, sometimes over ice on south aspects, which made skinning interesting. the skiing was great, the company was great, and we dispensed with the tour in 5 hours flat. there are tons of options in that area for exploring, it's really awesome.

 

after the skiing we had some beer and pizza next to the car, and doug and i went over to cascade climbers' annual ski-in for more beer, fire, camping, and hanging out with random skiers. THANKS!!

 

doug skins up

at blue lake col

dave enjoys the sesh

karsen climbs on

at the entrance into the last, narrow, icy coloir

doug, relax'n in the backseat

 

 

how to retrofit skis to prevent your tips from diving

Edited May 4, 2010 by spionin

[cbcbd]

I'm glad we picked the left variation getting back into the hairpin side. The other one was just too far away! I just wanted to sit down in the backseat and rest, as all the pictures of me skiing showed.

 

Fun tour with a fun group.

[genepires]

skiing...ice climbing....it is the good times that counts. Nice looking day.

 

would that route be a good split board route? It looks like it has minimal changeovers between uphill and downhill. How flat is the last valley? Would a snowboard get bogged down in the flats?

 

feel free to slam snowboarding if you like. I just like it.

Edited May 4, 2010 by genepires

[ewhack]

I did this tour a week ago with a couple split-boarders. They had no complaints save the last bit of roadside scooting near the hairpin to the parking area.

[spionin]

skiing...ice climbing....it is the good times that counts. Nice looking day.

 

would that route be a good split board route? It looks like it has minimal changeovers between uphill and downhill. How flat is the last valley? Would a snowboard get bogged down in the flats?

 

feel free to slam snowboarding if you like. I just like it.

 

i ain't hatin'

yeah, i think it's a good route with distinct skin-up/bomb-down sections. i think i only had to push myself on a flat section at the very end, and it wasn't bad at all.

[YocumRidge]

Did anyone offer to carry your pack as a birthday favor?

It looks the largest in the group

[spionin]

Did anyone offer to carry your pack as a birthday favor?

It looks the largest in the group

 

oh - it wasn't my birthday! it's the name of a tour in the guidebook. sorry for the misunderstanding

 

[Taluscat]

D and V shreddin the gnar! looks like you had good times,nice job you guys!!

[AlpineK]

I almost never look in the ice climbing forum, so I didn't realize you had posted this.

 

Nice pictures, and a fun day!

 

Given the temperatures and conditions somebody could have been ice climbing