Partner for the Cooper Spur

[jrex]

I have been eyeing the spur for a while and want to get it before it melts out. I plan on skiing the approach and decent to Timberline. I am flexible on dates and am looking for good weather window. Open to doing it as an over nighter or one good push. Let me know, Josh

[TRoth]

Ive been eyeing it up aswell. I have tools, screws and pickets :-) Roth.tb@gmail.com

 

[Teh Phuzzy]

If the timing works, I've been meaning to get up there as well.

[sswallen]

anyone interested in sun/mon/or tuesday? as far as i can tell the weather is looking pretty decent...

[jrex]

Looks like there might be 2 feet of new snow over today and tomorrow. Could make for good skiing but sketchy avy conditions. I am down for Sat/Sun. If I can rearrange my work schedule Monday, Sun/Mon climb might be a better window. What do you guys think? Sat/Sun or Sun/Mon? Also who is skiing it? My contact info is Josh 503-933-4534

[Water]

I'd love to hit one of the mnts Sat night/Sunday climb but am a fairly wigged by avy conditions based on amount of new snow up high that looks to continue into sat AM, then sunday being sunny and rising freezing levels. sun/mon would be better imo for the new snow to settle it seems. Then again I've not been up and dug a bit and observed so its just off the forecast.

 

[dougd]

I'd love to hit one of the mnts Sat night/Sunday climb but am a fairly wigged by avy conditions based on amount of new snow up high that looks to continue into sat AM, then sunday being sunny and rising freezing levels. sun/mon would be better imo for the new snow to settle it seems. Then again I've not been up and dug a bit and observed so its just off the forecast.

 

A fair assessment IMO...

 

 

[jrex]

I am feeling the same...maybe sometime next week. I am going to ski meadows Saturday morning, if super bowl opens I will get a better look.

[Water]

NWAC issued a special forecast today in response to the above mentioned conditions. Makes it a bit easier (for me) to let go of climbing high on what looks to be a beautiful 'full moon' weekend. Was def sketched about more than just the new stuff given our weather cycle of the last few weeks.. seems confirmed with issues showing up 1-2 meters down.

 

http://www.nwac.us/forecast/avalanche/current/zone/13/

 

Friday Through Tuesday: Strong spring storms this week have deposited significant new snow amounts above about 5 to 6000 feet. This snow should become increasingly unstable through the weekend with gradually increasing sunshine and warming expected. Expect locally high avalanche danger developing above about 5 to 6000 feet, especially on sun exposed terrain and higher elevations and on the volcanoes.

 

Snow Pack and Avalanche Activity: There have been numerous field observations over the past several days, especially from WSDOT crews working above Chinook Pass in the central WA Cascades and from patrol at Alpental and Mt Hood Meadows ski areas. Crews on Chinook Pass reported by early afternoon, they had already received about 15 inches of new snow through the day. This new snow became increasingly wet and unstable through the afternoon with natural slides releasing on most slopes even with mostly cloudy and cool conditions. Slides were also releasing on relatively low angled slopes of about 30 degrees, with most slides remained above a thin crust layer.

 

However of potentially greater concern is the snowpack below the recent snow and thin crust layer. Below the new recent snow and any remaining thin crust, about 1 to 2 meters of large grain wet to saturated snow remains above the older finer grained winter snowpack. Control results and cornice drops earlier in the week did produce some larger wet slab releases involving these deep layers of wet snow.

 

Other field observations from both Alpental and Mt Hood Thursday as well as back country skier reports this week confirm the deep layer of wet unconsolidated snow ranging from 1 to 2 meters.

 

Just received snowpack conditions from Alpental pro patrol Friday morning. New recent snow becoming wet with ski cuts easily triggering wet avalanches. These slides are running far and fast and entraining wet snow underneath as well as carrying over shallow angled terrain and benches.

 

What does this mean? It means we do not have a stable spring snowpack as yet. It also means that slides releasing easily in the new snow from this week, up to 1 to 2 feet or more, may break down and involve the deeper 3 to 6 feet of wet snow layers. These slides would become very large very quickly, travel fast and far and be potentially destructive!

 

Cornice failures also remain a major concern, as these may trigger large wet slab releases on slopes below.

 

[Robbio]

I'd be interested in doing it as a day trip.

 

Rob