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Bham Ice?


brody0

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my question being does decent ice exist near bham on the baker hwy somewhere? i doubt it is formed now but i would rather drive up the hwy than out east if i can help it. i tried to ask some yocal gear shop guys but quickly figured they either didn't do ice or didn't know shit all about it.

 

on an off topic last year i lost a pair of blue OR windstop gloves out in banks lake. not sure what climb it was, but it was really fat really late in the season, and had a 3 pin anchor at the top with blue webbing older webbing. if anyone happens across them....

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I just talked to a friend of mine that did a ski tour out towards Lake Ann. I think they went to "Ann Butte" Does this ring any bells. Anyways, she said there were several "awesome looking flows" in the Swift Creek (?) drainage and on the south facing side of Shuksan Arm. (is it swift creek that drops down from Austin pass towards Lake Ann? Thats the one i'm talking about...) She said it's be a couple hour ski in but speculated that there were several pitches of steep, well formed ice. I've looked into this drainage before and never seem anything myself. Anybody have any personal experience here?

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I lived in bham for 10 years and it takes a crazy cold winter to form any ice near there. I saw ice at larrabee state park once. But don't ever count on seeing anything around that baker highway. Slim chance of finding stuff around squamish but that is the best place to look when a cold snap strikes. Or out the fraser valley. Keep alert cause the cold snaps are brief.

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I'm in Deming WA as I type, on theway to the Mt. Baker Ski Area, and it's raining and warm. It's been raining for the large part of this week, although we did get some snow on the hills yesterday. If any snow deveolps today, the avi will go through the roof, and only a fool with a deathwish would head into Lake Ann right now. Additionally, any ice that I've seen out there ("beautiful flows"?? Hardly.) would suck even worse right now. Do Mt.Rescue a favor and stay in the ski area.

-God

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I'm a 'Hamster who's spent a fair amount of time skiing the BC around the end of Highway 542. In several years a massive flow has formed on the backside of "Hemispheres" in Swift Creek Drainage. I'm not much of an ice climber but I'd guess 500+' of WI4-5-?. Unfortunately I've never seen it touch down. Kinda like Terminator in leaner times. While touring around Table Mtn, only once has the infamous Death Picnic appeared fat in the last couple of years. Have at it boys.

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quote:

Originally posted by dberdinka:
I'm a 'Hamster who's spent a fair amount of time skiing the BC around the end of Highway 542. In several years a massive flow has formed on the backside of "Hemispheres" in Swift Creek Drainage. I'm not much of an ice climber but I'd guess 500+' of WI4-5-?. Unfortunately I've never seen it touch down. Kinda like Terminator in leaner times. While touring around Table Mtn, only once has the infamous Death Picnic appeared fat in the last couple of years. Have at it boys.

Thanks, dberdinka. Have you seen the flow recently? Where is that location more precisely? Could you please describe or point out a map location?

Thank you.

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Rafael, I haven't looked this year but with all the warm weather this year I can't imagine it's much of anything. Last year while skiing Lake Anne Butte I recall seeing other/smaller lines that made me pause momentarily and this was during some warm sunny weather so maybe there is some credility in an earlier post.

Anyway, this possibly existent line is located near the head of Swift Creek on a large rock wall forming the back half of Hemispheres, which is the large snow dome forming the end of Shuksan Arm. From the upper lot follow the boundary cat track to Austin Pass (30 min) drop over the back side down into Swift Creek (good tree skiing). Head down valley breaking out into a big flat open section of valley (1 hr total). I've seen big fat ice forming on large rock wall to left (North). Like said maybe it's there maybe it's not. If I see it again I'll post.

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quote:

Originally posted by dberdinka:
Like said maybe it's there maybe it's not. If I see it again I'll post.

About these mystery flows on the backside of Hemi's: The tour mentioned in my post above took place just over a week ago. I'm not in WA so I don't know what the weathers been like, but it's worth a ski...

Darren: what's happening. I talked to Owen a few days ago, trying to set up some bc skiing. Had an excellent day today in 6-9" of LIGHT like a feather powder. CO rocks for bc skiing!

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  • 2 weeks later...

thanks for everyones input. it's still too warm to form, but i'll be lookin out for ice up 542. i hear banks lake isn't rockin rock, that's a bummer. anyone have info on iceclimb.com? they seem to have a nice setup for looking at 30 day temps for different ice spots.

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quote:

Originally posted by brody0:

thanks for everyones input. it's still too warm to form, but i'll be lookin out for ice up 542. i hear banks lake isn't rockin rock, that's a bummer. anyone have info on iceclimb.com? they seem to have a nice setup for looking at 30 day temps for different ice spots.

I have all the info on iceclimb.com

What's your question?

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Oops, I accidently posted this on the Drury/Pencil thread . . . . . Anyway. . . .

I hiked up the Shuksan Arm last Tuesday and there were several climbable flows, drips and smears on the north side of that giant rock band. If you were to take chair 7 to chair 8 and connect up with the Arm, it would be about a 2-3 hour hike/ski. The rock band essentially forms a barrier on the Arm to accessing the White Salmon glacier.

The warm trend we had this week may have destroyed a lot of it though, who knows.

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brodyo,

a friend and i did a worthwhile mixed route up the south face of "granite peak" years ago. you can see it if you look north from the picnic shelter(?) along the ruth creek road. a climb to do just before the road gets snowed closed because it's not worth skiing all that way.

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brodyo

check out the North Twin Sister...climbed some ice between the north and west ridges--approx. 1.5 pitches up...potential for more lines though as the ice covered a large rock band low on the mountain visible from the road that leads to the olivine(?)mine described in Beckey's book...use approach (also described in book) for the west ridge, which also make a great mixed climb. smile.gif" border="0

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