[TR] Silverstar - Silverstar Creek 4/17/2013

[JasonG]

Trip: Silverstar - Silverstar Creek

 

Date: 4/17/2013

 

Trip Report:

After a week of summer it is hard for me to believe we were skiing boot top powder last Wednesday. But it's true! As most of you know, Hwy 20 opened last Tuesday afternoon, and I was able to rally a crew of the usual suspects to take off from work and enjoy a winterish spring day up in the North Cascades. The weather forecast wasn't perfect, but in retrospect it preserved the snow and made for a fantastic ski.

 

We got a painfully early start so that we could try and beat the weather forecasted to come in later in the day. Still, with the long drive, carpool shenanigans, gas stop, etc., we weren't skinning until about 8:45ish. Lucky for us there were four folks about an hour in front of us breaking trail, and we made quick work up the valley from the highway. Coverage was surprisingly good down low and we were able to skin from the highway (ski crampons helpful). We we broke out of the heavy trees we were all impressed by the view (none of us had been this way before), and my pace slowed considerably to take some photos. Siverstar creek is an amazingly scenic valley, especially in winter conditions.

 

As we ascended higher, the clouds got lower, and a light snow began to fall. The winds weren't bad though, and avi conditions seemed reasonable, so upwards we went on the well set track. We arrived at the col just below the summit and ditched the skis for the final boot/scramble to the top, which was a little spicier than I last remembered it. Thankfully we had Fausto to lead the Gordo step and show us the way. I think it took us about 4 hours to get to the summit, which was much faster than any of us thought.

 

View were predictably limited, but dramatic, making for a memorable ski down, down, down to the valley floor. As we had noted on the way up, it skied much better than expected, ranking as one of my best runs of the season. We were back at the car less than seven hours after leaving, giving us enough time to head down to Early Winters campground for dinner with Scott and Meghan. Many thanks to them for the fine food and drink, and a fitting end to a spectacular day!

 

 

The Wine Spires:

 

Ski up and down the prominent glacier:

 

Scenic skinning midway up the valley:

 

 

 

 

The view west from just below the summit:

 

Gordo Fausto is a handsome man. Book your trip with him today, dates are filling up fast!:

 

Big Country:

 

 

 

 

This dinner was almost better than the ski, thanks Meghan!:

 

Gear Notes:

ski crampons

 

Approach Notes:

Silverstar Creek

[ivan]

gawdamn skee'n'foolz!

[telemarker]

You need to take more trips JasonG. Your photos raise the stock value of this website! Thanks for posting.

[JasonG]

You need to take more trips JasonG.

 

Ha! I'll try that next time I'm angling for a hall pass from the wife and kiddos- "But I'm on assignment for cc.com!"

 

Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad you like the photos.

[sepultura]

Awesome trip Jason and Crew, that really is a great way to go up Silverstar.

I heard Fausto was working on his full back tattoo of the" Canadian Hunter"

Its gonna be wicked sick. Those Canadian Euro guides are a hard act to follow!

[ZakG]

Wow! Why didn't you mention this at Ezra's birthday party today? This looks like a lot more work than the snowman we made at Washington Pass.

[JoshK]

Your photos are always awesome, Jason. Thanks for sharing!

[ARBrandon]

Looks amazing, man! I hope to be able to do this soon.

[LukeShy]

Great photos JasonG! It's amazing to see so much snow up on the Wine Spires.