My third time to St Helens but my first ski descent. Kyle, Scott and myself left the marblemount snopark by 3:30 am to get a head start to avoid the 270+ climbers registered for the day:eek:. Hiking was a bit slow for me at first, 10 beers and 2 hrs sleep= semi drunk hiking/stumbling in the dark.
Kyle darted off to an easterly ridge to snap mt Adams at sunrise.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/DSC02030.jpg
Scott and I laggin a bit, crampons woulda made the trek faster. We ascended further east leaving us with no footsteps to use.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/DSC02056.jpg
Scott workin his way up
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/DSC02063.jpg
Me on the rim, we made it up by about 9:30 and explored/ stayed safe and rested while waiting for the snow to corn up.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/DSC02074.jpg
Some scenics from the rim
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/DSC02085.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/DSC02084.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/DSC02083.jpg
Me hikin on the rim (I promise Im not as close to the cornice edge as it looks)
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...C02115copy.jpg
The descent was great, only a couple of pics because we took a some video that I might post later. Top 1k or so was edgeable hardpack followed by 2k of sweet corn followed by another 1.5 or so of manky wet mashed taters that was sliding a lil too easily for my liking.
Kyle w/ Adams in Background
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...C02133copy.jpg
REALLY fun bank turns, this wall went on for a good ways and in parts was steep enough to be a quarter pipe.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...C02155copy.jpg
finally gettin bouldered out, Scott perfecting his ski toss (he cleared the rocks by about a foot).
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...C02186copy.jpg
The End, things got a bit sketch toward the bottom but thats just par for the course I guess.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...C02191copy.jpg
Next up in the coming months: Ski descents of Mt Baker and the Emmons glacier on Rainier.