Indeed. This is the only pic I got where you can see a part of the rider:Quote:
Originally Posted by gramps
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm120/boissal/J1.jpg
Dusk patrol up Flagstaff doesn't get much better than that.
Printable View
Indeed. This is the only pic I got where you can see a part of the rider:Quote:
Originally Posted by gramps
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm120/boissal/J1.jpg
Dusk patrol up Flagstaff doesn't get much better than that.
fack i wish i coulda stayed 2 more days. that looks horrible.
crazy bout the cornice break on ya sfb cause jt almost went down w/ one in similar fashion above the east face of kesslers subpeak/lawnmower on thurs.
Lazy 8:30 am start. Lots of peeps with big smiles all around.
Skied ESE facing at 9:30am with the snow being perfect and not baked yet. One and done. Nominal sluffing. Free game, people were skiing everything in sight.
http://fritzrips.com/Gallery1/albums...son/Toledo.jpg
Not everyone was smiling though and some people deserve to get their eyes poked out...
Fun was had until about 11am then things got heavy.
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/m...al/Julie12.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/m...al/Julie22.jpg[/quote]
Good day to be out there early. Two laps; the only instabilities noted were the typical ones on the rocky benches:
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...r/April-05.jpg
By midmorning on the second run, directly opposite this one on the northwest aspect, which had been shaded up to that point, things were starting to heat up and the top 2-4” inches of snow were sluffing & running.
The ski out called for spring wax. Also saw some—strange—post holing on the luge run-out only to round the corner on a startled moose.
Edit: Wait; what? Positions can be given away again?:rolleyes:
Plans were made last night, plans change because I didn't really want to be on top of bonkers when udot is lobbing shells onto stairs.
So we picked a different locale. Wasn't bad.
Some trail had to be broken, even here in the sheep pen: (under the radar)
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...e4-5-09006.jpg
Good turns: (under the radar)
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...e4-5-09019.jpg
So we went for seconds, skinner is in why not: (criscam, under the radar)
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...e4-5-09023.jpg
More goodness had: (criscam)
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...e4-5-09021.jpg
So we went for another and then another.... until finally around 2pm the snow got pretty heavy on the wnw aspect we were skiing. There were some big sluffs first thing this morning but they seemed to stabilize quickly.
Scenery was seen:
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...e4-5-09030.jpg
I won't give away the location for this rarely visited corner of the wasatch, the two groups we saw were too much.
Sick, I know right where that is. I'm definitely going there tomorrow with atleast 12 others. Thanks for the BETA!Quote:
Originally Posted by zion zig zag
Yes, no one ever goes there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Trackhead
due to tahoe being pretty pointless right now, i am in utah.
due to knowing no one here who hasn't been working all weekend i have been riding resorts.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3297/...9b6727aef4.jpg
i found what i flew to utah for today in scotty's bowl off snowbird.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3551/...ef22b65445.jpg
i shot photos of strangers i encountered in the woods. i don't know who this guy is, but i do know that there is both a high def video and and a professional still of this very same turn.
i am here through tomorrow (mon). by the end of today i had realized that there was nothing left in bounds worth riding. thanks to delta's exorbitant baggage pricing, i have my board and avy gear but not my snowshoes.
so i am hoping that someone on this thread will give up the most over used tracked out backcountry hike suitable for an underequipped out of town tourist like myself. something north facing... maybe with lots of tight trees for shade... where can i park easily, hike in someone else's boot pack, and get knee deep powder turns right next to 30 other tracks.
i think i'd rather hike for more of this than buy a lift ticket......
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3324/...2ae1dd.jpg?v=0
ok back to munchkin land....
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3555/...ba521a.jpg?v=0
We beat the closure and they said the fireworks would be completed by 8:45 so the timing worked out. But you bring up an interesting topic and I wonder if Trackhead still has the ability to fix the image links in this thread (not to be skied this spring:eek:):Quote:
Originally Posted by zion zig zag
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=12982
N facing upper silver and days skied well
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...hbum/sd121.jpg
Judging by the + 200 castle dots that must have been skiing well too;)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...hbum/sd098.jpg
You forgot the part where at the end of the day you decided to pull up next to a white subie and hit on the hot blonde chic in the passenger seat. After that we looked back and Taylor was out HARD. You probably did not even see her as she was slumped over the side of her booster. :biggrin:Quote:
Originally Posted by zion zig zag
Quote:
Originally Posted by gramps
Considering the quality of your pictures you've shared in the past I'm going to have to call b.s. on this one as your contributions and pics have surely been missed this season.
11,000ft east aspects had two inch crust that softened nicely at around 9:30am.
http://fritzrips.com/Gallery1/albums...irc9.sized.jpg
North aspects were still holding perfect snow with no instabilities.
http://fritzrips.com/Gallery1/albums...rc11.sized.jpg
The NW exit was still holding perfect, dry powder for several thousand feet.
http://fritzrips.com/Gallery1/albums...son/circ23.jpg
No instabilities, nominal wet slide activity during our 5am to 2pm tour.
Hah!
Most people tilt the camera to make the slope look steeper, trackhead tilts it to make it look more meadow skippy.
http://fritzrips.com/Gallery1/albums...son/circ23.jpg
Messin with ya dude, thanks again for sharing. Looked like a great day to be out and about.
dusk patrolled tonight only thinking i'd be going out for the up to stay in "touring shape" .... had a small devil on my shoulder whisper in my ear to pay attention to sheltered, straight north facing for pow. as much as i hate to say it, sometimes the devil is right.
anywho, straight north facing about about 9-9.5k is about a foot or so of almost fully recrystallized, hero pow. i do find it slightly amazing how after only a night of clear, cold skys surface hoar/hero pow can already be growing. it skis great, but pay attention folks - it is ready to run and run deep on slopes above about 35-40 degrees.
be safe and get it early as the forecasted winds for tomorrow will most likely kill it.
Went up BCC early this morning and last night’s refreeze meant skinning was go anywhere you want, easy. Plus, north facing aspects still made for really good re-crystallized powder turns while brief turns on other aspects saw the crust mostly holding and the skiing was very fast. An example of last night’s corduroy surface hoar as described by Xover:
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...-7-Surface.jpg
However, other aspects were kind of falling apart… with lots of pinwheels that looked like this everywhere below any rock formations:
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...-Pinwheels.jpg
And three distinct slides that ran across Sunday's skinner on bonkers:
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...kersSlides.jpg
ePiech- was that you flying up the skinner this morning?
Despite the naysayers claims, there's still powder in upper elevation sheltered areas.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...b/P1030973.jpg
Edit: Ran across a couple of folks, but not The Gnarwhale... still a pretty good day to be out in the Wasatch. That ^^^ pic is sick, though.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Gnarwhale
Well maybe not. Crossed paths with a couple guys pre-dawn. Stopped and chatted for few minutes before they jetted. Thought you might've been one of those two.
new snow is avalanchy in wind loaded areas.
ski cuts were productive, with 8-14" slabs pulling out along ridgelines and roll overs. a few were remotely triggered by skinning above them on ridgelines. ski cuts on one slope yielded a shooting crack that traveled ~100' out from ski tips. soft slabs were sliding on the old snow surface and did not seem to be moving fast or far. the new snow was a bit upside down which no doubt helped with the energetic propagation.
Went up LCC in the AM but avoided the ridges because visibility approached zero the higher you went and because of the expected wind loading. The new snow was not yet—completely—bonded, though, and the newer stuff was coming in as graupel… not 2% this time around so no bouncing off the crust either.
Went up an uber-secret spot where everyone goes in LCC with ruletherock and found some good turns on north-facing aspects above 8000 feet... One ridgeline running northwest to southeast was heavily wind-loaded on the eastern aspect and looked like it could rip under any force from a skier. Nothing moved of what we skied, though. Everything was surprisingly stable, aside from the numerous pinwheels and small wet sluffs that were in the sun in the afternoon.
It's spring out there.
heard that earlier in the day, ski cuts weren't enough to produce much activity; but bombs sent alot down on the same slope(s).
skied perfect windbuff inbounds for the last few hours at Utah's new surf break, Alta. then did a dusky across the road.
west facing below about 9k will have a slight, but very maneagble zipper on it first thing tomorrow morn. east facing is definitely packing an upside down punch. south facing was surfy sickness top to bottom and north facing, protected held some 10% fluff.
by the end of the day, everything was welded into place ... thanks spring. of note though is the spike in w/nw winds mid day; keep an eye on the leeward slopes for early tomorrow.
hopefully the clouds will stay at bay most of the morning tomorrow. this winter just keeps on giving; so beautiful out tonight and so much fun. couldn't stop laughing the whole way down and giggling out loud as i skied right to the tailgate of my truck.
skied lower elevevation, ne terrain last evening. creamy. only minor sluffing noticed. some big cornices on n-s ridge.
DP'd up the main sheep pen gauntlet (Black Knob) today. The party ahead of us kicked off a small slab that only broke 8" deep but ran for at least 300 ft (past the roll over and out of sight in the photo) on a SE Aspect. Not big enough to bury you but could def take you for a ride. Looked like it failed with in the new snow, not at the New Snow-Old Surface interface.
We saw 2 more isolated pockets that didn't have any juice to run.
http://utahavalanchecenter.org/files...oft%20Slab.JPG
Superior was getting hammered, along with toledo this morning. Lots of folks out enjoying things. As hinted at by Xover, ski cuts didn't produce any movement on the wind-loaded aspects and drifts seemed pretty stubborn. That sun late afternoon yesterday was just about perfect, enough to stabilize but not too much to ruin. Not too much sun this morning and things were still pretty good, South facing was indeed awesome surfing. Best exit down to sheep pen central station in a while.
I was with one of the groups on Flagstaff / Sup early in the morning. Really nice powder and windbuff with manageable snow but later there was a slide on superior (human triggered I think; but maybe UDOT) that ran on the top third of the mountain:
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...r/4-10-Sub.jpg
Otherwise, stability improved with warmer temps. At lower elevations the warming snow was a little grabby but up high all aspects still held excellent turns. Part two of the tour involved skiing whatever looked good in the sheep pen and hanging out with the BC jibbers:
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...-jibbers-1.jpg
cornice stomp triggered soft slab that traveled down to the headwall apron. ~6" deep running within the new snow.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...b/P1040009.jpg
Yeah that was me. We took a lap on the N side before skinning back up to ski the S face. The sun was definitely starting to affect the snow on the S, we prolly should have forgone the N side but the snow was good back there.Quote:
Originally Posted by ePiech
I dropped in west of the summit where the cornice eased and crossed that rock rib to my line. I ski cut across the top and a small windslab broke about 50' wide but only about 4" deep. It entrailed quite a bit of snow with it on it's way down though and prolly ran about 1000'. It ran on the new/old interface and there was a more pronounced crust on that aspect. After it went down I worked the area skier's L of the slide and found deeper, more stable snow without the hard crust underneath.
Good skiing overall bu the Sun's had it's way with it now.
guys (and gals ;)),
I am not saying anybody did anything wrong nor am I attempting to point fingers, but please - please - please consider what and whom is below you when above highly traveled roads, buildings, towns, popular skinners, etc. when doing whatever in the bc.
glad, you are ski cutting, accessing your own party's stability, etc. but when on such faces as 'Sup, Flagg, Emmas, Lawnmover, Stairs, etc. etc. etc. it ain't only 'bout your party, but also includes the other "forgotten" element of the 2-3hundreds below you that has no f'ing clue you are up there. this shit ain't twin peaks, lone peak, timp, nebo, etc.
would hate to be the cause/see/read about any of us cutting loose something we never, ever thought would happen upon innocent bystanders. i am pretty much sure i would just grab a gun and shoot myself in the head and back of the throat on the top of whatever peak i was on at that point in time.
sorry for the "soapbox"; just needed to keep things honest 'round here, blow off some steam and offer up my $0.02. please, just be cogniscent of who and what are below you and let it influence all of your decisions.
have a good, safe weekend all. :smile:
Excellent point Xover......thanks for posting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Xover
Good reminder cupcake!Quote:
Originally Posted by Xover
Very spring like today. Couldn't stay cool enough, guess I should have been in shorts and t-shirt. Sticky snow was good for skinning, decent for skiing. Definetely manky down low. Wet slide on Southeast aspect, with prior wind-loading, broke right below the wind lip. Entrained snow on the way down, went for several hundred feet??? Not sure, couldn't see but about 50 feet in front of yourself, but could hear it continue on a ways. Graupel like crazy, with some thunder for fun, when leaving. Character-building and learning day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xover
Thats the first and only good reason I've heard to not skin with a gun. ;)
... other than to shoot WRA in his left ass cheek for heckling members of his own touring party from above them ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by leroy jenkins
my "Tramdeck Obs" from today: only had an hour or so to burn in the a.m. so headed up to the Wasatch's Only Surfbreak. low angle, straight north facing offered up the goodness. soft base with frosting on top was fun for sure. made me wish i had 4-5 more hours to go do some meadow skipping and pester the likes of maynerd, antitrust, etc.
definitely not sure how things shaped up in the p.m. but the middle of next week sounds like fun. gotta love this end of march + all of f'ing april :fm:
So while up on the ridge above Cardiff today some skiers down in the flats yelled up to us that we shouldn't come down because the landowner and the sheriff were handing out tickets for trespassing right at the base of cardiac bowl. I could hear the snowmobiles and barely see them due to the poor visibility. Does anybody know what is up with this? I know that much of lower Cardiff down by Doughnut Falls is private land, but I had no idea that it extended so far up the drainage. How far up does the private land go?
On a side note, a significant part of the ski out the south face of Little Superior was a combination of avalanche debri and horrendous visbility. Definitely a character building experience.
Utah might be different, but I thought that in MT and CO at least, if its not marked with obvious signage and/or fenced off, they don't have the right to do shit.Quote:
Originally Posted by climbhigh1119
I don't know if this has anything to do with what you are talking about, but yesterday we were on top of wolverine and heard and saw snowmobiles down on lake marry area. I don't know what was going on, but I don't think they are allowed back there. Couldn't see very well because of the fog so I don't know what was going on.Quote:
Originally Posted by climbhigh1119
So lets say that property that has been in YOUR family for over 100 years happens to be in a great place for skiing. You let people recreate and play on YOUR family land because its the nice thing to do, and people who enjoy the mountains are nice, and its all good.
Then within the last 10 years- (some longer...but most less) people move to town and decide that it can't be your property. It is too nice to belong to you, and they like to ski there too much to allow you access your land. I mean these people (found) the place ten years ago (after reading the guidebook) and now kind of should decide who uses it. This person Cannot be happy sharing the land with helicopter skiers, other skiers and especially the rednecks who have the nerve to access their own property by snowmobile. These new arrivals are so upset by others using "Their" ski terrain they are absolutely rude to anyone they encounter and dedicate themselves to eradicating any kind of "different" use. (IE anyone who isn't just like them, lets say: wearing an Arcteryx jacket, Dynafits and a camera to document their rad day on the internet.)
If it was YOUR LAND... it might piss you off if someone you allowed on your land was a complete and total rude asshole to you. Yelled at you, pulled down your signs, started and supported orgainzations to make your land useless, and try to take it away. You might even get so dissapointed that you decide to close it to anyone without your permission.
Bottom Line:
You should be careful about who you are a dick to. They just might own the ground you are standing on. If people were just willing to show respect for others, share, tolerate, and be nice to eachother in the mountains (god forbid be friendly) there might not be an issue. It may however be too late, and you have no one to blame but yourselves when you need an access pass to ski Cardiac. (end rant)