Snow in the PNW 13/14

[Mofro261]

Saw the 3PM closure on US2 and kept skiing thru until almost 6 as the snow just kept falling and the deepness kept calling, the right places are always found in the fall line. It made for a late evening though as the highway didn't open until after 8 and we finally got out of the lot @9:15pm and into the slowest drive evah.

[PNWbrit]

I was pretty surprised they were flying yesterday. Extremely low ceiling and snow falling. Heli ski ops certainly would not have flown in those conditions, but of course there were no mountain landings involved.

Apparently it was quite errr..... "interesting" in the heli.

[Buster Highmen]

It made for a late evening though as the highway didn't open until after 8 and we finally got out of the lot @9:15pm and into the slowest drive evah.

You shoulda been in Easton @ 8:00.

[Buster Highmen]

Heli ski ops certainly would not have flown in those conditions, but of course there were no mountain landings involved.

You haven't flown Silverton yet have you?

phewwwweeeeee!

[Buster Highmen]

Alpie Tuesday? Early or late?

[Mofro261]

You shoulda been in Easton @ 8:00.

That option was weighed in the decision to stay and drink another beer.

[Buster Highmen]

That option was weighed in the decision to stay and drink another beer.

Ahhh. g'wan...you were locked in on some b00bs.

No G3000 TR?

[TAFKALVS]

2/15/14 All fun, no crowds. Snowed 8" from 5pm - 10pm.

2/15/14 Perfect tools for the evening.

2/19/14 The beard summarizes. Best day of the season so far. Deep with few people. Top to bottom untracked laps on Double Diamond did not suck. (and with no lift line!)

After a month of pretty epic days (and nights) skiing the lifts, I was itching to use some skins. I really enjoy skiing places that would be passed up for more exciting destinations or not thought of as good places to ski. Summer is spent making mental catalogs of glades, meadows and chutes that are off the radar. My thought is why fight the hordes at Stevens Pass or Smithbrook, when there are options for skiing close to home? Maybe it's the low elevation, maybe a weird or tricky approach or just the fact that it's not in a guidebook but I seem to never see anyone on these missions.

When danger is high, stay low....

The eastside of the Cascades near the crest has really benefited from this system of storms. 4 feet of snow at my house in Plain, and 6 feet further up the valley near Lake Wenatchee.


(My Yard)

On Sunday 2/23, some friends and I skied shin to knee deep low density powder at the head of Lake Wenatchee. Total snowpack was nearly 6 feet. Some brush poking through in places, but mostly well covered. We got 3 laps in on a boulder field ranging for 1800-2800' ft in elevation. I got a few action shots, but I will have to post them later. Snow was rather reactive, but very low density. Point release sluffs observed on steeper terrain, but the snow was not moving as a cohesive mass. We stuck to 25° slopes with good terrain anchoring (boulders/pillows). Many pillow was plundered and faceshots were definitely had. For the final run, we skinned to the top of a point that has a chute I've been eyeing for the last few years. About 400' total length. Passes underneath an overhanging cliff and then chokes down to barely a ski length width for 50', finally opening up to a boulder field. It skied nicely, even after a ski cut stript the center of the chute of new snow. Now that we have a deep snowpack and good weather headed our way, I hope to tick off more of my "mental gems" I've been eyeing!


This is a shot from the bottom. The chute goes directly beneath the prominent cliff band.

[jarlybart]

Rad weekend at the local hill(Hoodoo, Oregon). I had to rock the snowblades due to a MCL strain but otherwise perfect. So ready for more!!!

[bakerpow]

sunday was great at baker. some awesome low density snow in the am and it snowed all day. been a long week of skiing

[d542east]

Still processing this weekend. Those might have been the best runs of my life, although I think I've said that a couple of times over these last two weeks. Bottomless hero pow, when does that ever happen around here?

Stoke via Louie, all I claim is the horrible skin track:

[abraham]

I'll be at Stevens in the morning. Anyone else?

[GoldMember]

Hurricane Ridge Access Petition
HURRICANE RIDGE, OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK


The Hurricane Ridge Road is the primary access point for winter recreation in the Olympic Mountains. Currently the road is closed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in the months of December through March. Since 1958, the road has provided access to a variety of activities including downhill skiing and snowboarding at a small community run ski area, backcountry skiing and riding, cross country trails, family sledding, snowshoeing, sightseeing, and winter mountaineering. On a clear day, Hurricane Ridge offers breathtaking vistas of the surrounding Olympic Mountains, Mt. Olympus, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Vancouver Island.


Winter access to Hurricane Ridge brings vitality to the surrounding communities, providing a healthy, positive outlet for youth, families, and citizens of all ages. Winter recreation at Hurricane Ridge is arguably one of the area’s most valuable assets, attracting visitor and tourist dollars spent on food, lodging, gas, and other amenities, during the low season.


ACCESS: A BRIEF HISTORY


In the late 1990s, Olympic National Park began restricting midweek access to Hurricane Ridge, with the road open on an unreliable, “weather permitting” basis. This began the decline in visitor numbers.In 2005, access was officially limited to Friday through Sunday only, furthering the decline.


Many days each winter, the gate remains closed during high-pressure spells of warm, sunny weather, in which dry road conditions require no plowing. Prior to 2005, the park would often keep the road open on these midweek days.


In 2011 and 2012 the park agreed to a seven-day-access trial period. The local community raised $75,000 a year to bridge a gap in the park’s estimated budget for midweek operations, a testament to how strongly the local community values this resource.


During these two years, the road was late to open (it is supposed to open at 9:00 am) or closed 50% of the time. The average late opening was 10:15 am. Both years there were 70 days of no new precipitation, about the number of days the road opened on time.Despite this level of unreliability, the trial period still yielded a 35% increase in winter visits. Nevertheless, park officials declared the trial unsuccessful, and in the fall of 2012 announced a return to Friday through Sunday access, weather permitting.


SIGN THE PETITION: http://www.change.org/petitions/sara...out-the-winter


Learn more: www.accesstheridge.org

[PNWbrit]

Not enough money to pay for roads in National Parks to stay open.... but apparently we can afford to have Navy aerobatics close our bridges.

Something is badly wrong....

[raisingarizona13]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

[Mofro261]

ka



boom.

[pipedream]

Excellent. I know where I'm going this weekend now that that's done

[raisingarizona13]

that spiny face just left of the coolie looks so sick.

[XavierD]

Not enough money to pay for roads in National Parks to stay open, or sustain our National Defense.... but we can pay people to not work.

Something is badly wrong....

FIFY
NPs are awesome, so are the Blue Angles; both help make America Great. I'd raise the gas tax to keep the NP roads open, but I doubt that would pass because hardly anyone wants to drive up to Hurricane Ridge or Paradise on a mid winter weekday; at least a lot less than get their stoke on for a few days in the summer. Sucks to live in a pseudo-democracy eh?

[Buster Highmen]

Personally I hate the Blue Angels and think it's a complete waste of taxpayers money.
And personally I'd much rather spend taxpayers money on access to the NPs.
But personally, that's just personal.

[PNWbrit]

or sustain our vast, bloated, outdated, and mostly just completely unnecessary National Defense

FIFyou.

.....Blue angels cost 40 million dollars a year. About double what the combined ONP and MRNP annual budget are.

The cost of their trip to Seafair alone would more than pay to keep Longmire gate open longer than current office hours or at all if it has snowed. As well as keeping Hurricane Ridge open. Probably enough to keep Chinook and NCH open too.

But since when was control of our military budget in anyway democratically decided, that shit is taken care of by the complex.

NPs are awesome, so are the Blue Angles; both help make America Great

Surely America was great long before the Blue Angles (sic)?

[Buster Highmen]

Are Blue Angles some fraction of pie?

[PNWbrit]

Are Blue Angles some fraction of pie?

18% of the pie.

Which is just greedy.

[Buster Highmen]

Blueberry pi? pi in the sky?

But ooooooo to have Chinook open in winter!!!! Pickups from Morse Creek!

[PNWbrit]

But ooooooo to have Chinook open in winter!!!! Pickups from Morse Creek!

Please pay more attention to the snazzy blue jets fighting, in artistically tight nit formations..... and jump suits, for your freedoms in the troubled skies above Lake Washington.

Shows daily: Thursday thru Sunday.