Everything is stacking up nicely, even if the Summit at Snoqualmie is 3 days past their average annual opening of December 7th. As I opened the door and took a look at the fresh 3 to 4 inches, it seemed a little light for a lap on Hyak’s low covered face. However, by the time a decision was made, it had warmed up turning to rain at the base, so we went for it. Hoping it would keep us from hitting any land sharks. Below is a short vid of today’s conditions. Think big SNOW and get out and get some, too!
That Thanksgiving storm that hit the Cascades, definitely provided a lot more fun for our Stevens Pass homies. Check out the sweet video below that Jeff Rich put together of the recent goods.
The Saturday following Thanksgiving ’18, the first skiable snowfall from the day prior now was consolidated a little more. So, Jerad and I decided to test the waters of Summit Central’s steeper terrain. First we did a lap down Alpine, hitting no sharks, then we grab the freshies on Triple 60 face. Good to be skiing at home, again!
Exlaining, to Allison, how to ride a chair lift… 😉
I was pretty thankful to be skiing at home the day after Thanksgiving ’18, with my running partner (soon to be skier) Allison. We started our post turkey day adventure, climbing Hyak in our boots, only to find close to 13″ 3/4’s the way up the face. After we booted the face and rallied down the Summer road, we headed for Summit West. This time with skis 🙂 Not too exciting of a video below, other than I was excited not to drive 3 hours to ski.
Xanado is a mountain bike trail located just outside the small town of Pashastin, WA… A mountain bike trail that is TOP SHELF. The climb up is an easy grade, that gives you some nice views of the Xanado ridge, you’ll soon be riding. If you are in route from Seattle and need to grab some bike parts or tech service, be sure to stop into the Ride Roslyn shop! Not only will the Ride Roslyn team keep your bike rolling, they aren’t afraid to share their favorite trails (which this one is high on the list). This trail is definitely on the top of my list!
Great day on Mt. Rainier’s Muir Snowfield… Above the clouds.
Great day walking and skiing with my homie, Jerad Merbs! Always a good day when we get out to ski and this adventure led us to the Paradise parking of the Mt. Rainier National Park. Between Longmire and Paradise, the rain chnaged over to snow, which we walked in all the way below Pan Point. Super cool to walk out of the snow into the full sunshine. EPIC! There were only 3 skin tracks in front of us, and a few ski skinners behind us and besides one military training mission. Other than that, the mountain was quite. I shouldn’t say quiet, because there happened to be a sheet of ice over all of the rocks at Camp Muir that was popping off in the warm sunshine. Trippy sounding, like glass shattering!
Our ski was excellent, however we could have missed 500′ of thick pea soup, if we would have stopped at Moon Rocks or peeled off onto the Paradise Glacier (like we noticed Carl Simpson doing as we were walking by Anvil Rock).
All in all it was a perfect day and even if it weren’t, a “bad day of skiing is still better than a good day at work!”
Think big SNOW and remember, “Live to Ski Another Day!”
Here’s a short video from sometime in Sept of this year, down in Roslyn, WA. I had the thought to roll that way, calling Jerad and Karter in the process, asking if they’d like to join. I was lucky they did, especially Jerad, who loaned me his DH bike (as I forgot my bike on the Pass!?!). This is a zone, I am wanting to learn much better and pass along the info. However, on this trip all we know is we rode to the BIG flat rock that looks over into the Teanaway (offering epic views of the Stuart Range- which was in the clouds on our ride). Cracked a beer along with some jokes, then rode a sweet single track that started 50 yards up the road, falling off towards town. So, if you are heading that way to check out the trails, be sure to stop in prior and see the team at Ride Roslyn for trail info and any needs in regards to parts, gear, or BIKES!
About 3 miles in, you get some AMAZING views of Rampart Lakes/Rachel Lake and endless ski lines. 🙂
Saturday (9/29/2018), I ran one of my favorite trails, that happens to be located in the front yard of the Snow Troopers home base! This one, I like to call the Gold Creek Circumnavigation, starts out one half of a mile before Laura Lake and finishes apx 21+ miles at the PCT North TH, on Snoqualmie Pass. I have always had great company on this big day and this time my company was my new running partner, Allison, who is newly transplanted from Louisiana. A few weeks ago, we ran the Enchantments’ through hike, so I was excited to see how Allison thought the Gold Creek Circumnavigation stacked up for views and challenging terrain. Unfortunately, I messed up my Gaia tracking, so I am bummed to have not captured the stats. However, I want to say it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 21 miles+ and apx 6K of vert. Either way, it’s a big day for this Snow Trooper and Allison had made the comment that it was harder than the Enchantment through run. We caught some nice Fall colors, along with views of the following lakes; Laura, Lillian, Keechulus, Rampart (5 lakes), Rachel, Lila (2 lakes), Alta tarn, Kachess, Parks (2 lakes), Joe, Lehma, Alaska, Ed, Ridge and Gravel. Great run that gives you a beautiful lake to view on an average of 1 per mile. Winter’s coming and the trail running shoes are about to get stashed ’til June… We hope! 🙂
The music backing this video was sent to us the other day from our friends “Larry and His Flask”, we are super stoked as the tune works perfectly with our Fall run. Please visit this site to purchase the brand spanking new album and be sure to check them out on their upcoming tour,“This Remedy”! Today(10/12/13) is the album’s release date, so get your download ,“HERE”.
Below is a trip around Gold Creek, in less than 5 minutes… Enjoy, and think SNOW!
This past Wednesday (9/19/18), Jeff Rich rallied our “Run Club” 😉 for a sunset run up Bandera. So, at 5:30 or so we all (Lisa, Jen, Jeff and myself) took off from the Bandera Mountain TH and ran our way to a beer and dance party break. Perfect, evening run that gave us apx 3K of vert and 6.75 miles of pretty decent views.
Mountain goats… Everywhere, throughout the high zone.
Sunday morning (9/8/18), I was stoked to get a breakfast call from Jeff Rich, who happened to be on Snoqualmie Pass. Jeff, Jen and myself, met up at the Pancake House (which turned out to be a bad idea, for me… Yikes!), and talked about a little exercise in the rain. Gave another friend, Lisa, a call and we all agreed on a run to Olallie Meadows. Per the “Green Trails” map Windy Pass (which is about a half mile past Olallie Meadows) is just under 6 miles and we parked on SR906, out in front of DRU BRU (our final destination as that is a rule of our new “Run Club”- finishing at a pub or brewery). Parking in front of Dru Bru (on SR906) added an additional 1.5 on the RT. Had a blast running in the rain with new “Run Club” (that I’m not supposed to talk about as it is the first rule of “Run Club” 😉 ). Live to Ski Another Day!
 
