The Snow Troopers » TNT

Mt. Rainier, WA – Another Perfect Day – 8/18/10

TNT — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 07:44:33 +0000

August 18th brought us back up to the Paradise Glacier 5 days after our Friday the 13th “Perfect Day” trip report.

JD Smith and myself left Snoqualmie Pass just before 7AM to start our quest for “Another Perfect Day” on Mt. Rainier. A few hours later we were at the Paradise parking lot w/ the temps just right. Boots and skis on packs and headed for the Golden Gate trail opting to go straight for the snow to shed the skis and boots a lot sooner than the Pebble Creek route the week before. 5 days prior to this trip we squeeze around 3,000′ total on our skis by skiing all the way to the Skyline/Paradise trail junction, but w/ the snow having melted out quite a bit we would only yield around 2,000′ of excellent skiing. Apx 2 miles later it was skins on for a 2,500′ skin up to Anvil Rock.

Still should be able to get the full ski for another couple weeks +or- a few days before it becomes the ever so famous “900′ Paradise Patch” the NW skiers visit to keep Cascade carving alive all year long.

Paradise Glacier, WA – Perfect Day – 8/13/10

TNT — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 06:44:50 +0000

Friday the 13th of August brought us up to Mt. Rainier for a novelty ski on the Paradise Glacier. Got a late start from the Paradise parking lot and made our way to Pebble Creek and had the skins on the snow shortly there after. Crossed over the lower Muir field…

and carried the skis up and over Little Africa giving us our first look at Paradise Glacier. Took a wide birth as soon as we were on the glacier to get a good look over the “Bowling Ball” to confirm a good ski all the way down to the Paradise/Skyline trail junction. Continued up to just below the Anvil took a lunch and was surprised to squeeze 3,000 ft. out of our perfect August corn. Put our tennies on as the Sun was dropping an some goats checked us out from a rock ridge. Pulled the lamps out, started our 2 mile walk back to the car finishing w/ a few meteors shooting across the sky.

The lucky part of our Friday the 13th trip is how we were a few minutes before a 4-5 foot in diameter fir tree smashed across the highway just before Cayuse Pass. With in 15 minutes w/ had 8-10 people there all working together to clear the road of all debris.

Live to Ski Another Day Snow Troopers!
TNT

To see a few more pics check out our facebook page

Hyak, WA – Heli Tower Pad Work – 8/16/10

TNT — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:20:17 +0000

photo by Guy Lawrence

August 16th update of the Summit at Snoqualmie’s newest addition down here in the little village of Hyak, WA. That’s right two chairs are going in this Summer to serve our little 1,000 ft moutain, Summit East, that packs a BIG mountain punch. One chair is on the front side replacing the old Dinosaur chair and the other will be for the back side’s Hidden Valley.

photo by Guy Lawrence

The video below is a 5 minute ride w/ Jim on his Timberline Air Service Inc. heli as he moves mud to the hard to get places on the old Dinosaur run.

Snoqualmie Pass, WA – Rescued Man Returns to Avalanche Site – Summer 2010

TNT — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:35:26 +0000

Wanted to share this update of an original post back on 4/12/10 of a man buried in an avalanche (5+ feet under) here in the Snoqualmie Pass area. The man was able to get his cell phone out of his pocket, call 911 and… Just check the vid and take a look at the link for the original vids too.

Glacier Peak, WA – Remote Volcano Summit/Ski – 7/26-28/10

TNT — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:32:23 +0000

We had hoped to see the Traslin brothers on one of our days up in the North Cascades towards the end of July but the dates never seemed to jive. As we were finishing a 3 day ski trip w/ one BIG day included Mike and Andy Traslin were packing their gear to cross the boarder and head for the remote ski off of Glacier Peak, and show us what a BIG day really looks like.

Below are some words from Mike Traslin in regards to the last Volcano on their Washington hit list:

Having wanting to ski the remote Glacier Peak in the Cascades for a while now,the weather looked promising,so my brother and I checked for a good forecast and hit the road for three days. Our other inspiration was to keep the turns all year spirit alive,with a great late snow season we were confident there would be snow left to ski, even if it was almost August.

18 miles to the summit and about 8200ft gained one way. After skiing from the summit of Glacier peak we decided to hit the obvious run on Disappointment peak on our way back to camp.
On day three we woke up to another beautiful day and decided to ski White mountain, before our long hike back to our car. Did I mention there is lot of hiking,but well worth it just for the amazing views. This was the last but not least volcano I had climbed and skied in Washington.

Ptarmigan Ridge, WA – Get Out… 7/31/10

TNT — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 01:48:06 +0000

July 31, 2010 – Watching the sun come up in the Artist Point parking lot and burn the morning fog layer off giving us epic views of Mt. Baker and Shuksan and getting us pumped for the big day heading out towards Lasiocarpa Ridge for a ski down the backside towards the Sholes Glacier.

Started out w/ the shirt off (wouldn’t last for long) and working up a good sweat in the morning heat as we made our way on the Ptarmigan Ridge trail behind Table mountain. Just below Ptarmigan Ridge we skied into the Valley (Wells Creek) for a direct route up on the Ridge between Coleman Pinnacle and Lasiocarpa Ridge. As we started skinning for the ridge, the rain started and temps dropped. Out came the Winter ARC’TERYX jacket AGAIN to make things pleasant for the rest of the day. Took a quick lunch once we hit the ridge line and did a short ski on the backside (West face) towards Sholes Creek. Once back on the ridge we skied the nice steep face back down through the mini pinnacles and big rock features down towards Wells Creek. A few skins on/skins we were back at the Chain lakes junction were we decided NOT to walk the trail behind Table but to ski down and boot up the last remaining chute just before the parking lot.

We were intending on spending one more night up there but the rain wasn’t looking like it was going anywhere soon. Made it back to Snoqualmie pass w/ the rain still falling… Good choice.

Wanted to mention that we drafted behind a fast walking mountaineer, Marius Ghetie, on the first leg of our trip. Thanks for the pace Marius and THANKS for the great pics! Below are a couple of his pics and more can be seen on our facebook page.

Just beyond Table Mountain 1.5 miles into the trip. Photo by Marius Ghetie 7/31/10

Skied off the far ridge (left center of frame)down the other side towards Sholes Creek then hit the front side through the mini pinnacles and rock features. Photo by Marius Ghetie 7/31/10

Skyline Divide, WA – Eye Candy – 7/24/10

TNT — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:27:54 +0000

July 24, 2010 – On the day the bridge opened for the Skyline TH just out of Glacier, WA thought it could be a nice ridge walk w/ a possible ski. To make this trip more of a workout, train for hanging w/ the Traslin Bros, and most of all get a friend to come w/ I acted as a Sherpa packing boots & skis x 2 pair for a six mile in to finally get a small patch to play on off of Peak 6563′. The skiing was much better at the 6,000 + level w/ the sun cups small enough to open it up for some good Summer Cascade Carving.

This ridge walk is now one of my all time favorites w/ skis or w/out. Just remember if you do it w/out snow bring lots of water for it is a DRY hike. Check out some pics on our facebook page and friend us while you are there too!

Live to Ski Another Day!
TNT

Table Mtn, WA – Steep Late Lines – 7/23&25/10

TNT — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:15:14 +0000

Camping on the Mighty Nooksack River just past Glacier, WA and skiing some of the surrounding zones. Wanting to take it easy on a couple of days enjoying both the river and the snow, we found our selves up at the Mt. Baker ski area for some “skins on” at the parking lot of the US Forest Service visitor center and made our way for Table Mountain.

Coverage was great for late July but the sun cups were quite large on the super steep skiers’ left Blueberry chutes. Still had last weeks sun cups from Chinook in my head that were very soft and could rip down the mountain slicing right through them w/ no problem. First lap skied the shot just to the lookers’ right of the final pitch of the summer Table Mtn. trail and did a hip check on my third turn which took me by total suprise and put my confidence in check for the far skiers’ left chute. the chute had a nice 8′ or so moat 1/3 of the way down which would gobble you up w/ a fall anywhere above that point, so always wanting to “Live to Ski Another Day” I practiced my survival ski skills the entire way down!

It was nice to have the snow so close to the car but it is time to head much higher now. Any one wanting some steep sun cup car serve skiing? If so, Artist Point opens this upcoming weekend 7/31/10 (if not sooner per the ranger at parking lot this past Sat.).

Check out some pics on our facebook page and friend us while you are there too!

Hyak, WA – The Little Beast from “Summit East” – Summer 2010

TNT — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:28:54 +0000

Lots of friends have been asking of the progress up here on our “Home” mountain Summit East – the gem w/ in the crown of jewels of the Summit at Snoqualmie. Well here is a link to our facebook page for some pics taken over the last few weeks up here. The guys are movin’ fast on this project so we can have a lift served season here at Hyak, WA. Don’t know if you remember or not what shut us down for almost two seasons, The Massive Avalanche of January 2009. See the video below taken 15 minutes after Avalanche took out the lift and a locals house w/ him in it watching tv at the time.

The Video below is of some good times on Summit East and what awaits us for the 2010/2011 season!!!
Thanks Dan, Guy, Trevor and the rest of the Summit at Snoqualmie’s kick butt team for making it happen!

Chinook Pass, WA – Ski From Vehicle – 7/16-17/10

TNT — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:22:52 +0000

July 16th and 17th taking it easy on the American River at one of our favorite campsites just 10 minutes down the Eastern slopes from Chinook Pass, WA. This was my first visit to this zone so late in the season and was pleasantly surprised to find our low route around Naches Peak(to the SE side from the Pacific Crest Trail foot bridge over Hwy 410). One reason I like this tour is being able to click in and get a few turns to start the tour moments after shutting the car door. Once around Naches we just did laps off the Ridge on soft sun cups that were great for carving. Finished up w/ an easy out the same way we came in, then the 10 minute drive back to camp and did a repeat the next day. Great weather!