First Rip of the Season

Seasons change, and with each change of season comes drastically different weather patterns and  thus sporting efforts, especially here in the PNW. 

Collin on the Triple Couliours in May 2017

Spring is prime for great alpine ice climbs and long ski traverses. The mountains start to shed their winter coats, exposing ice hidden by the massive amounts of snow, creating fun couliour climbs and opening up some rock climbing. Skiing is great because the weather is generally better with longer daylight hours than in the dark months of winter, and glaciers are still fairly filled out.

Here in the good old Pacific Northwest, we are blessed with the coolest alpine terrain in the lower 48, and have a dry but not too hot summer accompanied by long days of fun climbing in the mountains. The rock climbing is also exceptional, and the long days make alpine rock objectives attainable.

Cassandra on the West Face of SEWS in July 2017

The fall is not as awesome. I often make fall trips to drier or colder places in search of dry rock climbing or early season Rockies ice climbing. This does not mean that the PNW is void of adventure, just that it is unpredictable and often washed out.

Me on Even Steven in September 2017 (pc: Corey Tatman)

Winter is typically great for those that shred! If you are in search of consistent and amazing skiing, we have got you covered. Usually, the snow coverage allows for great skiing from late November until May. This can be extended into the summer for those that like to ski way in the back or on volcanoes. Our moderate climate and wet winters mean that mountain snow that is generally stable. Unfortunately, this same weather pattern means that water ice climbing can be extremely fickle.

Tod climbing an ice flow at Exit 38 in December 2016

Occasionally, the seasonal lines blur and the results can be outstanding! This November happened to be a seasonally confusing month. We started out with some massive snow fall in the mountains leading to relatively early skiing, and hopes of early season ice. While the ice did not even come close to forming, we did get in some fun skiing! The latter part of the month brought unseasonably warm weather, with a LOT of rain. Long story short, the temps are dropping again, that rain will surely turn to snow, and our snow pack is off to a decent start.
.
.

November 2nd

Just outside of Bellingham on November 2nd

Snow dumped into the mountains, Tacoma saw flurries and Bellingham received ~ 10cm on the sidewalks, but most importantly, it was COLD. This was the second big dump that the mountains had seen. Two weeks earlier, there were reports coming in of big snow in the alpine zone of the North Cascades. I was on the Coleman glacier earlier in the week teaching a crevasse rescue course, and saw evidence of the recent snowfall, and I also saw the speed at which it sublimated and melted off.

My friend Corey and I made plans to hike up to the Coleman glacier on the 4th to get some early season turns in. I knew there was absolutely no base snow below the glacier, having just been there, but figured we could get enough elevation to shred on the glacier. Knowing the glacier as I did inspired confidence, and I knew where all of the major cracks were, leaving a good ski line in my mind.
.
.

November 4th

We planned an early start, wanting to get to the trailhead at daybreak, allowing time for a long run on the glacier and potentially some shorter laps. We turned off of the Mt. Baker hwy and started heading up Glacier Creek rd. Within a mile, we came to a blockage in the road. It was a single tree, felled and spanning the entire road, wedged on both ends. We had driven in Corey's car, and I had not thought to grab my saw. We got out into the snow and cold to make a feeble attempt at moving the tree. I tried to lever it with another tree, break the top off, and push it out of the way. There was no point, without the saw, any effort was useless. We had just decided to turn back with the idea of heading further east, when another vehicle pulled up directly behind us. We headed toward their vehicle, hoping they had a chainsaw. They did not. What they did have was exceptional optimism, a three inch Swiss army knife, and six hands between them. The Canadians had arrived...

Working that tree with a Swiss Army knife

These were three of the nicest fellows I have ever met. They were heading up to the Coleman to do a bit of early season ice climbing from the Surrey area. I wanted to at least see what we could do with the extra hands, though I did not think the Swiss army knife would get anything done. This was a large tree, 8-10 inches in diameter, but the little saw was amazing! In the hands of a Canadian ice climber, that little pocket knife might as well have been a chainsaw. We took turns sawing, and collectively pushed and pulled the tree out of the road. We loaded back up and started driving down the road again. We had come this far and had the attitude of, "might as well keep going."

The task seemed impossible at first

We spent the next two hours clearing the road of trees and forging a path to the Heliotrope Ridge trail head. It was tough work. In total, there were ten blockages, comprised of anywhere between 1 and 10 trees with diameters from 2-18 inches. For the first hour and a half, we had the Swiss army knife, a small hand saw for about 45 minutes and a folding snow saw (useless) for about an hour. Then the cavalry came, armed with a chainsaw. We had at least fifteen vehicles over the course of the morning and at least 35 people trying to get up the road. Many vehicles had to turn back due to snow on the road or uncommitted adventurers; in the end, three vehicles made it to the trail head.

The chainsaw arrived (pc: Erik Schwab)

Corey and I were the second car to make it!

There was about a foot and a half of cold dry powder at the parking lot. Psych was high to say the least. We were a little concerned about the overcast sky, but were hopeful that the clouds would move on. We skinned up and headed out on the summer trail, making good time as we knew the day was now shorter due to the arduous travel to the trail head.

Corey skinning up the wintery trail.

When we finally left the trees, our hopes were shattered by the worsening visibility. We could not even see the glacier 1000 feet above us. I broke trail, the powder was now three feet deep and it was hard work. We made our way up the ridgeline, loosely following the climbers trail to Hogsback camp and up into the clouds. I arrived at Hogsback and had a decision to make about our objective. The visibility was now obscured, and it did not seem like a great idea to go too high onto the glacier. Looking down hill, I saw that the other groups of skiers were in our track and heading toward us, so we decided to coordinate our efforts with them.

There was one group of four and two groups of two. The group of four decided that they would head to the west, and we went east to a snow slope that I knew would be safe and good skiing from my trip earlier in the week. In discussion with the other group of two, Mike and Erik, they elected to travel with us as they did not know the area and could not easily navigate without prior knowledge. We made our way onto the Coleman, travelling up to about 6800ft, just below a heavily crevassed zone. We transitioned, intending to ski down to about 4400ft, first on the glacial snow and then on the grassy slopes below.

Erik, Mike, and I heading up the Coleman (pc: Corey Tatman)

Mike and Erik following the skin track up the glacier

Corey followed by mike, kick turn city

Erik skiing pow on the grassy slopes

Mike blasting through pow, Erik taking the next photo 

Tasty snacks (pc: Erik Schwab)

Mike, Erik and Corey, all smiles!

The snow was awesome, and the turns were sweet! It was a major endeavor to get those turns, and we earned them in every sense of the word. The day turned out to be super fun, exhausting, and challenging. We met more Canadians on this trip than Americans, and true to form, they were exceptionally well mannered and kind of heart. Upon returning to the trail head, there was even more snow on the ground...hopefully all of this warm wet weather will not have had a negative impact on all of that snow!

PC: Erik Schwab

Stoke is high for the ski season, but I am really psyched on ice. I sure hope the mercury starts falling soon! Until then I will settle for dry tooling =)