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rossb Member
Joined: 23 Sep 2002 Posts: 1679 | TRs | Pics
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rossb
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Sun Dec 11, 2016 2:30 pm
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Anyone been up the (lower part) of the Mountain Loop lately? Have they closed the road, and if so, how much snow is there? I was thinking of skiing up Deer Creek.
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jpgolf14 Member
Joined: 03 May 2014 Posts: 20 | TRs | Pics
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jpgolf14
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Mon Dec 12, 2016 11:34 am
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Yesterday at lunch time there was about 3" of snow on the road at Lake 22 and snowing heavily. The parking lot had about 6". We could not get to the Heather Lake trailhead with 2wd low clearance cars.
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mtnman4ever Member
Joined: 04 Apr 2013 Posts: 123 | TRs | Pics Location: Tacoma |
Ive heard of Facebook they have closed all three gates of the mtn loop highway
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Frango Member
Joined: 21 Nov 2012 Posts: 183 | TRs | Pics
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Frango
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Tue Dec 13, 2016 8:58 pm
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rossb Member
Joined: 23 Sep 2002 Posts: 1679 | TRs | Pics
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rossb
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Tue Dec 13, 2016 10:38 pm
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Yeah -- sorry I didn't reply earlier. I skied it yesterday and the gates were closed (Deer Creek and the highway) and I was able to ski from the car up the Deer Creek Road. The snow was a little sparse early on, but I never hit bottom. Blow downs were minimal, and I cleared the branches out of they way. The creek crossing could use a little more snow. I managed to get across it without taking off my skis, but it probably would have been easier to just take them off. One really weird section appeared pretty close to the end of the road (about a half mile before the trail to the lake). A creek ran through the middle of the road and created what was essentially a five foot snow crevasse. It threw me off on the way up, and I got knocked off to the side. It was weird suddenly hitting bottom (with a pole) after being in very deep snow much of the way. Anyway, I mention it in case someone is up there and wonders why the tracks suddenly veer this way and that (I was trying to avoid that gap and probably didn't take the best route). Something to be aware of, especially if you are on snow shoes (you could get wedged in there quite easily).
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Burg Member
Joined: 13 Feb 2014 Posts: 47 | TRs | Pics Location: PNW |
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Burg
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Fri Jan 13, 2017 3:35 pm
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Reviving this thread...Has anyone been up MLH in the past week or so? Curious where the road is closed. Snow conditions etc.
Do they open the gates if they have melt off or just leave them closed all winter once shut?
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Frango Member
Joined: 21 Nov 2012 Posts: 183 | TRs | Pics
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Frango
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Fri Jan 13, 2017 8:49 pm
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Road is closed at Deer Creek. It will stay that way until late spring - usually early May.
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rossb Member
Joined: 23 Sep 2002 Posts: 1679 | TRs | Pics
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rossb
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Sat Jan 14, 2017 8:57 am
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I haven't been up there in a while, but I would guess there is a fair amount of snow there as well.
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iron Member
Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6391 | TRs | Pics Location: southeast kootenays |
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iron
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Sat Mar 10, 2018 9:37 pm
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is parking at the gate okay? what's the road walk like? impassable creeks on the way? blowdowns expected?
thanks
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rossb Member
Joined: 23 Sep 2002 Posts: 1679 | TRs | Pics
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rossb
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Sun Mar 11, 2018 9:59 am
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Parking is easy at Deer Creek. Folks just park along the side of the road (close to where it is closed). Most people head up the main road itself (where snowmobiles are allowed). I did that earlier this year and it was very pretty to see Big Four and plenty of other areas (poking around the parking lot is fun). In years past I've explored up the road quite a bit farther (and up side roads).
I also went up Deer Creek earlier this year. A few branches were hanging low, so a little saw would have been nice (I forgot mine) but really not much of a nuisance. I skied up to the creek where things were much rougher than usual. I'm not sure if there is a washout there, or what exactly, but the terrain was challenging and a bit dicey. I feel confident I would have made it over, but there were substantial drops in places (ten feet or so with exposed dirt) and I didn't want to push it, since I was alone. It isn't impassable by any means, but I'm sure I'm not the first to turn around there.
Of course conditions change all the time. I was able to ski from the car, but the bottom section is pretty low elevation and might have dry patches now. Fine for snowshoes, not as nice for skis.
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