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rossb
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rossb
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PostTue Dec 15, 2020 4:52 pm 
If you go straight on the Foss River road (and don't go up towards Tonga Ridge) it eventually becomes an area where vehicles are prohibited. A lot of what happens there is seasonal though. Sometimes everyone parks at the trestle, sometimes people park up the road. If I was on snowshoes, I would still prefer it to some of the choices the Seattle Times made.

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zephyr
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zephyr
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PostTue Dec 15, 2020 6:10 pm 
rossb wrote:
If you go straight on the Foss River road (and don't go up towards Tonga Ridge) it eventually becomes an area where vehicles are prohibited.
So do they plow up that road? I do see on Google Maps a Winter Sports area marked on the map. Do you know if that particular road requires a Sno-Park Pass? Otherwise, that might be a good snowshoeing excursion. I see another Winter Sports designation on the Miller River Road. Now I have snowshoed up that road one spring. That's when we missed the turn for Lennox Mountain. haha It was a great short snowshoe hike in itself until we checked our map more closely. ~z

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rossb
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PostTue Dec 15, 2020 6:26 pm 
They plow the Foss River road either to the trestle, or to the fork (that goes left towards Tonga Ridge). The situation varies quite a bit as a result. Sometimes there is a ton of snow, and everyone parks where they've plowed. Other times, folks drive farther, figuring they can take their vehicle farther. This can happen at the trestle, or at the fork. Regardless, once you get to the point where the main road crosses the Foss River (under the E in this map: https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=47.65294,-121.2876&z=15&b=t) you are free of vehicles (assuming they have closed the gate). You can also walk up the trail towards Necklace Valley (the trail is woodsy, but almost immediately wild). So yeah, it is messy, and any number of things can happen. My point is, even if you park at the trestle, and even if you walk all the way to the gate before you get a reprieve from vehicles, it is still going to be a more interesting trip than walking up Amabalis. The bridge over the Foss is very pretty, and you can see plenty of icicles along the way. Once you get past the bridge, the road starts climbing, and you get to see views of Hinman and Daniel fairly soon (sooner than you would get similar views at Amabalis). I would ski it a lot more often, except for the fact that it is often a mix of snow and dirt (fine for snowshoes, not great for skis). Oh, and you don't need a snopark permit. (Here is a map of motorized and non-motorized snoparks).

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zephyr
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zephyr
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PostTue Dec 15, 2020 6:45 pm 
rossb wrote:
They plow the Foss River road either to the trestle, or to the fork (that goes left towards Tonga Ridge). The situation varies quite a bit as a result. Sometimes there is a ton of snow, and everyone parks where they've plowed. ... Oh, and you don't need a snopark permit. (Here is a map of motorized and non-motorized snoparks).
Thanks for all the information. So thorough and useful. I really appreciate it. I have all my other permits, but not the Sno-Park. They are pricey and I'm on a budget. So I generally avoid those places. But I totally understand the need for them to help with the plowing, etc. ~z

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Sky Hiker
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PostTue Dec 15, 2020 7:05 pm 
The county road ends at the other side of the trestle and they are pretty good at plowing it after a snow fall. Usually the 4x4's go over the berm and try to go as far as they can. Have pulled a few stuck vehicles out up there. They have been working on the radio towers on Maloney so they have been driving past the gate when they can and are probably done soon. You won't get much for views up there.

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Randito
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PostTue Dec 15, 2020 7:08 pm 
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zephyr
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zephyr
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PostTue Dec 15, 2020 10:37 pm 
Randito wrote:
I'm mostly sad that the article lists Source Lake and Snow Lake as destinations.
Exactly. It's irresponsible to send people there--especially newbies. Too bad a more experienced person didn't fact check the listed trips. ~z

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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostTue Dec 15, 2020 11:15 pm 
I still remember in the late 70s when a buddy and I did the traverse from Das Tooth to Chair and a father and his 😢 two daughters were still intoumbed at Source lake, haunts me to this day.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Randito
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PostTue Dec 15, 2020 11:49 pm 
My earliest memory of an avalanche incident at Source Lake in 1974 when two young sisters were killed by a slide from Chair Peak that ran across Source Lake and engulfed them on the edge of the forest. I also recall an incident when someone camped in the forest near Source lake was buried in their tent during the night -- I think it was in the '90s. No one was killed in this incident -- but a currently popular ski route "The Phantom" follows an avalanche path through what was previouly thick forest -- I recall that five feet of snow fell in one storm and then it warmed up and rained heavily I have skied on the slopes in question -- studying the weather and snow pack on an ongoing basis throughout each winter, so I can make informed decisions about how much risk I'm undertaking. I have taken a very small ride in a very small avalanche (a sluff really), got very lucky and was deeply impressed by the power of snow flowing down a mountain side -- that was in 1976 -- I've done a lot more study of snow science since then.

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Sky Hiker
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PostWed Dec 16, 2020 7:03 am 
Same thing happened near the Lake Serene TH when a avalanche killed a hiker camped in his tent several yrs back

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rossb
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rossb
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PostThu Dec 17, 2020 3:58 pm 
Sky Hiker wrote:
You won't get much for views up there.
At the base of the tower, no. The forest has grown up around it. But there are views of Hinman/Daniel on the way back,
as well as glimpses of other mountains here and there.
Sky Hiker wrote:
They have been working on the radio towers on Maloney
Yeah, I have pictures of that too smile.gif

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Joseph
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Joseph
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PostSat Dec 19, 2020 11:13 am 
whitebark wrote:
Just great ... more tromping, stomping snowshoers and booters messing up the groomed ski trail leading up to Amabilis.
yep. More selfy taking millennials and their fur babies. I think social media is more the culprit. I recall an intern at my office - from Indiana - that was all excited and telling me about this hike she's going on memorial day weekend. She wasn't an experienced hiker or climber either. The hike? Enchantments via Aasgard pass. I convinced her to do a different hike and maybe try Enchantments later in the season at least when the snow up Aasgard had melted.

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Joseph
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Joseph
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PostSat Dec 19, 2020 11:28 am 
Foist wrote:
I wrote to the author on Saturday. No response.
He's from back east, I think. Clueless about what he's writing about here. I have other words I could use, but I will refrain from doing so.

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Cyclopath
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PostSat Dec 19, 2020 12:15 pm 
You kids get off my lawn!

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Downhill
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PostSat Dec 19, 2020 1:43 pm 
I can't imagine sending inexperienced winter hikers/snowshoers to Source and Snow Lakes. Ridiculously irresponsible.

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