Forum Index > Trip Reports > Fall runoff at Big Four 10-23-07
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Scrooge
Famous Grouse



Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 6966 | TRs | Pics
Location: wishful thinking
Scrooge
Famous Grouse
PostThu Oct 25, 2007 8:37 am 
Between the rain during the last month and the snow more recently, there's a lot of water in the Stillaguamish. Concerned that the "bridge" might be unusable, or even washed away entirely, I took my raft along. Special report here
1. Big Four 10-23-07 ....... All that fresh snow on a warm Indian Summer day made for incredible runoff.
1. Big Four 10-23-07 ....... All that fresh snow on a warm Indian Summer day made for incredible runoff.
2.Feet       ::)         Rafting across the Stillaguamish
2.Feet smile.gif Rafting across the Stillaguamish
Sometime after crossing the Stilly, I managed to mess up my camera settings without realizing it. As a result, all the rest of my pics for the day look like they were taken at twilight with a blue filter. mad.gif Grrrr. As I approached the base of Big Four, I was surprised to find water pouring down the face of the cliff, the most I've ever seen at any season, I believe. The combination of rain, fresh snow, and an unusually warm fall day created some amazing waterfalls.
3.Big Four waterfall
3.Big Four waterfall
4.Water wall pan
4.Water wall pan
Since the main purpose in making this trip was to photograph the avalanche cone and check out the development of the Ice Cave, I made the mistake of going there first.
5.B4 avalanche cone 10-23-07
5.B4 avalanche cone 10-23-07
6.Ice Cave stream
6.Ice Cave stream
7.Ice Cave view B&W
7.Ice Cave view B&W
8.Ice Cave view2
8.Ice Cave view2
The result was that I lost my nerve and didn't make it to the back of the cave. frown.gif Partly that's due to the fact that I usually save exploring the cave for last, when I'm psychologically geared up for it by several hours of potting around on the ice, poking into moats, and so forth. Partly, today, it was due to the fact that I heard a huge collapse just as I was approaching the caves. It sounded like a roll of thunder instead of just an ice fall, enough so that I stopped and looked up to see if I could see the avalanche cone caving in. eek.gif Nope. In fact, I only heard one other collapse the whole day, and I encountered no breakdown at all inside the cave. Nevertheless, the damage was done. I made it to within about 50 yards of the back wall of the cave, but chickened out. In part I was intimidated by the roar of the falls, which I could see clearly coming down the cliff. ....... Unfortunately, breakdown at the top of the avalanche cone blocked too much of the light for me to be able to get a photograph. irked.gif Oh well. Poking around down where the snow caves had been proved to be interesting enough so that I didn't wind up feeling like the day was wasted.
9.Snow cave entrances 07-25-07
9.Snow cave entrances 07-25-07
10.Snow caveD 10-23-07
10.Snow caveD 10-23-07
11.Snow caveD pan
11.Snow caveD pan
12.Water wall matrix
12.Water wall matrix
Unlike the Ice Caves, the ephemeral snow caves have proved quite unstable. I had a good time poking around the piles of ice, left from what had been cave ceilings, and spent a lot of time trying to get pics of the waterfalls coming down the cliff.
15.1.Snow caveD waterfall
15.1.Snow caveD waterfall
15.2.Base of  lower SC falls
15.2.Base of lower SC falls
15.3.Top of  lower SC falls
15.3.Top of lower SC falls
13.Water wall detail
13.Water wall detail
14.Water wall detail2
14.Water wall detail2
It seems like I spend an inordinate amount of my time trying to capture the feel of moving water in still pictures. Once in awhile I succeed; mostly I don't. Those last two pics are a prime example. That whole wall is covered with a moving sheet of water. In real life, it's fascinating; in the pics, it just looks wet. frown.gif Sigh

Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you....... Go and find it. Go!
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Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker



Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 23956 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cle Elum
Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
PostThu Oct 25, 2007 11:59 am 
The Scroogester sure likes that area... Nice pics Mr.. up.gif

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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peltoms
Member
Member


Joined: 13 Jul 2006
Posts: 1760 | TRs | Pics
Location: Worcester MA
peltoms
Member
PostThu Oct 25, 2007 12:19 pm 
You did capture the feel of the moving water at SC falls. The raft picture suggests an easy crossing. Where is the snow caveD when you are looking a the picture of the entire cone in picture 5?

North Cascade Glacier Climate Project: http://www.nichols.edu/departments/glacier/
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Scrooge
Famous Grouse



Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 6966 | TRs | Pics
Location: wishful thinking
Scrooge
Famous Grouse
PostThu Oct 25, 2007 2:20 pm 
The raft crossing was easy. There's a nice stretch of slack water just below where the bridge was. On the relationship of the avalanche cone, caves and waterfalls: I don't have one picture that shows it all, but this map may make it clearer, anyway.
B4 Glacier map EDTD
B4 Glacier map EDTD
The lefthand section of the map is what shows in Pic 5, the "permanent" avalanche cone that holds the Ice Cave. The righthand section is what shows in Pic 4, all the rest of the Big Four cliff, including a series of waterfalls and, at the base and in season, several snow caves of varying size.
5.B4 avalanche cone 10-23-07
5.B4 avalanche cone 10-23-07
4.Water wall pan
4.Water wall pan
I believe I observed six separate runoff channels during the course of the year, but only three of them produce significant caves. The "main snow cave" takes the runoff from both the "water wall" and the "snow cave falls".
Ice Cave entrance 10-23-07
Ice Cave entrance 10-23-07
Main snow cave 08-10-07
Main snow cave 08-10-07
Snow bridge and falls 07-25-07
Snow bridge and falls 07-25-07
I don't have a really good pic of the entrance to the main snow cave, but here's one of the inside. winksmile.gif
Snow cave and falls 07-25-07
Snow cave and falls 07-25-07

Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you....... Go and find it. Go!
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goats gone wild
Mr. Goat



Joined: 19 Aug 2007
Posts: 2524 | TRs | Pics
Location: Vampireville
goats gone wild
Mr. Goat
PostThu Oct 25, 2007 2:32 pm 
Wow, those are some amazing pictures of a place I've never seen before. The scale of the caves is really impressive with the people included in the pictures. Quite adventuresome of you to raft, hike and spelunk all in a single day! Glad you had a great day. Thanks for sharing your pictures.

.....leaving me wanting to return over and over in what ever capacity that may be, even if one day my knees are too old and I can only see the mountains from my porch. Jason Hummel
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Sabahsboy
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Member


Joined: 18 Jul 2006
Posts: 2484 | TRs | Pics
Location: SW Sno County
Sabahsboy
Member
PostFri Oct 26, 2007 7:14 pm 
Big 4 Grand Staging
Great photos of falls and Ice Caves. Scary...those things do fall down sometimes. Thank four for sharing...I like vicarious adventure!

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