Forum Index > Trip Reports > Spinnaker, Martin, Valhalla Mountain (I think) 03/22/09
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Yana
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Yana
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PostTue Mar 24, 2009 11:50 am 
Dicey had some information from a Mountaineer friend of ours that a Mounties snowshoe party would be headed up on Saturday and would snowshoe to Martin Peak and Valhalla Mountain, so dicey, GeoTom, Jack (dog) and I thought we'd take advantage of the beaten path and headed up Nason Creek in the hopes of summiting a few peaks on Sunday. We parked at Yodelin, ran across US2 and took the groomed road past numerous cabins to its end. When we got to the end of the road, we were dismayed to find no snowshoe track whatsoever. This was odd as we had seen boot prints earlier on the groomed road, but they had vanished later on. The going immediately got difficult with a breakable crust and lots of sinkage below. Ugh. However, in less than half a mile of crappy trailbreaking, we crossed to the north side of Nason Creek and promptly found a well-beaten snowshoe trench. confused.gif We happily took this as it ascended up Nason Creek and then SW up a side drainage. We passed a lovely flat area.
Carla and Jack follow a lovely stomped out boot path
Carla and Jack follow a lovely stomped out boot path
Shortly thereafter, we arrived at what appeared to be a wide saddle in a ridge. I should confess at this point that we weren't paying attention to our map, nor had any of us remembered to set our altimeters. Here the tracks split up, all going in generally the same direction but taking different routes. We chose what appeared to be the descent route of a lone snowshoer. This turned out to be a good terrain choice, but was a pain in the neck because we now had to break our own trail, where by "we" I mean mostly dicey and GeoTom (dicey because she went first, and GeoTom because he couldn't "float" on the crust like we could lol.gif ). We followed this track on a rising traverse below some cliffs to a saddle, enjoying the widening views on the way.
The something else
The something else
Lichtenberg and something else
Lichtenberg and something else
Due to said widening views, GeoTom and I slowed even more due to shutter delay. Dicey took pity on us and waited, and we took a break near this saddle and pondered our maps.
Carla and Jack wait up for the losers
Carla and Jack wait up for the losers
What is this?
What is this?
At first we thought we were on the ridge to Valhalla, but the views and terrain just didn't jive with that thought. As we continued up the lovely ridge (still following the Mountie snowshoe trench), I was somewhat convinced that we were on the ridge to Martin Peak, which for some reason much like Valhalla Peak is not the high point on the ridge. The high point on this ridge, GeoTom discovered after some post-trip research, is actually Spinnaker. Anyway, the two are very close together and it is not much of a problem to reach the Martin marked on the map (especially when you don't have to break trail).
Carla, Tom, and Jack on Martin
Carla, Tom, and Jack on Martin
Playful Jack on Martin
Playful Jack on Martin
At this point, we still had surprisingly good views and could see Valhalla and its ridge across a drainage. However, as we retraced our route back to the saddle, clouds and snow came in, and visibility became less than ideal. Back at the saddle, there were some more snowshoe tracks following the ridge. This didn't seem like a viable way to get to Valhalla, though it was heading in the right direction, so we decided to try it and see where it went anyway as no one wanted to break trail. Unfortunately, we found that this was the original ascent route up to the saddle for part of the mountie party. We also found a tree well. Okay, GeoTom found it all by himself.
Tom tried to take a shortcut. He failed.
Tom tried to take a shortcut. He failed.
At this point, it was obvious that we had to descend north off the ridge in order to traverse below some cliffs. GeoTom and I were not particularly enthused by this prospect given the weather conditions and the steepness of the terrain, but it was only 1:00 so we weren't allowed to go back to the car just yet. After some hemming and hawing, dicey chose a reasonable line and started down, muttering about how much she hated descending in snowshoes. She wouldn't discover this until a bit later in the trip, but apparently it was a hateful activity because the metal crampon part of both of her MSR snowshoes was now missing both front rivets, causing the snowshoes to bend in interesting and unintended ways. rant.gif Anyway, she was about to take off her snowshoes and proceed that way when GeoTom accidentally volunteered himself to go first and break trail. lol.gif Thanks, GeoTom!
The glorious weather that accompanied us to Valhalla
The glorious weather that accompanied us to Valhalla
Up until this point, we had enjoyed an easy trip on an already broken trail, but from here on out, we had to make our own path. The snow was yucky and ranged from windblown powder to frozen solid. Given our previous route shenanigans (i.e., not knowing where we were), I was afraid of our routefinding, but we actually managed to take a very efficient line to the summit of Valhalla. We had to lose some elevation, then it was mostly a traverse to a saddle below the summit. The last 400' of gain to the summit were brutal and exhausting. We arrived to fog, snow, and wind at 3:30.
Jack attempts to find a windbreak
Jack attempts to find a windbreak
Puppy curl
Puppy curl
Carla and a very confused dog
Carla and a very confused dog
After some snacks and warm beverages, we fled back whence we came, hoping to make it back to the car before dark. On the way back to the ridge, some of our more wind exposed steps had already been filled with snow, necessitating breaking trail again. rant.gif I thought the hard part was over once we made it back up the steep part to the ridge, but I was wrong, oh so very wrong. The descent from there was absolutely terrible and painstakingly slow due to the evil breakable crust. You couldn't really let gravity take you at its pace as that would result in tripping over the crust and falling on your face. Even though this portion was only about 600' vertical, it seemed to go on forever. Finally, we made it back to the trench. Yay, freedom! After a short while on this, dicey and I decided to take off our snowshoes, which worked out remarkably well and with minimal postholing. The evening light lit up the clouds and nearby peaks. Now all that remained was the slog back down Nason Creek and out. Because apparently we weren't quite done being adventurous yet, we decided to take the snowshoe trench all the way back. This lead us to a different, more circuitous road that added a little extra mileage and elevation gain to our trip. mad.gif Oh well. Made it back to the car without headlamps at 7:30. Here's a map of what I think we did.

PLAY SAFE! SKI ONLY IN CLOCKWISE DIRECTION! LET'S ALL HAVE FUN TOGETHER!
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GeoTom
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PostTue Mar 24, 2009 12:11 pm 
I had a fun time on my last snowshoe trip ever with dicey and Yana. hockeygrin.gif Too bad we we didn't have enough time to continue west from Valhalla to Tall-Halla. Turns out my headlamp was safely in my car at the Park & Ride so it's probably a good thing we didn't even try. Jasper stayed home as he had a busy day on Saturday on West Granite. I should have brought him though as Dani took him to the dog park, and he took quite a liking to a real fluffy poodle with what Dani described as a mop of hair on her head. I never knew he liked those high maintenance girls. shakehead.gif Here are some of my photos and a short video clip:
Yodelin Road activity
Yodelin Road activity
Lichtenberg
Lichtenberg
That yellow orb is at it again
That yellow orb is at it again
Why aren't they sinking?
Why aren't they sinking?
Low cloud
Low cloud
Steep
Steep
A look east
A look east
On Martin
On Martin
Can you hear me now?
Can you hear me now?
We're, um, here?
We're, um, here?
Jack Ball
Jack Ball
Soapy tries to break some trail
Soapy tries to break some trail

Knows literally nothing
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Tazz
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PostTue Mar 24, 2009 12:37 pm 
Quote:
but it was only 1:00 so we weren't allowed to go back to the car just yet
Been there! lol.gif she will not go home till after dark! lol.gif good stuff folks!

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Redwic
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Redwic
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PostTue Mar 24, 2009 12:56 pm 
Nice TR and photos!!! agree.gif

60 pounds lighter but not 60 points brighter.
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Schmidt Altitude
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PostTue Mar 24, 2009 1:42 pm 
Quote:
This turned out to be a good terrain choice, but was a pain in the neck because we now had to break our own trail, where by "we" I mean mostly dicey and GeoTom (dicey because she went first, and GeoTom because he couldn't "float" on the crust like we could
Another example of why it is pointless to let the girls break trail. Sorry we bailed but a 4:30 wake up call was just too much.

"Forest 101: These big wood stick things are called trees. The big rocks are called mountains, and the little rocks are their babies." Elliott from Open Season
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yukon222
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PostTue Mar 24, 2009 1:57 pm 
Fun TR! And Jack is still growing fast!! Breaking trail? Isn't there some Rule of the Wilderness that if you are going to "break trail", you actually have to depress the snow down enough so the subsequent travelers don't sink down any further? hockeygrin.gif Sending the lighter people first is fine if they sink down an equivalent amount, say 6" for the leader and 6" for the bigger snowshoer using the same footprints. But if the leader is going down 0" and I'm dropping down 12" in their footprints, I'd just as soon break trail so I don't have to watch the lighter snowshoer dance across the top of the snow. lol.gif

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Go Jo
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Go Jo
of the lykkens
PostTue Mar 24, 2009 2:07 pm 
What is this about girls floating? I'm always punching through and I'm a girl. uhh.gif Oh wait, I know why (as the realization sinks in, I slowly put down the cookie and push the package away from myself). Sounds like a fun day if you take out all the treacherous hard parts and just enjoy the chai and views, thanks for the TR!

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wildernessed
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PostTue Mar 24, 2009 2:14 pm 
Strong work ! Did you ever find out the name of the mountain, looking like that it has to be named. Looks Howardish, but I don't know where you guys were.

Living in the Anthropocene
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dicey
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PostTue Mar 24, 2009 3:43 pm 
Yeah, what is the name of that good looking peak? Mmmmm my new favorite thing is following an already broken trail to ..... anywhere. After all, it's not so much about the destination, it's about not having to break trail to it! agree.gif Thanks to GeoTom and Yana for joining me, and putting up with my..... (can't think of the word) Thanks to the Mountaineers for breaking trail, at least part of the way wink.gif biggrin.gif

I'm not always sure I like being older but being less stupid has advantages. http://www.flickr.com/photos/32121172@N00/sets/
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Schmidt Altitude
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PostTue Mar 24, 2009 4:08 pm 
wildernessed wrote:
Strong work ! Did you ever find out the name of the mountain, looking like that it has to be named. Looks Howardish, but I don't know where you guys were.
When I looked up data for the Captain Point Quad on Jeff Howbert's website (Northwest Peakbaggers Asylum) Point 5645 with 845' of prominence, the highest point on the ridge west of Heather Ridge, is called Spinnaker Peak. Its 5627' subpeak (with only 147' of prominence), located SW, is labeled Martin Peak on USGS maps. I added both to the database at Peakbagger.com. ~Alti-Dude

"Forest 101: These big wood stick things are called trees. The big rocks are called mountains, and the little rocks are their babies." Elliott from Open Season
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Yana
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Yana
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PostTue Mar 24, 2009 4:13 pm 
SA - I think wildernessed meant the one I posted a photo of that says "What is this?" GeoTom suggested it might be Mt. David or one of the other peaks in that area, and given the direction we were looking (north) it seems like the right general place for it. I still don't know for sure.
Quote:
Thanks to GeoTom and Yana for joining me, and putting up with my.....(can't think of the word)
I believe the word you are looking for is diceyness. dizzy.gif At least that's the nicest one I can come up with at the moment. naughty.gif

PLAY SAFE! SKI ONLY IN CLOCKWISE DIRECTION! LET'S ALL HAVE FUN TOGETHER!
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ragman and rodman
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PostTue Mar 24, 2009 5:28 pm 
Pretty sure that your "something else" photo is... left to right... Howard, Mastiff, and Rock... right or wrong, that's what I was calling them when we did Jove Peak a couple of weeks ago.

"Teanaway 70" Peaks List... a guide to hiking and scrambling in the Teanaway Area. ----------------
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GeoTom
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PostTue Mar 24, 2009 7:58 pm 
My excuses for not breaking more trail are as follows: 1) I had broken trail by myself the previous day up West Granite. 2) I had left my gaiters at home (yes, I am an idiot at times). 3) I am naturally slower than dicey and Yana due to my stoutness. That's all I can think of right now, but I reserve the right to add more as I think of them. hockeygrin.gif

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wamtngal
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PostTue Mar 24, 2009 8:00 pm 
Excellente! up.gif up.gif Triple whammy fun!

Opinions expressed here are my own.
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gone
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PostTue Mar 24, 2009 9:29 pm 
GeoTom wrote:
3) I am naturally slower than dicey and Yana due to my stoutness.
And the stout shall inherit the earth! Or, stouts unite! Or, something. Strong effort all - thanks for writing it up! up.gif

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