[iron]

a month or so ago, hotpantz was officially diagnosed with hip dysplasia - meaning that in her lifetime, she will see multiple hip replacements given that she's only 32 now. for over a year, she's been fighting through the pains associated with this condition to try and remain active and enjoy the mountains. with such a fine forecast for the weekend, and hotpantz with a pair of demo skis from black diamond in hand, we had to get out on an overnighter. an overnighter with some good skiing potential. we both knew it had to be hidden lake peak - a spot we had eyed for a ski trip after only our second us-only hike together nearly 3 years ago. 20 miles, 7500'. first hike since our honeymoon for her. sure, why not? kind of amazing to see this type of strength and determination in someone. we left seattle at a post-alpine start time of 8:00a. we're getting old and needed some beauty sleep. well, 8:00a turned to 8:50a after i realized i left one critical piece of gear - the camera. by the time we reached the end of the plowed cascade river road (MP7), it was 10:30a. what time is sunset?

several vehicles had attempted to go farther on the road as evident by the tire marks. seeing a jacked up, 4wd truck with tire chains parked at the turnout at MP7 told me this was as far as our low clearance camry was going. we geared up quickly and were off and skinning away. did i mention i suck at skiing? yeah... the cascade river road held a good amount of snow for the miles between MP7 and MP10 --- enough to skin without touching pavement, though thin enough i questioned whether we'd be walking on the way out. a snowmobile or two laid some tracks down the middle and appeared to tow a skier or two behind. ah, convenience. we veered off to the hidden lake peak road, made 3 switchbacks, cut the 4th, crossed sibley creek, then the east fork sibley creek, and did 3 more switchbacks before taking the WNW ridge towards the true summit 7088. the snowmobile and ski tracks we'd been following continued on to the summer trailhead.

i was a bit worried the steep ridge would be difficult on skis, recalling a few times up it with firm, crusty snow. the warm temps and not yet consolidated snow made it a piece of cake. i'd never set a skin track before, so the newness was enjoyable, at least until we hit ~EL4800. that's when the glop started. full ski length, 4" thick kind of glop that caused each step to sap your energy. and for hotpantz, well, that added weight sent her hips into immense pain resulting in tears. damn. we took a break to boil some water (and inadvertently a cloth in the pot), dried off the skins, and worked more towards a northerly aspect, hoping for snow that wasn't as gloppy. something worked right, though not sure which. definitely need to pick up some glopstopper for future trips. after 800' of horrendously slow, tiring, and painful skinning, we broke into the open slopes with ever improving snow and views. by this time, it was 5:30p and we had less than 2hrs of daylight to gain 1400' and figure out our final ascent route to the summit.

the skies were beautiful. the snow was cooperating. at this point, we didn't even mind if we had to use the tent. it was just nice. but, as the lookout peak became closer and closer, we both rallied to move faster.

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we reached the saddle above hidden lake around 7pm. light was fading. we had ruled out loo gap (the notch W of the lookout that takes you pretty close to the summer bathroom) because of its aspect and the time of day. from the saddle, we left the skis and booted up the N ridge through a challenging, though stable, crust that was sometimes boot deep and sometimes thigh deep. we had two options: find a scramble route up the exposed N ridge or make a steep S traverse to gain the SE ridge.

we teased out option 1, but i found rime and thin ice that didn't inspire much confidence, especially without our crampons donned. option 2 it was. at the point where the ridge becomes a wall is the point we dropped in. no cornice here, though the rest of the ridge between lookout and true summits had a decent sized cornice that made us give a wide berth.

during the planning phases, i'd given thought to bringing a 70m rope for this traverse in the event of a catastropic event like an avalanche. the belayer could anchor from the ridge and something bomber. but, we decided that if snow was that questionable, we'd abandon the lookout option and camp elsewhere. fortunately, this NE aspect hadn't seen sunlight in 7hrs and with the temps still <32*, it firmed up nicely. staying about 10ft underneath exposed rocks, we made a level traverse. snow ranged from styrofoam to a little sugar on top of a crust. full boot purchase after a few kicks. it felt like a lot of work and seemed as though the far ridge wasn't getting closer. fading light made the terrain above, below, and to my sides become featureless. it felt like 40-45* slopes for most of the traverse. at the end, we downclimbed 10ft before finding an okay spot to attain the mildly corniced SE ridge. three steps of 60* snow, and one kneeling step combined with a bomber axe placement got me atop the ridge. i chopped down some of the obstructing snow to allow hotpantz easier travel.

hello lookout! what a welcomed site and feeling that was. the just set. and now, only 100' to go through some punchy snow. the door was blocked by only 3ft of snow, so our shoveling was nice. it was actually a good way to warm up after that cold traverse.

inside the lookout revealed its lovely bed and inviting warmth. some snow was caked on the floor when we stepped in, but we cleared it out.

we changed clothes, lit some candles, melted snow, and waited for dinner to rehydrate. i was beat. it was a lot of glop, and postholing, and weight to get up here. plus, our post-alpine start time didn't help. my heart rate was considerably high for the next two hours. weird. the SE and SW windows were frosty, but snow-free. the NW windows had a 2-3ft thick layer of rime on them. kind of cool to sleep right next to a wall of rime on the other side of some thin glass. oddly, there was less of a draft in there than in the 2006 model year townhouse we live in. the lookout clearly uses mountain-paned glass.

despite the inviting nature of the bed mattress, we still used our sleeping pads as the mattress would've taken quite a bit of energy to heat up. however, by 2am, i found myself unzipping from the sleeping bag. hotpantz didn't share similar sentiments. and somehow, her bag had quite a bit of moisture on the surface, whereas mine was completely dry. not sure what was going on there. morning light dawned, but i am no true photographer. i like sleeping until i'm too warm. so, by the time we shuffled out of the lookout, we'd missed the golden hour. alas, still breathtakingly beatiful. hazy, but cloud free!

we packed and cleaned up, securing the door as best we could. the interior door would not close all the way, so i used some bailing wire to secure the latch to the door. we couldn't even close it frrom the inside, so i'm not sure if it's even possible to close, or if the severe cold weather causes a shift in the building during the winter. next person up there: please put the lag screw through the latch when leaving. 10am now, we have another choice how to get down. first we checked loo gap. looked like a firm, rimed downsloping traverse. so, back to our ascent route. it was clear the sun was affecting the snow even on the mellow ridge, so we ruled that option out. back to loo gap. we went down to the orange post, presumably signifying the location of the loo. traversed level for 15 feet, then downward at a 45* descending traverse. perfect snow. crampons helped, but could've gone without.

at loo gap, it looked way easy. easier than i recall it from may 2009. plunge stepped down half way through really nice powder. then front pointed a level traverse almost all the way back to the saddle where our skis sat.

now the hard part (for me). skiing. ugh. i'd dreaded this moment, and apparently for good reason. a good skier would've had no problems this day, but for me, the breakable crust nearly destroyed whatever minimal ability i had to link turns. i'm not sure if my number of linked turns exceeded my falls --- it was probably close. each fall resulted in a jacket full of snow and quite a struggle to get back up with the weight of an overnight pack. exhausting.

we opted to go towards the summer trail and the skin track the snowmobile group had set. they didn't get very high, but high enough for us to connect to their exit route and an easier ski down the FS road. once the forest came into site around EL4400, i knew that was it for my skiing for the day --- both a blessing and a curse. now, 1000ft of deep boot plunge steps in heavy, sticky snow. better that than a torn ACL or the like. at least hotpantz had fun on the downhill ski part

we followed their tracks down and down. at one point, they crossed over an area that looked like a boulder field, but was actually a field with a lot of tree rootballs. i'm glad hotpantz was there because she very literally had to rescue me as i plunged into my shoulders, feet dangling in the air underneath (with another 6ft 'til ground), and my skis on my pack pressing my head and neck into the snow - nearly cutting off air, but not quite (2 more inches). forget tree wells; look out for rootball holes that are 10ft deep!

in a flat basin, the ski tracks inexplicably go up. WTF? okay, can't be for too long, right? nope. probably 200ft vertical and a half hour of horrible plunge stepping. should've put the skins back on. eventually, we made it to the summer trailhead. yay! mostly downhill for awhile. my quads were shot. nothing burns 'em quite like bad skiing form. add 1000+ft of serious plunge stepping to that and phew.

we were surprised to see that even portions of the hidden lake peak road were now snow-free. hmm. i thought it was between 1-3ft deep when we skinned up a day ago. so, we got some rock and branch skiing in too. bonus, i guess. the cascade river road suffered a worse fate (skier's perspective). long stretches were nearly bare, but with just enough snow to make it doable. while we had to boot down some of the HLP road, we didn't on the cascade river road. the deepest snow is between MP7-7.5, but by the time you read this, MP7.5-10 will likely be snow free. soon, you'll be able to mountain bike or drive up the HLP road. i could see it being open to MP10+ by the start of april. like always, the last miles of road walking/skiing are the toughest. we mercifully made it to the car at 5pm, just enough time for hotpantz to get back to seattle on time to meet up with her friend as planned. with almost perfect precision, the rain drops hit the windshield just as we arrived home. for those that have driven with me, you know there's nothing i enjoy more than a sunny day in the mountains followed by rain in seattle.

i'm a lucky guy to have a persistent, strong wife like i do. let's hope those hips hold out for awhile longer

[User-Name]

...sometimes I wish I knew how to ski. What an amazing trip! reminds me a little of Three Fingers. Thanks for the gr8 snaps and TR!

[Nietzsche's Horse]

Another beautiful report--blister carnage possibly excepted. But for human and technical emphasis and detail, it is truly another gem. I, too, hope Hotpantz's hip holds up for as long as possible, even as yours continues to heal. People finding joy with each other, and spreading it to others, ought not to have to deal with such premature pain. Thank you, as always, for sharing.

[Bedivere]

Wow, thanks for sharing that. Several people I know have talked about going up there and I was wondering what the route involved. So sorry to hear about Hotpantz's hips. Being a "dog person" I've heard about it a lot in dogs, didn't realize it was something that affected humans too. Don't beat yourself up about having a hard time in breakable crust. That and deep, wet glop are the two hardest things to ski in. If you were able to make even one turn in breakable crust without falling you're not doing too badly! Excellent storytelling and some sweet pics. Thanks again!

[Go Jo]

Outstanding effort all around.

[silence]

[raising3hikers]

Nice trip and pics I was glad to see that area clear up for you guys on Saturday.

[Snowdog]

Your poor feet! Super human effort though!

[cascadeclimber]

That's a huge effort with those loads and what appear to be not exactly lightweight skis. Your feet are hamburger! Ouch. Great pics.

[twodogdad]

CW is right: nobody (honey badgers excepted) can ski breakable crust but consider the alternative: booting it would be far worse. Skis remain the best tool in such conditions, a utility. I've been thinking of skinning to HLP LO for 2 years now--in order to ski the splendid E bowl all the way down to the lake. Tell me: did you consider going to the knob that's just S from the true HLP summit and then skiing into the bowl in order to get to the LO from the NE rather than the SE? In theory that would eliminate the tough traverse you had to do. Beautiful report: you two are stoics extraordinary: iron man, iron lady. N

[iron]

[Stefan-K]

THAT is a lot of road skinning - - - determination for sure. The pay-off looks glorious! Wish I was there... the blisters on the other hand I'm quite happy to let rest vicariously... happy healing!

[cartman]

Good to see Carrie out again, not good to hear about the dysplasia. Lots of great shots, esp. on the first day. Some calendar material in there, really like the variety of shadows on that sunset pic.

[Sadie's Driver]

Yowser! those are some UG-LEE feet! Gorgeous trip - can't believe you were able to scramble to the Lookout. [BTW Snowshoes probably are more forgiving! ]

[Backpacker Joe]

Wonderful trip. Fantastic pics and effort. Im sorry to hear about HP's situation. Good luck with that.