[peter707]

The WA ski season is on it's last legs. The 88F heat wave melted the snow between 3,000'-5,000', so many of the normal ski areas are hikes rather than skis. However, the taller volcanoes are still in for great skiing above 6,000', so off we went from Seattle at 5am! Each year, there's a timeframe for skiing big Washington volcano routes, usually around 1-3 weeks long[1]. Therefore, Chris said this week is one-of-a-kind and we should drop everything and ski all week. We can't ski all week (physical exhaustion, work responsibilities), but we got pretty darn close[10]. Cast of characters: Chris: Sub-elite mountain athlete, strong ultra runner, experienced in basic mountaineering and intermediate ski touring. Advanced Expert downhill skier. Joined for days 1-3. Harrison: Locally competitive athlete. Solid Expert resort skier. Less mountain experience. Lives in NYC, and is on a weeklong ski vacation. Peter: Middle-pack runner, some ultra experience. Experienced in basic mountaineering and basic ski touring. Intermediate downhill skier. Thomas: Highly experienced in long mountain days. Advanced backcountry skier from France w/ dual residency in France. New to Washington and wants to ski all the good lines. Joined for days 1-3. Ian: Professional Mountain Guide, hired for Mt. Baker by Harrison and Peter. Just got back from Denali. [in group for 06/02/2023 only] 05/28/2023: Glacier Basin Trailhead (4,200') to Inter Glacier to Steamboat Prow ( 9,600') Mount Rainier National Park Inter Glacier was recommended to me by williswall and Randito, in the 'WA ski touring ideas' thread. At this time of the year it's snow-covered and great for skiing. The road just opened for the summer, so we started at the Glacier Basin Trailhead at 4200'.

The first step is to hike up the trail to the snow at 6,000'. We attached skis to the backpacks.

Chris hikes up 1600' of dirt prior to the snow.

After the 2 hours of hiking, we did 3 hours of uphill skiing to get to Steamboat Prow (Camp Schurman), the other high-camp on Mt. Rainier.

Steamboat Prow, looking at Emmons Glacier on Mt. Rainier.

Camp Schurman from the Prow

Group Photo 1

Group Photo 2

The ski down was a lot faster - just 25 minutes of downhill skiing to undo 3 hours of uphill! The snow conditions were perfect, soft snow and very uniform conditions.

Chris zooms down Inter Glacier

Harrison ski's down Inter Glacier and sprays me (this is why you don't wear shorts skiing!)

Thomas ski's down Inter Glacier

Peter ski's down Inter Glacier

Skiing down Glacier Basin Trail

After finishing Inter Glacier, I washed my clothes and myself in the cold creek, dried off in the sun, and the group headed off to Mt. Adams![2] 05/29/2023: Mt. Adams, WA (12,276 feet, parking @ 5000ft) Mt. Adams is the second highest mountain in WA, and is in the southeast of the state. It's the perfect mix of non-technical walk-up and big mountain. The south climb of Mt. Adams is marked as "1.5 / 5 technical, 5 / 5 strenuous", so it's a great mountain to practice mountain skills on. We camped at Morrison Campground near the base, ready for an 'Alpine' (early) start. Thomas (who is a French backcountry skier) is continually amused at the number of different usages for the word 'Alpine' in English.[3] Well, the group woke up late and we went for more of a `Cascadian` start, finally hitting the trail at 4:56am.

Mt. Adams looms large in the morning

Unlike a national park, it doesn't really get any budget so the road isn't plowed or maintained. The trailhead is at 5500ft, but the road was blocked by a 12ft snowdrift. So we parked and started walking up the mountain. Harrison, Thomas, and Chris put on skis, and I put on my instep-crampons to my running shoes around 6400'ft and continued up the mountain. I decided to boot Adams since the snow was firm and my feet needed a break from ski boots. My friends (and other hikers) gently made fun of the fact I brought my road-running shoes instead of trail-running shoes.

Odd footwear choice but worked very well.

Mt. Adams is considered 1.5 / 5 technical because of the benign terrain - even out-of-control falls down the mountain can have good results due to the low-angle snowfields without complex terrain.[3.5] Harrison promptly tested our terrain choice by swan-diving down the first non-steep (15 degree?) icy slope of the mountain, with all of his mountain gear still in his backpack. After slowly (3mph) sliding face down face first down the trail for 30 seconds with no gloves, axe, and short sleeves, Harrison erased 5 minutes of progress and accumulated a good bit of road rash on his hands, arms, and stomach. After this incident Harrison was 3mm thinner but at least 3mm smarter. Harrison is fast uphill and good at downhill skiing, but uphill ski involves some additional challenges (heels are not connected). Thomas patched him up and after 10 minutes he was ready to go. Experience, equipment, terrain choice[4], and snow conditions each matter for safety. After 4 hours or so, Thomas and I got to `lunch counter`, the camping spot for two-day summits of Mt. Adams. After reapplying sunscreen, Thomas and I continued up the mountain. Chris and Harrison were about 30 minutes ahead by now, but we were in radio contact. After 6 hours or so, Thomas and I got to `pikers peak` at about 11.6k ft above sea level. Harrison and Chris waited for about an hour for us, then started going to the summit. Harrison and Chris wanted to ski the snow while it was good, so once they summited they dropped into the southwest chutes together. After 7.5 hours both Thomas and I summited Mt. Adams, and we followed down southwest chutes. The southwest chutes (~35 degrees, uniform snow) made for a superb 3000' ski run.

Chris skiing down SW Chutes

After skiing down, it was necessary to traverse back to the main south route to make it to the car, since ascending the south and descending the south-west put us a few miles off to the side. However, there was a ridgeline blocking our way, and we had to go uphill another 500' upwards to get back on track. I was already exhausted from the climb up (+7200'?!?), and had eaten all of my food and water long ago, so this surprise 500' climb was not a welcome sight. For the first time, I `bonked`[5], running completely out of energy. Skiing up the hill didn't work anymore. I took an involuntary 10 minute break, and resolved to never go outside again, not even to a beach. I was passed by a flock of lycra-clad skimo athletes. Perhaps some video games would make a great hobby instead? It took me another hour to climb up the rest of the ascent to the main trail, after which I was feeling normal again, and decided I liked the outdoors again. Thomas waited for me at the top of the ridge (Harrison and Chris were back at the car by this point), and then Thomas and I descended down to the car. Great skiing, a giant summit, and a big effort for the day. (17.21 mi, +7,754 ft, 12hours 18minutes elapsed time) Once we were back to the car, we decided to get some giant pizzas, and get a hotel for that night at the town of Hood River. The pizza was delicious. At the hotel, I turned out the light and went to sleep immediately. The group thought it was some sort of prank, because apparently I was snoring loudly just 15 seconds after turning out the light. For some reason everyone wears earplugs other than me on these expeditions, not sure why.

pizza

05/30/2023: Mt. Hood Crater, Oregon Mt. Hood (Oregon's highest mountain) has a reputation as a tricky and dangerous mountain. Its close proximity to Portland, combined with a high parking lot (6000' parking lot at Timberline ski area) attract tons of people to its hazardous upper flanks. So, we decided to plan to go to the crater at 10,157 ft, and skip the dangerous climb to the summit at 11,249′. Thomas would have no issue climbing to the summit, but given the exhaustion and skills of the group we decided the crater would be a better objective.[6]

Mt. Hood

Another Cascadian start (6:30am wake-up) had us heading up the mountain at 9am. The first 2500' were straightforward, heading up the uphill track of the ski resort. We headed up the Palmer Glacier towards the crater once we got to the last ski lift. I talked to many Oregon folks, to learn the details of the mountain. I met some locals from Hood River who were doing a photo shoot for a local pizza restaurant involving eating pizza on a giant crevasse / serac. Chris watched this unusual behavior from a safe distance above.

Chris at the crater

Harrison getting a workout w/ Chris

Thomas and I up at the crater

As usual, Harrison and Chris got to the crater (known as `devil's kitchen`) first and ski'd down to get a second lap at the resort. Thomas got up next and climbed another 400 ft to check out some of the other craters. There were a lot of "fumaroles" and the crater smelled like sulfur. Eventually I got up there, transitioned to downhill mode, and ski'd down. After skiing down the glacier, we re-entered the ski area and ski'd to the car. (7.57 mi, +/-4,244', 4:55:39). This was a superb end to the main trip, and everyone had a great time. 06/02/2023: Guided Mt. Baker (Kulshan) via Squak Glacier, 10,781 ft Mt. Baker is a tricky volcano to climb. Like Mt. Rainier, the upper flanks of Mt. Baker are heavily crevassed. It's far north, so the snow-line is down at 3000' still instead of 5500' like some other mountains from south WA or OR. Unlike Rainier or Hood, there's no plowed roads (Coleman Deming has a washed out road), and there's no high parking lot on an non-technical route. So we started low, all the way down at 3100ft, our lowest start of the week. Because of the aforementioned crevasses and group lack of experience, we hired a guide, Ian Peterson, from "Blackbird Mountain Guides". Blackbird Mountain Guides offers a 1-day ski trip up Mt. Baker, something I have not seen other guide companies offer. Harrison and I drove up after work and drove the road up until it got snowed in. Our guide found us around 10pm and gave us the intro & gear check before we set up camp. Ian choose the Squak glacier because the Easton glacier has some tricky rivers and shenanigans from the group he guided the day before.

Squak glacier approach is a bushwhack at times

We woke up at 2:15am (a true alpine start this time), packed up camp, and started going at 3:25am after a brief 3am intro class. After 2 hours (3 miles) of bushwhacking, we finally got above the treeline and started heading up the uninterrupted snow. There were a ton of clouds and I was concerned about visibility (alone, I would have turned). However, Ian knows the mountain well and said visibility is just one factor.[7] In the cloud, we climbed 200 ft up a ridge, and had a very steep descent ahead to exit. Ian told us to stay put while he investigated. I kept eating and drinking as much as possible to make the best usage of time. Ian told us to go down the way we came, because there were cliffs. We were able to ski back down from 6250' down to 6000' and get going up the correct track, although this cost about 40 minutes. This didn't bother us because these were some alarming cliffs and alarming visibility.

clouds from above

clouds from above

After a few more hours the clouds parted and we had perfect visibility. Ian had us use ski straps to tie an ice axe to a ski pole for extra traction when we climbed above crevasses. Other times, he told us to relax since there's no hazards around. Whenever there's no hazards, I would put on sunscreen, eat doughnuts, and drink tailwind-infused water (all while skiing uphill).[8]

Learned from Mt. Adams. No bonking this time!

Ian (our guide) was sort of wondering when we would get exhausted, but we just kept declining the breaks and kept skiing up[9]. Chris has taught us well to eat while moving. The time savings added up from each 15 minute break we skipped, and after 7.5 hours we were relaxing at the crater at 9.8k ft above sea level.

Crater

Ian had us hang out for ~45 minutes at the crater to let the Roman Headwall melt and get less icy. Ian tied us to some ropes for this section, since it's possible to fall into some large crevasses / bergschrunds if you fall all the way down the Roman Headwall. We also took off ski's and put on spikes for the Roman Headwall.

Short-roped up the headwall

An hour or so later we topped out to the summit plateau, and headed over to the other side to the summit!

Great views from summit!

Ian, Harrison, and myself

Harrison and I took a bunch of photos, and took in the views of Mt. Shuksan, Mt. Stuart, and Glacier Peak. After this, it was time to ski down. The Roman Headwall was in prime ski condition. Ian told us "If you are not sure about a turn, don't point the skis downhill. Ski in control." Then Ian and Harrison both dropped off the 45 degree lip, and I more cautiously traversed over to the 'mellow' 35 degree section to ski down. Once we got to the crater, it was delightful skiing down the squak glacier. Snow was great from 10.5k ft down to 5.5k ft. Eventually, the fun came to an end and we bushwhacked down to the car for 2 hours. (18.62 mi, +7,942 ft, 13:41)

Skiing down the Squak Glacier

An excellent day on the mountain, and we drove back to Burlington to get burritos with Ian. All in all a massive push in the mountains, exhausting but rewarding. Now, I'm at 4 / 5 WA Volcanos - Glacier Peak is the final one remaining! Once we finished eating burritos I realized I had blundered and locked the keys in the car. Rescued by Chris... Eventually we got back to Seattle to take a well-earned rest. What a week to end the ski season. -Peter [1] Too early and a person faces winter storms and unconsolidated snow. Too late and the dirt, rocks, trees, and crevasses are out. Each ski line is different. [2] https://www.strava.com/activities/9160207298, 14.00 mi, 7hours 50 minutes, 5,460 ft of gain. [3] meaning "nighttime start" [alpine start] "remote" [alpine rock climbing] "above treeline" [alpine terrain] "downhill skiing" [alpine skiing] "generally snowy and mountainous" [the alpine] [3.5] Still necessary to navigate properly, check the weather, etc. Very possible to get off route in a whiteout. [4] Doing this on upper Mt. Rainier or upper Mt. Baker could lead to a crevasse fall or worse. [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitting_the_wall, a timeframe of low-blood-sugar when the body transitions to 100% fat burning. Calorie burn reduces from ~700/hour down to ~200-400/hour, eliminating one's ability to move uphill efficiently. However, the human body can adapt to burn fat faster, called 'fat adaptation', which makes this considerably more pleasant on future bonks. The transition is more gradual with more age, so older people tend not to suddenly bonk in the mountains. [6] https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/what-makes-one-mountain-more-deadly-than-another-a-look-at-mount-adams-and-mount/article_fc9e3694-1545-11e8-8b1b-4fe414d32b55.html has a fairly good explanation about why Mt. Hood summit packs a more dangerous punch compared to Mt. Adams. [7] He has a system that involves "Visibility, Snowfall, Wind, and Client Fatigue" for making decisions. [8] I was not taking any chances about running out of food after Mt. Adams - I carried 4.5L of fluid with 1200 calories in it, plus 1000 calories of doughnuts, plus 1,000 calories of cliff bars, plus 1000 calories of ruffles, and 500 calories of chex mix. [9] For these guided trips, the standard is that guides have to be able to do 1.5k ft / hour, and clients should be able to do 1k ft / hour with a backpack (subtracting out breaks). But, we need to go faster on our trip since 1-day baker is fewer days than normal. After the whiteout took 40 minutes, we wanted to make sure we stayed on pace or we'd get spun. We ascended from 6000' to 9600' from [4:45 to 7:45], so we were averaging ~1.2k vertical ft / hour including all breaks. [10] logging between 25,540ft (me) and ~28,000ft[3] (Harrison) vertical feet between 05/28 and 06/02

[KascadeFlat]

Wow! What a week! Glad you were able to capitalize on the window and get all that skiing done. There is something about Mt. Adams and footwear. When we climbed it we all decided to wear trail runners and leave the crampons + boots in the car. We made it but there was one section where we had to cut steps up an icy spot while watched everyone motor by with their crampons. I think it must be some kind of NW right of passage.