Mountain Hood....The Great One

8s Below the South Side

Yourz Truly Mid Spur

Moon Beamz Summah Home

Mid Sunshine Route Mandatory Air or Abseil

L to R..Coopers Spur, North Chutes, Sunshine Rt

Cooper Spur, North Chutes, and the Sunshine Rt on the Skyline Ridge

South Side Hood from the top of Wy'East

Crater Rock with Illumination Rock Below on the South Side

Skiing the Wy'East

Leuthold's Col.

Dick McRippington midway down Leuthold's

Exiting the Leuthold's Col.

Even Dogz climb the Hoodwand....above the sharty is the Pearly Gates

Buffalo and Scriv climbing up the Old Chute on the South Side

Dick McCruxington on an attempted ski descent from summit to Wy'East, a little less snow than expected

Jake and Scriv after navigating the Wy'East directisimo

About to ski the Wy'East Infection aka Glewstick Col. varation of the Wy'East

A jibonkity below the West Crater Rim Castle Crags on the South Side of Hood

Reid the Fuckin Book....your nothing without it.

Base of the Reid

Mr Shartz ripping the Sandy Headwall

The Sandy Headwall Choke

Teen Wolf getting through the choke on the Sandy Headwall

On the return from skiing the Sandy Heady Wall, which is on the lookers left.

For the past four spring/summers, I have been working for Timberline Mountain Guides. I have been lucky enough to get in some good corn skiing when there's good weather (which doesn't happen very much here) or when I'm not working. I really enjoy skiing new routes and seeing different parts of Mountain Hood. Over the years I have skied all of the skiable climbers routes on Hood besides the North Chutes, which I hope to do some day. Word on the street is that only Doug Coombs and maybe Steven Koch have skied this route. I'd guess its seen a couple other descents, but it is definitely a committing line(s) that I'm hoping to find in the right condition to ski one of these days. Maybe I just need to grow some man ballz and just go fer it???

Here is a list of the skiable routes starting on the South side of Hood, which is the main climbers route to the summit of Mountain Hood. The list goes clockwise from the summit. The Pearly Gates, Old Chute, West Crater Rim, Reid Headwall, Leuthold's Couloir, Sandy Headwall, Sunshine Route, (*North Chutes* unfinished), Cooper Spur, Newton Clark Headwall, and the Wy'East. 

The Pearly Gates- The most direct line down the south side from the true summit. It has a tight choke that can be kind of dicey, usually filled with ice. When I skied it, it twas butt puckering. You can take this down the White River Glacier and milk over 5,000 vert.

The Old Chute- Probably the easiest skiable route from the summit. This is also the main climbers route to the summit of the Hoodwand. Its like 40-45 degrees or so maybe steeper depending on snow conditions. It mellows out steepness wise pretty quickly. Its a great place to scare the shit out of bumbling climbers. Skiing above climbers is one of my favorite hobbies. You can take this down down the White River Glacier, the main climbers route, or skirt over to the lower half of West Crater Rim.

West Crater Rim- Probably the coolest route down the south side of Hood. Go up the Old Chute, head west on the summit ridge, and drop in between the rime ice towers for a descent back down the southeast facing side. You can scope this line as you ascend the main climbers route on the south side. This line has wicked cool exposure as it seems like you are skiing off the edge of the world when it rolls over to about 50ish degrees. For those of you from the east its like skiing Tuckerman's Headwall, as the shit rollz over big time. Yikes! You can take this down Zig Zag glacier and traverse back to the Timberline Lodge.

Reid Headwall- Pretty steep line that you need to do early in the year before it runnels out. Later in the day too because its west facing. Its a super aesthetic chute lined with rime ice cliffs. If you ski right up to the the Castle Crags on the South Side and drop west your are in it. Watch out for the shrund at the bottom.

Leuthold's- Another great line. Not too steep, just one choke near the bottom and a shrund. Go up the Old Chute, head to the summit ridge and go west. Descend west down to the prominent knife ridge called Yokum Ridge. You can either keep descending west down the Sandy Headwall or drop south southwest down the obvious chute to the skiers left of Yokum Ridge.

Sandy Headwall- What a killer line. Super aesthetic 3,000 foot headwall. This face is looms over the town of Portland. Freekin awesome and a must ski. There's a choke that can be difficult. Bring a picket and a rope in case you can't send it clean.The upper part is a pretty consistent 45ish degree pitch. The choke can get a bit steeper depending on conditions.

Sunshine Route- 3,500 foot killer run down the pristine north side of the Hood. There's a couple shrunds that open up which you might need to air or lower over. I've skied this twice and it was between 10-20 foot huck or rappel. To find this, descend down the west side of Hood from the summit and look for the first obvious entrance down the north side. You can follow a prominent ridge to the base of the Elliot Glacier. Have a car stashed at Cloud Cap or traverse back around the east side of Hood and descend back to the Timberline Lodge. This take about 4 hrs.

North Chutes- Man Ballz

Cooper Spur- Steep as fuck, cool as hell. Drop off the summit and impress the bumbley mountaineers on top. They will think your fuckin nuts as it looks like your skiing down a sheer cliff face. Don't fall, this is the deadliest climbers route on the mountain. I think 13 people have died falling on this route. Jumpin jahsofat!!!

Newton-Clark- Great down the east side. First skied in 1937!!! Badass line, not too steep but steep enough to tighten yer sphincter.Go up the Wy'East and look for the next prominent line as you head toward the summit on the prominent ridge. You can sometimes access this from the summit on good snow years.

Wy'East- Great line. You can ski this to the Meadows or rap back around and ski to the Timberline lot. Not too steep, but really cool. Go up the Palmer to the top of the resort, cross the White River Glacier and head up the prominent ridge. Its not to steep until the top where it rolls over to 45 degrees. You can also climb up directly from the Meadows ski resort

Well I hope you enjoyed my beta and pics. Hope you get out there to do some Dick McSchraplington on the Hoodwand.

Cheers,

Todd Glew

The X Couloir: June 4, 2012

Looking at the weather forecast on Sunday, it appeared that Tuesday would have the best weather.  I had a few ideas of what to attempt, but half-heartedly decided on the X-Couloir. 

A cloudy Tuesday morning transitioned into a brilliant afternoon. Today would be my best opportunity to go for this bigger objective. I blew out of work at 2:30, biked home, and loaded up the Taco, and was hiking by 3:30. 

The X Couloir is on the North side of Mountain Peeking which is about 10 miles up Peter's Creek. Typically this is accessed via the Ram Valley trail and then taking a left on the Falling Waters trail.  Legal access to Ram Valley definitely falls into a grey area because of private property issues.  It definitely helps if you know someone who has land adjacent to the CSP. 

The start of the hike was super nice amongst the Alaskan Lupine and budding trees. The trail was dry and  snow-free high into the Falling Waters drainage.  At about 3,500', I swapped out the approach shoes for boots and started skinning.  Falling Water is a serpentine drainage that zigs and zags. 



Route Up the Winding Drainage

Finally I was in the high cirque with Mountian Raina on my right. and Mountain Peeking straight ahead.    

Raina from the Top of the X

Going against generations of conventional Mormon wisdom, I opted to "Choose the Left."  The ridge off the summit of Peeking (East to West) makes a distinctive "W" shape against the horizon.  The low points of the "W" mark the entrance points to the top couloirs of the "X."  The left couloir starts lower and is wider, so again I chose the left.

From the col (6,100'), I got my first look at my descent route.  It is wide, but long and steep (~ 40°, 2,200').  The shot is 100% North facing and was still completely in the shade at 7:30 PM.  At some point in the prior week, the snow in the couloir got well above freezing and then froze solid.  Dropping in, the snow was bullet-pack.  If the surface was smooth, only my edges would be preventing a slide for life. Fortunately, someone had skied the shot when it was manky which roughed up the surface considerably.  Jump turns down, down, down, aiming for the trenches and high spots left frozen in place by an unknown benefactor.  The angle refused to ease.  At the nexus, I had a choice of which leg to descend.  The narrow left was about 10' wide, but the snow was still very firm.  This time I decided to "Choose the Right."  In the lower half, the snow began to soften, but it was a mix of runnels and avalanche debris.  I aimed for the smoother sections and got some decent turns as the angle finally began to ease.


The X: Skied Top Right to Bottom Left
(Note "W" shape on the ridgeline)

It was 8 PM and now I was the Peter's Creek drainage.  The options were boot back up, or work my way back to Falling Waters with 2 short 1,000' climbs on South facing tundra.  The tundra seemed inviting, so I loaded up my gear and started walking. 

At the top of the 1st 1,000' climb, I sussed out my descent into the next basin.  I had expected to ski this section, but it was 90% melted out.  It wasn't ideal, but it didn't look too bad.  I planned to down-climb to a narrow band of snow and then sideslip all the way to the floor of the next cirque.  See #1 in the photo below. 

At Point 1, the snow looked super sketchy.  I was hoping for consolidated neve, but what I got was fully saturated slush somehow clinging in place.  This was beginning to look like a bad idea.  I took my skis off my pack and hacked at the snow pack with my tips.  This released the slush / snow to the ground and it accelerated down the slope moving with the consistency and the roar of rushing water.  As the slide ripped down the gully it was gathering debris and more snow.  The snow only ripped out only as far as I was able to slash with my tip (about 10% of the snow width).  What did rip, ripped to a frozen wet tundra bed surface. 

The downclimb had already been steep, but with the promise of 4 edges I was confident getting down to Point 1.  Now that skiing was out of the question, the down climb became much more serious.  My skis were already off the pack.  I decided that the increased freedom of movement was more valuable than my 3-year old spring rock skis. So I hucked them down slope in the hope that they would find their way to the valley floor.  They stopped at Point 2.  Buh-bye. 

I followed the Red Line (line added with iPhoto - not actually present in real life) down to the next snow patch.  At this point I realized I was above a massive cliff.  Fuck!  But I was able to spy a goat path traversing above the cliff band.  Goats are typically smarter than me, so I put my trust in these intellectual superiors and aimed for their route. 

Crossing the wet frozen slide gully at Point 3 was nerve-wracking especially since I was now aware of the large cliff below.  There was only 1 crucial step so I got some momentum to carry me across in the event of a slip.  The foot held and I was across. I worked my way down to the goat path at Point 4.  This was no guarantee that this path would lead anywhere, but it was my best option. 

Goats have massive balls; balls that clank, that's for sure.  This 6" wide path skirted less than 6" from the edge of the cliff.  The path would be easy if it were in a nice grassy meadow, but exposure has a way with fucking with you.  I moved with purpose and tried to block out the void that the ski pole in my right hand was suspended over.  And after the longest 20 seconds in recent memory, I was on an island of safety. 

The route to the valley floor was now obvious and after a quick glisade I had made it.  Thank God!  Thank you Adam, Sroga, Roberta, Memere, Jane, and all of my other guardian angels. There was still another 1,000' of climbing, but could see the entire route and had already sussed out the descent into Falling Waters.  The worst was now behind me.


My Route: Far Right
Preferred Route: Far Left

The next climb would be an easy skin.  That is had I not abandoned my skis. It would be a booter, a deep booter, a miserable booter, up to my crotch and many places.  I tried to link as many tundra patches as possible.  It was exhausting but there was progress.  The pass finally yielded and descent was exactly as I remembered: consolidated snow with perfect scree.  I was down in a matter of minutes.

Expert Route Finders Enjoying the Sunset: 10:30 PM

I followed my skinner back to my transition station and threw my ski boots in the pack. Without skis on my back the hike out was super nice.  It was a glorious Alaskan night. The high peaks were ablaze in the fading light. Due to the high latitude, the Alaskan summer sun moves almost parallel to the horizon this time of night.  This makes for a magic hour that actually lasts for an hour before the suns dips slightly out of sight for a few hours of dusk/dawn.

Polar Bear Peak: 11:00 PM

Sleeping Lady and the Knik Arm: 11:30 PM

It took 8 hours. The snow was poor. I lost gear. I scared the shit out of myself. I was completely exhausted. I questioned my decision making skills, my sanity, my intelligence, but I had made it. I wouldn't want to put myself in that type of situation again, but I was happy. 

 - U.K.

Summit 2 Sound: Valdez

The second annual Summit 2 Sound went down in Valdez, AK on Memorial Day Eve Day.  Last year, due to a timing error, we were awarded last place. In Alaska this is known as the Red Lantern.  So we were back determined to regain / defend our honor.  

Expresso / Soup / Ice Cream Truck

3/4 of our team returned from last year.  Team "Valdez Nuts" had high hopes. As with last year, the weather was shit at the pass. The first leg involved a quick skinner up Mountain Little Odyssey right at Thompson Pass. Groups of 4 were sent every 5 minutes. Gear varied: split boards, snow-shoes, AT, new, old, light, heavy.

Snowing on Thompson Pass

It was snowing hard at the Pass which was no big deal for the skier, but the snow was mounting in the transition area.  The road biker would be in for a miserable ride. Snow and slush eventually gave way to a cold rain and road construction.

Through the Canyon

The stubborn rain continued, but Celene hammered on making good time and 26 miles later she was at the kayak beach.  The transition was awkward at best and left Celene sprawled out on the ground. Fortunately she was fine and Dean made his way to the water.

Starting the Kayaking Leg

The kayak leg starts on the far side of the Valdez Arm and heads towards town.  Skies were grey, but seas were flat making for good conditions.  Laura was pumped for the 4.5 mile through town and beat her pre-race estimate.

Ringing the Bell at the Finish

We were done and there still were teams left on the course, but this does not guarantee a red-latern free race because there are 4 divisions and each has its own last place award.

Like last year, skies cleared up after the race making for a beautiful afternoon.  The award ceremony wasn't until 6 PM so we had a few hours to kill.  So over to the Fat Mermaid to crush a few pitchers of Ghost Town Brown.  The award party was at Kelsey Dock known locally as "The Pringle" due to a pringle shaped canopy that covers the stage and some picnic tables.

From Valdez looking across the Port

We knew we didn't win, but we were nervous about the Red Lantern, and we breathed a sigh of relief when our name was not called.  Now we could get down to some partying!

The next day was Memorial Day and to celebrate our impressive finish, the entire team including our professional cheer leader, Emily, went out for a day of sea kayaking with Pangaea. We rode the water taxi for 2 hours to a terminal moraine about ten miles from where the Columbia Glacier calves into the sea.

The moraine traps all the ice in this 10 mile section of the fjord. Water drains in and out through several shallow channels with the changing tides, but the ice stays trapped.

On the Moraine

You easily paddle through the shallow channels to enter into the icy labyrinth. The sound of ice cracking and splashing into the water is constant. Glacial ice bergs are blue-est below water line, but because of the low tide, many larger chucks were grounded in the shallows exposing the blue ice to the daylight.

After 4 hours of paddling, it was time to get back on the boat.  We had good luck with wildlife on the way to the glacier, and our luck continued on the ride back. All told, we saw orcas, humpbacks, otters, porpoise, sea lions, and many birds that nobody cared about.

We were worked, but I needed to be back at work first thing Tuesday morning, so Laura and I hit the road.  The wildlife parade continued on the drive back: eagles, caribou, Dall sheep, a brown bear, porcupines, and moose aplenty.

Mother and Child

Work sucked. All I could think about was napping and as quitting time approached visions of my bed were dominating my semi-conscious thoughts.  The time had come, but just before flipping the switch, I checked my email. The Official Race were in and there had been a mistake on race day. Due to a timing error on race day the Red Lantern was improperly awarded to the wrong team.  It was ours.

Again.  

I'm already thinking 3-peat.

 -U.K.

Dr. Shred Gnar

Skier Boyz original gang-star A. B-Gnar is riding across the USA to raise money for FACE AIDS.

Follow her as she documents her journey:

http://cyclingasmedicine.blogspot.com/

Good luck Doc Gnar!!

Falls Lake Couloir: May 23, 2012

Falls Creek is couloir central.  There are about 10 puckering shots in the 500' - 1,200' range in this small drainage.  Most top out between 3,500' and 4,500'.  The only drawback is that you start from sea level. Back in April, the Noodler and I climbed South Suicide via Falls Creek and I saw a shot that I needed to ski.  Of course the Noodler had skied it several times.  We didn't have time that day, but I planned to return.



Falls Lake Couloir (FLC): April 20

The FLC has all the earmarks of a classic: narrow, north facing, close to the summit, and an excellent run out.  The only thing that isn't obvious is the location of the lake.  Don't know, don't care.

I returned to Falls Creek the afternoon of May 11.  The Noodler and MB were already up there on an all day couloir hunt and I was fortunate to catch them at the bottom of the FLC.  Unfortunately there was 2-3 feet of freshly wind loaded snow in the couloir. The Noodler and MB had already turned around on another shot earlier in the day due to cracking snow. It had taken 2 hours to get to the bottom of the FLC, but the risk was not worth it. 



Turning Around

Anchorage has had a seemingly never-ending corn cycle since mid-March. Sunny days with cool clear nights has made for excellent skiing.  Hard frosts in town guaranteed excellent late afternoon skiing in the mountains.  This came to an abrupt end this week.  The clouds rolled in preventing temps from reaching the freezing level overnight.  It happens every year, but it was much later than normal in 2012.  Once it happens, the snow goes to shit rapidly before slowly transforming to neve a few weeks later. 

During this transition, a wise skier would stick to the trade routes that see the most traffic (Peak 3) or seek out some gullies that have been wind blasted all winter (Solstice Couloir).  Harp on Monday was a manky mess.  My skis were fat enough to keep me on top, but just barely.  Pole plants easily punched through 12+ inches into the isothermal slush.  Spooky.

Wednesday dawned warm and cloudy but sun was in the forecast.  I always try to work an extra hour on crappy days, so on beautiful days I can sneak out early.  The sun came out and I made a break for it and was hiking by 3:30 PM.

The Falls Creek trail is dry and first mile does not hint at the massive snow pack higher up. 

  

Fiddle Heads Provide a Nice Snack

After about leisurely 2-hour hikes, it is time to take the skis off the pack and start skinning. I retrace my May 11 route but was I am moving much slower today.  The skins are completely saturated adding significant weight to my already heavy set-up.  Ski penetration is 2-3" and the top 4" are completely saturated.  I slog along slow and steady with the hope that the FLC will be much firmer being higher up and in the shade. But this is unlikely with air temp in the 50s. 

At the May 11 turn-around point the snow is slightly better.  The feet of snow from a few weeks prior is still in there but it has cooked down considerably and has insulated the frozen layer beneath.  With skis back on the pack, the booting begins.  Each step is about 8" deep.  The snow in the chute hasn't gone to corn yet; it is really saturated spring snow: the ultimate snow ball snow.  The sun is blasting the wall above the climber's left and there is evidence of fresh rock-fall.  I keep to the right and waste little time and before too long the ridge yields.



Near the Summit of Mountain Peak 3920

The vista is amazing.  Couloirs everywhere and a great view of the lower Falls Creek, the Turnagain Arm, and Hope, AK.  After a short time taking it all in, it is time to focus on the task at hand.  The FLC is in the high 30s and today it is mank-tastic.  The top 8" is on the cusp of sliding.  It wants to go, but not quite.  Ski cuts get small results.  I link 2 turns down the center and ski towards the wall to see what happens.  Manky roller balls.  I repeat this technique about 1/4 of the way down before I feel comfortable enough to start linking more turns.  The snow is slow but super fun and carving pretty deep.  The shadows of the couloir finally give way to the sunshine of the run out and finally I relax.
 

Looking Back Up

It always feels good to get a shot that has captured your attention. FLC has been weighing on me since I saw about a month ago.  One month is not that long considering there are lines that I have obsessed over for years, but it was a good feeling nonetheless.  Hopefully, the transition to neve will be quick so I can tick a few more off before this season winds down.

 - U.K.

1,000" Winter

We made it by my count.  Alyeska is reporting 959" since October 1.  Check out today's snow report.

"Well, 959 seems to be less than 1,000," you may be saying.  

"I may be no math-a-magician, but I think you're off by 41"

The key here is: "Since October 1st." I solemnly swear that there was at least 41" before October 1, and I offer these 2 photos as proof.  These both were taken in the Crow Pass area near Alyeska.

September 23

Early morning October 1

 So, I say: "Count it."

You got your 1,000" winter, Adam.

 -U.K.