Tucks 3/21

[willyo617]

Me and one of my normal hike/ski partners headed up to the Mt Washington Valley on Friday to fool around and mebbe squeeze in a few turns (based on recent trip reports and avy advisories we were expecting boilerplate and were just happy to get out - but hey still beats the crap out of work right)

We had made a reservation at the Gorham Motor Inn which kind of interfered with our last minute decision that Oakes would probably the best for turns that day. So we stayed @ GMI and headed for tux the following AM - He had never seen it in person (it would be only my second time there) and as anyone in the area yesterday knows it was GORGEOUS day.



Skinning up the trail was -- umm interesting? A great empirical study in what sun does to snow. Short glides and good posture were essential. As a snowboarder turned splitboarder I will avoid booting/carrying at all costs and I will attempt to skin over gravel and glare ice rather than carrying my splitboard.

Me @ Hojos looking like Dieter from sprockets in this shot:



Switched to crampons for the hike up the the floor of the bowl.



Caught views of some unbelievable skiers ripping down Chute on the way up - Sorry no pics.



Removed @ Lunch rocks for the hike up the sluice fearing cartwheel time due to the hard pack and used my ice axe and whippet to get up there.



Came over the lip and was able to make a couple jump turns, followed by sliding on my ass for three hundred feet, followed by a few more turns . An acute embarrassment. Where is the smiley for snowboarders sliding on their butt and pushing all the snow down the hill?

I felt a little better after watching the next 6 or so snowboarders slide down on their butts for 600 feet and make one or two turns. Something about the angle/snow made it difficult/impossible to actually transition into a heel side turn rather than heel side extended butt slide.

I intend to put together a sped up video of myself ascending the sluice, then descending the lip half on my butt in a slough of half frozen corn chunks and death cookies to the tune of vivaldi's winter - stay tuned.

Sherbie was a good time. Some ice / some corn / good coverage top to bottom.

2/2 for cloudless days @ tux. Somethin has gotta give.

-Will

[mtd2007]

crowds up there? Lot was packed...

[willyo617]

the lot was packed wasn't it? - It didn't seem to make sense with the number of folks up there however.. 80-100 people in and around bowl?

[icelanticskier]

would anyone would want to climb something like the sluice when booting up rg is so much easier/less steep and more enjoyable. i'd be pissed and would probably spray lots of climbers on purpose if i was skiing sluice with a bunch of ticking time bombs booting up that thing. sluice is sooo much better for skiing than climbing.
looks like you picked a nice day!

rog

[willyo617]

last time up there i climbed RG which was much more enjoyable -- I prolly should have climbed and rode down RG.

you can see the line of folks ascending sluice in the pic of me standing on the floor of the bowl - i guess I just followed them without thinking -- The #1 no-no in that kinda terrain...

and i wanted to use my instead of carry it around all day like everyone else one of the people directly behind me in the boot ladder had their ice axe racked the whole time. not sure what kind of pitch he would think it would be necessary on.

check out video my buddy uploaded - came out pretty good http://www.vimeo.com/3808878

[icelanticskier]

why i don't have an ice axe and hardly ever use my crampons. i don't climb up the way that i'd actually maybe want to use pointy things. if i know the snow is soft, i'll always climb up easy and ski down the steep. if more people did this, there would be less accidents up there. and i'm sorry, but seeing folks booting right up the middle of one of the more spectacular/steepest runs around the whites is just irksome.

rog

[M@]

Nice short TR! Thanks for bringing back the fresh pix.

I am a virgin on every thing gawkers right of the Lip, and would probably talk to a ranger about the best route up before doing it. I wonder if they were sending people up the sluice for ice reasons.

"Dis is the time on sprokets vared we SKI"

MMMmmm... fresh tux.

M@

[ptex1.1]

Remember if at all possible hike up what you are going to ski down. That way there are no surprises stuff changes day to day.

[icelanticskier]

Originally Posted by ptex1.1

Remember if at all possible hike up what you are going to ski down. That way there are no surprises stuff changes day to day.

ya, ya, ya.....

rog

[icelanticskier]

Originally Posted by M@

I wonder if they were sending people up the sluice for ice reasons.

unlikely, sluice puts you right under and crossing some of the most dangerous ice fall area.

accessing rg is safest from below climbers right and booting up far climbers right to stay out of the way of falling chunks. i saw a guy get creamed by a huge chunk last year while i was climbing right. it came out of the sluice cliffs and the sound it made when it hit his mellon was not a nice sound. lunch rocks is such a stupid place to hang out in the spring.

rog

[skimtwashington]

**Poster 'Ptex1.1' beat me to it..but to repeat and add something maybe...

General BC rule:
**Climb up what you will ski to check conditions and hazard.....

even if you see tracks down something ...don't assume too much.

No particular type of recreationalist (climber, Skier,etc.) has favor. But be considerate if it is a skier used slope and try to stay to one side. But one can climb whatever they want.

The lip has a LINE(!) climbing up on the weekend. A gully in Oake's has a few friends or strangers supporting each other. No ski patrol to carry you out...no crowds to make (or ruin) boot steps. Supply and demand....and it sometimes gets a little ugly in high use place like tucks- when a particular spot has different demands( climber/skier/sledder/vikings).

No variety and sheer amount of runs and skiable snow exists like in the tucks area to challenge and satiate-but it comes w/ traffic. Some love crowds-fun to watch(?). Many hate the crowds and go to any number of relatively quiet other places on the Mt. (like Oake's) to have fun. Maybe more of an effort/hike possibly...but 'earn your turns'...and a more pristine place. Your choice.

[icelanticskier]

is the oldest rule in the book, but when climbing what yer gonna ski has more potential due to other climbers or unknown skiers from above, i'll take the easier or route less traveled. like the weather, there are many more variables than just an old adage. also to add, if you boot up rg and the snow is nice and soft and you already had a good visual of sluice and that too is collecting the same sun, it's a pretty good bet that the sluice is gonna ski very well, like it did last tuesday while on our way back from the other side. like climbing hh to ski dodges, if hh is nice and soft and you have a good view of dodges from the bottom and then from the top, it's good for some turns. i've never had a bad run in dodges due to my assessment from hh. climbing dodges? give me a break.

rog

[skimtwashington]

Anything you want to climb or ski ..up or down... any combo or way... is cool. Just don't ask me why I'm climbing there(downhill run only:that's the sherbie!)....and please don't spray me....unless I'm wearing a viking hat! Then blast Me! Curses to URRLL!

[icelanticskier]

good enough.

rog

[splittin D]

Originally Posted by skimtwashington

General BC rule:
**Climb up what you will ski to check conditions and hazard.....

even if you see tracks down something ...don't assume too much.

No particular type of recreationalist (climber, Skier,etc.) has favor. But be considerate.....

i am not a so called expert, but i have logged a few days in the backcountry, east and west, received avi trainings, and developed a club to promote avi education. take the following with a grain of salt as you would anything you read on the screen you're staring at....

spring time is here and a lot of people will be checking these pages out, including myself, to see what's going on up there. a general bc rule is to use your head, it's the most important tool you've got. virtually everything else is situational. i have to disagree with the statement on climbing what you ski/ride. it may be a good decision to use this as a rule in the mornings in spring conditions, but certainly not a "general" bc rule. i do however agree with the fact that if you see tracks somewhere you are not in the clear of a slide, sluff, or a tumble to your death and assumptions can kill people. i do also sincerely agree with the last of the above quote. however, these respective recreationalists should be "experts" in their chosen activity and know what they are getting themselves into when they venture into backcountry terrain.

thanks for reading and please folks, try to educate yourselves before heading up to tux this spring and/or any other day of the year or destination into the backcountry. you are on your own and your lives are in the hands of your group.

-Founder of the Backcountry Riding Club, Montana State University-Bozeman