Sheafman Points via Nipple Knob

With another marginal forecast and high snow level, Jeffrey joined me for an exploratory day up sheafman creek, hoping to ski a few runs I scoped out back in October on foot during my excellent sheafman triple loop.

sheafman points, as seen from mill point

We were prepared with shoes so the initial 1500 or so vert from the winter TH went smoothly and we soon found ourselves at snowline.  We motored up the E face of nipple knob, reaching the summit in a surprisingly quick 2 hours from the car.

We found mediocre to poor skiing conditions off the N side as we dropped down into sheafman creek.  After slapping on skins, we quickly found the summer trail and headed up drainage for a mile or so before reaching the slidepath of the aesthetic S gully of E sheafman point, which we climbed directly.  Once on top, I had hoped to drop N into fred burr canyon, but my desired route looked all too similar to how it looked back in October (a dusting of snow on talus).   

no dice

We continued trending W along the ridgeline, scoping one steep/scrappy/unattractive couloir after another.  We eventually came to a halt at the prominent rocky fin just shy of the summit of W sheafman point and decided just to ski the S facing gully below us down to sheafman creek.  Surprisingly good corn skiing and a little routefinding put us down near the creek where we paused to refuel and discuss our options.

jeffrey skiing S to sheafman creek

a look back up

We debated heading up to castle crag and skiing the S face to mill and exiting via the mill creek trail (we had carried our shoes).  However I had a feeling since the sheafman creek trail sits about a thousand feet higher and its lower portion is N-facing, it would provide a much nicer egress.  So we climbed back up via a series of snow ramps just E of the prior run to the small hanging meadow between the two sheafman points.  A quick traverse put us atop the S gully from the morning.  The upper quarter skied poorly but the remainder was good corn and we were soon exchanging high fives in the runout zone, excited to have skied a new great peak-to-creek run.  

upper portion

highlight of the day

My estimate for the egress was 2 hours and we skied as far down canyon as we could before slapping on skins and starting the skin out.  It took us an hour to get from the bridge to the summer TH (quite a bit of winter downfall) but we were able to skin about 90% of it.  Another forty minutes of switchback cutting and road running put us at the car.  (total egress time of 2.5 hours).

Stats:  approx. 7600 vert in 9 hrs car-car

Rose: skiing an aesthetic new peak-to-creek run in mostly good conditions

Thorn: getting shut down on skiing N to fred burr

Bud: returning for the N couloir and S face of castle crag at the head of the drainage

Thoughts:  I believe the slide path on W sheafman point just W of the prominent rock spine is a cleaner run than the E one we skied.  The S gully of E sheafman point is a beauty and should get skied more often         

Mill 1 and 2 Tour

Spring certainly seems to have arrived early this year.  Despite a forecasted rain/snow line of around 6500ft, Brian, Jeffrey and I set out from the bone dry mill creek TH with plans to start with mill point and see where the day took us.

late February and we're already doing this - yikes!

After a disheartening 1500 vert of dirt walking, we finally transitioned to skis and continued up to mill point.  Once on top, Brian led the way skiing down the N ridge and through some talus to some N facing meadows.  We transitioned when the snow quality deteriorated (about 6500ft) and a little talus scrambling granted access to the basin to the west, which we crossed and continued up the N ridge of mill 2. 

E face mill 2

closing in on the gendarmes near the top of mill 2

We wrapped around the W side of the gendarmes near the summit and into the W gully.  After a little stability assessment, we continued to the top of the line, before dropping in and enjoying surprisingly good powder conditions.  

jeffrey dropping in 

brian in the W gully

choke at the bottom of W gully (steeper than it looks)

mill 2 from E sheafman point 2 weeks later, W gully is obvious run in center of frame

We then climbed up the W face of mill 2 to gain the upper N ridge and transitioned near the gendarmes near the top.  Concerned about skiing the semi-steep E face, we opted to ski down the N ridge a ways before dropping E to the basin from the morning. 

headed up mill point

We made a big push up the W side of mill point, and I unfortunately faded a bit near the top.  Once I joined Brian and Jeffrey on the summit, we discussed our next move.  I voted to head down via the E face but Brian inquired whether or not I’d yet done a 10k day this season (answer was no) so he insisted I rally for a run down to tag alder lake before the final egress run.  Jeffrey was on board so I said yes, and we dropped in for 1200ft of decent wind-effected powder down to the lake.   

Brian gave me a much-needed shot of GU (thanks!) for the last climb up to mill point before we pointed skis down the E ridge/face, skiing about 1500ft of decent snow and another 1500ft of mank (in the rain) til we ran out of snow.  We ended up further S than expected so the walk down/out to the trailhead took a bit longer than expected.  All in all a surprisingly good day of skiing given the forecast and disturbingly high snow level for this time of year. 

Stats:  about 10,500vert in 10:15 car-car

Rose: good powder in the aesthetic W gully of mill 2

Thorn: fading on the second-to-last climb up mill point

Bud: returning for the E face of mill 2

Whitewater - ROAM race & BC powder

Exited to race a new (to me) course and ski some new terrain, I joined Jeffrey and his family for an excellent weekend in Nelson BC.  Going in, I knew very little of the course layout and unfortunately paid the price.  Read on for details.

race start (phil best photography)

After a crowded start up a cat track, I settled in to 8^th place at a hard but bearable pace.  The first bootpack was deep (8inches overnight and snow most of the preceding week) and surprisingly long but I pushed hard and managed to reel in and pass one person at the transition for the first descent.

I proceeded to get off course on the downhill (skating up a cat track following the flagging) but fortunately a friendly resort skier helped point me in the right direction.  I bombed down to the transition, having lost a precious minute or 2 and 4 spots.  I pushed hard on the next climb, passing 3 

of the 4 spots I lost on my “detour.”  

second climb, in the pain cave (phil best photography)

Near the top of the climb, I ripped skins with Stano when the flagging changed colors (uphill to downhill), but another racer came along (apparently more familiar with the course) stating the transition was further along the ridge, so I desperately skated/sidestepped another 100 yards to where the 2^nd descent actually began.  Despite the fresh powder, the course sent us tucking down a groomer with a short uphill skate in the middle.  

uphill skate during the 2nd descent (phil best photography)

I reached the transition as Stano was starting the final climb and I quickly slapped on skins and gave chase.  I managed to catch and pass him during a portion of steep technical skinning and create a gap, leaving the final transition as he arrived.  

Again being unfamiliar with the course, I had to stop mid-descent when the base area came into view but I couldn’t see the finish.  I continued down at a conservative pace, searching for course markings.  In my hypoxic and tired state, it took me longer than it should have to recognize that the pine boughs on the ground marked the turn to the out-of-sight finish area.  As I rounded the corner, there was a slight uphill skate to the finish, and lots of cheering as Stano was apparently right behind me, who out-skated me to the line by one second!

results

I was disappointed to have gotten lost on the first descent and wasted time on the final descent but so it goes with racing, especially on an unfamiliar course.  Live and learn.  Sunday morning was spent skiing excellent powder in 5 mile basin (behind whitewater) with Jeffrey prior to hitting the road.

i learned in canada it's not a skin track but an "up track" (photo: jeffrey)

blue skies and powder

sampling the great skiing just a stone's throw away from whitewater

looking back at our final run

Rose: great powder skiing in a new area

Thorn: getting off-course! lame groomer descents on a powder day

Bud: returning next year for redemption on the race course, mt. ymir afterwards, and kootenai pass on the drive home?

Goddess & Jane couloirs

Despite hearing reports of terrible skiing due to the unseasonably warm temps, Matt, Horan, Steve and I decided to check out the couloirs on the N side of east boulder peak, hoping to find stable powder conditions. 

horan, top of the goddess

An early departure from town had us leaving the car at the plowed-in turnoff of the west fork road at first light.  After about 2 minutes of skinning the road, we were forced to shoulder our skis and start booting up the mostly bare ridge for a bit til reaching skinable snow and continuing up to the lookout.  We stepped inside for a short break before continuing up, reaching the top of the goddess in about 3.5 hours. 

nearing the top

entrance to the mary couloir

We stashed skis and proceeded to go investigate the corniced entrance to the mary couloir, but ultimately decided to go for the easy entrance to the goddess and then investigate the mary from below.  Having been turned around last year by wind slabs atop the goddess, I was excited to check it out in more stable conditions.  We found a variety of snow types, ranging from great boot top powder to icy crusts as we slowly leap-frogged our way down this nearly 4k run to boulder creek.

matt, finding powder in the goddess

steve, testing new skis/bindings

myself in the goddess (photo: ben horan)

even found powder in the apron

We lounged in the sun for a bit and fueled up for the big climb up to the mary-jane cirque.  I was feeling a little sluggish on the morning climb but with some food got a good burst of energy to put in the skinner up to the base of the mary-jane cirque.  

back up for more

Anticipating slow deep bootpacking in the mary and questioning how well it would ski for the 4^th person, we instead opted for the wider jane couloir on far climber’s R.  Once in the couloir proper, the angle forced us to booting and a thin strip of icy snow down the center (with powder on the sides) allowed for good climbing conditions as Steve took the lead and punched us a staircase to the top. 

the mary, we'll be back

jane

jane couloir is far looker's R.  mary on far L.  middle grouping of couloirs need more snow
and always require a rappel at the bottom

We hit our turn around time (and deep unconsolidated facets) a few feet from the top so decided to call it, ready to ski another 3500ft bitterroot peak-to-creek classic.  A mix of excellent powder, ice and breakable crust put us back at the creek, which we crossed, slapped on skins and began the 4 mile (but felt longer) exit to the car, the last 90minutes by headlamp.  I was surprised to see no evidence of prior human traffic on the boulder creek trail other than within a mile of the trailhead.

big.  wild.  bitterroot.  (goddess is on looker's R)

Stats:  approx. 9k vert in 12 hrs car-car

Rose: great powder skiing in the jane couloir proper

Thorn: slow exit via boulder creek trail in the dark

Bud: returning for the mary

Bass Bowl Bounce 2016

(Note – I’m behind and out-of-order on write-ups.  This tour occurred on Jan 24). 

perfect powder deep in the bitterroot wilderness (photo: brian)

Bass Creek is stacked with tons of great ski terrain, is close to town and has a nice trail for easy access/egress.  Perhaps the best long tour up bass creek is the bowl bounce tour, which involves climbing N bass peak above the lake and then skiing and climbing a series of bowls to the E all the way to lappi lake.

upper creek crossing

passing through pinball meadow (photo: brian)

Brian, Jeffrey and I set out from the bass TH by headlamp and with a few short breaks, reached the outlet of the lake in the typical 3 hours.  We were blasted by brutal winds while crossing the lake but persevered and continued up the gladed N face of N bass peak (great moderate run).  The summit was socked-in but fortunately after a few turns down the moderate E face, we slipped below the clouds and enjoyed a nice view of the striking Spurge couloir while skiing all the way down to a bench slightly below the bass-kootenai saddle.  

spurge couloir, drops W from pt. 8285

From there we climbed the N gully of pt. 8285 to the top and skied the next bowl to the E, down to about 7000ft, enjoying the great boot-top powder conditions. 

closing in on pt. 8285, pictured is the steeper NE face that we did not ski

can you find brian in his dark apparel? 

jeffrey bowl bouncin'

Another climb to the E put us atop pt. 8145 followed by another great 1300ft of mellow pow skiing.  We fueled up for the last big climb E to lappi point (pt. 8524), from which we descended the NE ridge for a bit before hanging a L into the lappi west bowl, which again held great mellow powder skiing down to bass creek and an easy ski out to the trailhead. 

pointing 'em home

Stats:  approx. 9200vert in 10.5 hrs car-car

Thoughts:  this is a spectacular tour and could likely shortened by 1 run by exiting to bass creek via the moderate E face of smoky joe or better yet, lengthened by adding-on the spurge couloir or skiing any of the W aspects you climb

Rose: catching this bitterroot classic in such great condition

Thorn: brutal winds while crossing bass lake

Bud: returning in more stable conditions for the Spurge

Bridger Skin to Win Race

Excellent powder skiing and skin management were the two themes of the 2016 skin to win randonee race at bridger bowl.  Fortunately I was able to take full advantage of the former and avoid the latter and take a surprising 5^th place.  Read on for details.

race start (photo: mark story)

le mans start, bulk of the course is along the ridge line in the distance (photo: mark story)

I was battling a minor cold the week leading up to the race but was feeling better by Thursday so decided to pull the trigger and register.  Boy am I glad I did.  With 6 inches overnight and 3 the previous day, the skiing off the ridge was really good!  I was surprised to be first off the line in the Le Mans start, but after a minute or two, the fast folks slowly started passing and when I arrived at the top of the first climb, found myself in 11^th place. 

was not expecting to be first off the line (photo: mark story)

I hoped the steep technical skinning of climbs 2, 3 and 4 would play to my strengths and sure enough, I was able to overtake 3 folks for-real and another 3 battling skin issues (bummed for jeffrey and mike wolfe).  Note – I grew increasingly worried with each I passed that I would be next, since I had only a single pair of skins (no tail clips) but fortunately a few extra seconds of attention and care at each transition kept my glue alive and me in the race.

I was getting glimpses of janelle perhaps a minute ahead on the final climb to and along the ridge but was unable to close the gap as she departed the ridge for the final descent a few seconds before I arrived.  I figured baring a significant crash, I wouldn’t catch her so took my time on the final run, making sure to stay on course and enjoy the skiing.  At the finish, I was excited to hear of brian’s hard fought win but also bummed for mike foote getting off course and costing him the W.

sawyer, brian and foote at the finish (photo: mark story)

mellow pow skiing the following day near ross pass

Props to the bridger patrol for working hard to allow us to stick to the full course (really good course by-the-way) with the new snow.

Rose: really good skiing, both during the race and a few runs afterwards

Thorn: seeing friends have their races derailed by skin issues and course marking

Bud: skimo racing is really fun, dare I invest in race skis and a speedsuit??

Little Tin Cup Peak

With difficult access and no trail, the little tin cup drainage in the bitterroot is infrequently visited.  So when Steve proposed we go explore up there and aim to ski the mellow but prominent E face of little tin cup peak at the head of the drainage, I couldn’t resist.  

ascending the little tin cup drainage

We took advantage of Steve’s sled to cut down the approach, driving/towing 2 miles from the parking area to the chaffin trailhead and another few miles up the road.  From the parked sled, we toured up through some mellow bushwhacking, trending NW to gain the ridge at 7800ft.  Here we hoped to find the entrance to a sparsely treed N facing chute, that grants access down into the drainage (which is otherwise largely protected by cliffs and dense trees).  We were a little above it but after some poking around and stability assessment, found an entrance and cautiously proceeded down (lower third of chute is approx 38 degrees).

access chute

We then pointed our skis up the drainage and plodded along, until we found ourselves on top of the peak, enjoying occasional views through the clouds of the como sisters to the north and sugarloaf to the south.  After ogling at the S gully down into chaffin creek, we skied the mellow but enjoyable E face down to a bench before reclimbing to the summit.   

nearing the summit, the tin cup chutes drop N off this ridge line 

S gully to chaffin creek (bottom 500ft may be scrappy)

mellow E face

We then skied all the way down the drainage, favoring high/skier’s L.  A slow slog up the unconsolidated N facing chute commenced before we ripped skins and egressed to the sled and truck, the last hour in the dark.

Approx. 6200vert in 8.5 hrs sled-sled

Rose: skiing a prominent face of a peak that rarely gets climbed or skied  

Thorn: slog back up the N facing access chute

Bud: returning for the S gully to chaffin creek

Thoughts:  this was a long tour just to ski the 25degree E face of little tin cup peak.  With an early start, this tour could be logically combined with the tin cup chutes to the north and/or skiing south to chaffin creek and exiting via the chaffin trail.