Myself on the Hollywood Headwall

Last Friday, five of us met at the Daily Bread parking lot at 5:30 AM for dawn patrol.   Kyle had made it up to Frazier Basin on Wednesday, they found stable conditions and the skiing excellent.  Once I heard the possibility of going up on Friday, especially since Kyle has access to two snowmobiles slashing the multi-hour skin to Frazier Basin to less than a 30 minute tow- I was in.  This was my first time to Frazier and I must say I was blown away.  The North Bridgers have so many aesthetic looking couloirs- it is like God himself has carved each mountain vertically with a giant fork.

The red glow of the sunrise hit us just as we made it to the saddle, we then prepared ourselves for our descent into the basin.  One at a time we skied down the North facing access bowl making huge GS turns.  The snow was soft, fast  and predictable, this entrance into the basin was the perfect indication that it was going to be a great day.  Because we went in on sleds, and the nature of the lines we intended to ski, we all had brought our “heavy” alpine gear- well one of us was on teles.  Kyle and I had brought Alpine Trekkers and skins which made the jaunt across the bottom of the basin to access the main lines much easier than the other option which was post-holing across the basin.  Once across the basin the real boot packing began.

There had been a couple inches of snow between when Kyle was there on Wednesday and this had conveniently covered up the boot pack making progress slow on the first lap.  Once on the ridge, quads burning,  we made it over to the aptly named Hollywood Headwall.  The Hollywood Headwall looks like something that is in Alaska or Canada, not Montana due to some obvious fluted features.

Johnny on the lower part of Hollywood Headwall

Johnny dropped in first and cruised through the cliffs and chutes below.  I was up next, I picked a line that was just right of Johnny’s, the first turns through the flutes were fantastic.  Then I met up with Johnny’s line exiting through an anemic chute.  What a classic!  I was psyched.  This instantly gave me more fuel- I was up for another lap- Johnny was also up for another.  So I kicked my way up the boot pack with the uber aesthetic Red Couloir in my mind.

Heidi slashing a turn.

Kyle, Heidi and Blake made their way over to Red Couloir while Johnny and I were on our way up.  I could hear them hoot and holler as they made their way down.  This was going to be good.   I quickly made it across the ridge  to the entrance.  The couloir’s skier’s left side has a bright red overhanging cliff that gives the couloir it’s name- so aesthetic and slightly ominous.  I scan the entrance with my ski tips hung over the edge and drop in.  The snow was certainly variable the left side under the cliff is crusty and the right side was soft and supple.  I let my skis go, making long GS turns speed increasing as I descend.  Near the bottom I see what looks like a little roller.  For some reason I decide it would be a great idea to hit it.  As I closed in it turned out to be a rock barely covered by some snow… it was too late.  My right ski kicked out and at that moment I thought, no I knew, I was finished.  This was one of those times when you don’t know how you landed it- but you did.  I was relieved because by that point I  just flying out of the chute.   At this point I had to decide whether  to call it a day or catch up to the others and squeeze out another lap.  I made it over to the boot pack and started ascending- I guess I am a masochist.   I met up with the group right when they were dropping in to one of the first lines you come to when you get to the ridge.  We dropped in one at a time.

Blake working down the last line of the day.

This line was narrow, but not too narrow and the snow was soft and creamy.  This was a great line to end the day.  To exit the basin we kicked steps back up to the saddle that we entered on.  When we reached the saddle we all took one last look at the lines we had just skied and made our way out to the truck.

Jeff Christenson drops into the Alpental backcountry

It’s the end of December in the Northwest and it’s been 6 weeks since we have released a skiing blog. It’s not because we aren’t getting out and it’s not because we’re slacking. There just isn’t any snow to write about. The east cost and mid west have teamed up to steal December’s allotment of precipitation. I’ve been in Seattle for two weeks and we have accumulated 2 inches of snow at the pass. For an area that boasts 6” of precipitation through the month of December we have fallen well short. As it stands, I have skied two days in a resort this season, with none of them in Washington. It just isn’t worth skidding down an ice slope on rock skis. The boards I have reserved for the thin snow pack haven’t touched a file or a grind stone in over 5 years. With several separated edges and chunks of core littered on rocks in the northwest it’s not the first season these skis have been classified in the rock category. With ample coverage thanks to a large November storm we headed to the backcountry two take advantage of the wind distributed facets. A quick hike into the Alpental backcountry brought my brother, sister and me to wind loaded pockets of snow over a sun crust.

Slashing a turn on the tooth

With light fading fast, Tracy set up for a shot on a ridge in front of The Tooth. It was not her first photo shoot and she nailed her one turn down the shoulder with dust on crust to a spectacular finish in a tree. With the sun behind the peak and no more chances for stopping action we wrapped up for holiday events.

Hike to Chair Peak

The high pressure system held strong, with clear days and cold nights producing new snow in the form of facets. To ensure a smooth transition between family events, my mom scheduled a morning off before hosting her side of the family. My brother and I jumped at the opportunity and were out of the house by 5 am. My father who was aware of our plan the night before laughed at the idea of an icy dawn patrol. While racing the sun, we skinned as far as we could but resorted to boot packing when the relentless icy slopes would not allow for uphill travel.

Kicking up Snow

Chair Peak became the background for the sunrise and we quickly manufactured turns on a sunny wind loaded shoulder. We skied as long as the light held then turned back to the iced southeast face toward the car. The pictures we earned did not reflect the same morning my dad experienced at Alpental. Four hours late and just down the ridge my father took advantage of firm corduroy.

Hucking the first run