Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!
i would like to ski stevens next year because i think the park is more fun than snoqualmies... but i dont want to give up alpentals backcountry. so my question is how does stevens backcountry compare?is it better? smaller? more pow?
k, sweet thanks
but lets say that at both mountains there was 2 feet of fresh what would be a more ideal place to ski, stevens or alpy?
Nah, not for now. Seems to be the new thing though...Park passes, then those..
doesn't alpy do a little patrol in its BC? Stevens doesn't own most of its BC so no patrol done at all for most of it.
Upper half of Crystal is great on a good pow day(when they dont have lift problems)...plus you get days at qualmie with a crystal season pass(and easily more than the 10 they say you get, basically unlimited) so you can ski park at qualmie when you want to ski park. do that..
Too bad they put in Northway though, it was such a short hike before that and it got less traffic...At least now you can get a lot of runs out there w/o shuttle back time. Oh well, the steeps of South Back are the best sidecountry slots in washington anyways, and now with Northway it gets less traffic than before. Talk about speed. I wish Stevens had steeps and cliffs like those....damnit, I want a pass to Crystal, stevens(and use the crystal for Alpy) and baker... I think Crystal shatters Baker.
Crystal:
[URL=http://img17.imageshack.us/i/silverking.jpg/]
[/URL][URL=http://g.imageshack.us/img17/silverking.jpg/1/]
[/URL]
[URL=http://img7.imageshack.us/i/dsc06562b.jpg/]
[/URL][URL=http://g.imageshack.us/img7/dsc06562b.jpg/1/]
[/URL]
Hey you Jackaloons,
Check out www.ridestevenspass.com for video teasers from TGR & RAGE Films!
CSHALBOT is the man!
I agree that this would be super beneficial. A course taught toward what the “NS-type community” needs and fill in the holes from “traditional” avy classes.
I agree that most avy courses seem to be geared toward touring, where information is gathered on the approach. So learning your options when you are on top of something without having being down below first, what can you do? That’s more the type of “backcountry/slackcountry” encountered with lift-service-plus-a-hike areas at Stevens. Learning how to drop a cornice on a slope (since you probably won’t be to thump the slope with explosives), safe ski cutting, or send your photographer down first to “get a good shot” when really he is the guinea pig testing stability.
Also for beacons, to go beyond the basic flat ground, skis off type search. Learn the panic now, and not encounter it for the first time when someone’s life is on the line.
Hangfire; is it safe to go search?
When do you shed your skis and poles? When you’re in the final grid search? Obviously are faster to travel on in deep snow, but at some point they are going to be in the way when you are digging.
Is the person buried deep or shallow? Deep enough to require probing? Shallow enough to just dig?
Smart digging. Anyone learned the triangle/bench method (not sure what is official title is), instead of blindly digging straight down?
Your gear. Your shovel and probe really should have its own pocket, so you can yank it out and not worry about losing your camera and fruit snacks.
Group versus 2-3 person posse.
thread bump-
Do you have a TGR account? I think I recognize your name from somewhere..
Are you hitting up Baker much next year? I am planning on taking a pow weekend or two this coming season away from Stevens and head a few hours up to Baker. I'd probably trust someone ese from TGR to know what they are doing more than here haha..I'd love to hit up Baker with somebody that knows it's terrain well since all I have done is a few slots off Shuksan Arm.
