Tag Archive for 'rappel'

Sugarloaf East Face

Published on May 14, 2012 by a ok.

Sugarloaf's East face.

Ever since a very snow-sparse adventure ski outing with Andy early in the 2010/2011 ski season, in which we both looked down Sugarloaf’s East face from the summit and wondered if the line were continuous, I’ve had my eye on returning to ski it. (Fortunately, we correctly guessed that it was not continuous, an obvious fact to Alta regulars) Once we skied around to a different vantage point, the sweetness of the line was a little more apparent, as was the need for a little ropework.

It’s been over a year and a half, but the stars finally aligned to enable a descent. It might not have taken so long, but Continue reading ‘Sugarloaf East Face’

Located in 03 Adventures and Wasatch 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Monte Cristo Direct (Redux)

Published on April 10, 2012 by a ok.

It’s déjà vu all over again. – Yogi Berra

The ski days of late keep requiring a PROBAR breakfast – in my case, usually one PROBAR and one or two Fruition bars tossed down the hatch while driving to the mountains. Today’s feast included the new double chocolate flavor, as well as lemon. Both are flavorful!  It’s a fast breakfast of choice when time is at a premium. And, of late, spare time has been a little spare. Not unlike the direction the snowpack is heading.

Snow is quickly becoming a premium commodity in the ole Wasatch.

But, duty called. A page out of last season’s playbook apparently got mixed in with this year’s edition. The situation was virtually identical, leading to the need for the opening quote. Just as happened with last year’s Hellgate Couloir outing and subsequent solo return visit  Continue reading ‘Monte Cristo Direct (Redux)’

Located in 03 Adventures, 06 Energy Sources, 11 Perspective, Going Light(er) Fast(er) Far(ther) and Wasatch 4 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Monte Cristo Directissimo

Published on April 9, 2012 by a ok.

Pondsy came to town – all the way from Boston – so like any conscientious ski mountaineer, I did not suggest that we ski the foot or so of untracked, buttery soft, light as a feather powder still to be found on certain aspects here in the Wasatch range. No snorkel meter measurements for us. No. Instead, I agreed that it was a fine idea when he suggested the south facing Directissimo. That seemed likely to provide a fine outing on a variable snow surface.

The moon, sunrise, Superior, Pondsy out for a stroll in the Wasatch..

Indeed, the line included all of: bulletproof, flowing water, breakable crust, frozen avy debris, corn, chicken heads, and death cookies. No powder in sight. It was sweet. Some people search high and low for a ski descent that provides smooth consistency in the snow surface from top to bottom. That’s no way to Continue reading ‘Monte Cristo Directissimo’

Located in 03 Adventures, Going Light(er) Fast(er) Far(ther) and Wasatch 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

The 2010/2011 Ski Season in Pictures

Published on August 16, 2011 by a ok.

Ah, the middle of August. A good time to reflect on less brutally hot times. That’s not too hard to accomplish when you’ve brought a camera along for many days of fun skiing on the snow. These may not all be the best pictures I (and others) took this year, but they’re among my favorites. Each one brings back plenty of memories. Good stuff. And a fine way to cool off in the heat..

We began the year with much the same ideal as we ended it - 'we don't need much snow to call it skiing.' Andy on the ridge between Sugarloaf and Devil's Castle.

I still think 'complete trust' sums up this shot just fine.

Well, I'll be...! Jason Borro was probably the first person to set foot into the Northwest Couloir of the Pfeifferhorn this season.

J-Bo rappels the Hellgate Couloir.

Andy Coyle is a funny guy no matter how you slice it. He set up this shot.

Red Baldy, rimed.

Zach Guy comes face to face with Jungle-whacking in the PNW.

A OK about to disappear over the edge, on the Pfeifferhorn. Pic by Jason Borro.

Jon Swain drives it down the Hallway.

Cold, lonely, and single. I'm talking about the tree. Zach Guy adds some companionship..

White Baldy ridge.

Andy Dorais takes to the backside of the Question Mark wall.

Fine scenery on Timpanogos.

Jason Dorais climbs a chimney. I'm giving it a 10 on the butt shot meter!

At least this tree has some company.

Matthew Turley on the other end of a camera for a change. West face of Timpanogos.

Greg Foster opens up a clogged chimney in a rime blasted winter wonderland.

Jason Dorais gets his hop on.

Beware of your neighbors. They may invite you to heaven. Jason Borro on the receiving end of an invite.

AD nearing full submersion in Country Lane.

Starting the day off near unfrozen waters.

Jon Swain sacks it up for his first ski rappel. First with me, at least.

Proving these pictures are in no particular order, this was the scene on July 4th. Aliens took all the people and left all the ski (and board) gear behind. Boy, did they ever get that one wrong!

'Uh, guys, the roof is caving in..' Never has a man pulled on his pants and exited a snow cave so quickly as Zach did following my morning greeting. And why, I wonder, did he have to pull on his pants? Mmm, maybe it was his boots...

Ansel OKeefe on the camera.

Andy Dorais searches for passage over the block on Cioccetti's Ribbon.

This picture still makes me laugh. Jason Dorais getting his inner monkey on.

I saw a lot of Jon Swain's hand(s) this winter.

Sometimes I even glimpsed other body parts. Often, just a powder flume. Or a powder sweater.

If you look close, you'll see JD.

Jon executing a smooth kick turn in a tricky spot on Mount Raymond.

Jon blows it down Red Stack.

Sometimes the stark, cold, grey nature of clouds and the landscape has absolute beauty. Maybe moreso in August, but I doubt that.

It really was that steep, in that section. A OK traversing Cioccetti's Ribbon. Photo by Andy Dorais.

Fresh tracks getting the black and white treatment. A new-to-us line on the Pfeifferhorn.

Timpanogos, from the north.

JD brings it down the lower half of the Pfeiff's NW Couloir.

And who is this avid proponent of lycra outerwear, wearing sensible and warm clothing in the deep mountain snow? None other than Andy Dorais!

JD going for it on Timpanogos.

Sunrise is fine when you've got snow on the mind..

A OK watching the visibility roll out.

The brothers Dorais trot up Provo Peak.

This is where I get all my ideas on lightweight ski clothing. JD getting air over the valley. A lot of air, it seems!

Jon Swain after having laid waste to Main Baldy Chute 9 times. He looked how I felt!

My favorite shot of myself skiing this season. Heading down Y Couloir. Pic by Jason Dorais.

 

 

 

Located in 03 Adventures, 14 Pictorials and Wasatch 8 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

C.A.M.P. ALP 95 Harness Review

Published on June 29, 2011 by a ok.

C.A.M.P. is an acronym for some Italian words that mean, in short, ‘articles for mountaineering made in Premana.’ Premana is an Italian town. C.A.M.P. has been around longer than anybody on the planet has been alive. Solid performance. In that time, they’ve learned how to make some incredibly lightweight mountain gear. The ALP 95 mountaineering harness is no exception.

The ALP 95 awaits its turn to perform.

Weight:

How light is it? I measured my Men’s size medium harness at 123.5 grams. How light is that? Let’s put it this way: if you took a 9 foot length of one inch tubular webbing and used that to make an impromptu harness, you’d have a product that weighs less than the ALP 95. How much lighter? 1.5 grams. But you’d have a lot more difficulty using the webbing. It would Continue reading ‘C.A.M.P. ALP 95 Harness Review’

Located in 13 Gear Testing 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Misunderestimated* on Davenport Hill

Published on June 25, 2011 by a ok.

A 'misunderestimation' in full effect.

..And another view for good measure, this time from the summit of Patsy Marley.

Seemed like a great day to see if I could bite off a bit more of the fine, cliff laden features of Davenport Hill following a visit a few days prior. This time I headed to the Southern ridge, where the rappel action is a bit larger. Both the approach to, and the egress from Davenport Hill were able to be done without removing the skis (aside from during the rappels). However, with the amount of snow which has burned off in only two days, that bonus might be gone very soon.

Somehow managing to wake myself only an hour late after forgetting to press ‘save’ on the alarm, I still topped out before the sun had hit the slope. Works for me. Perhaps that is why the snow was quite frozen on the approach, despite above-freezing temps all week. After a few minutes of sun warming, the Continue reading ‘Misunderestimated* on Davenport Hill’

Located in 03 Adventures and Wasatch 4 Comments Tags: , , , .