Mt. Herman Skiing - November 23rd

 After a great day skiing on Friday 4 friends and I headed back to Mt. Herman in search of some more powder. We again followed the skin track up the bowl and prepared to drop in on the NW side. The snow was almost as good as the day before and mine and Miles tracks were still the only ones down the slope. I found a nice cliff and dropped first. After, each person was able to find their own line and get some fresh tracks.

Me dropping in. Photo Jeff Schomaker

 We then decided to tour up to the area area seen in the photo as there were no tracks on any of the sub peaks or chutes. The 5 of us split in to 2 groups and we all found some more untracked lines. Once we all regrouped in the valley bottom Jeff Schomaker and I decided to try and find a couloir we had seen earlier in the morning. We toured up a steep slope and then contoured around the peak to where we thought the couloir entrance would be. As luck would have it we ended up right where we wanted. From the top of the couloir it looked far more intimidating then it did from below. We talked about how we wanted to ski it and I prepared to drop.
 I made 2 turns above the couloir proper and then felt much better as I was now able to see clearly down the entire line. At this point I pointed it through the couloir and then as I exited arced some big GS turns to slow down. The snow was slightly more consolidated then I expected and skied faster. I then watched Jeff rip the line in style!

The couloir is to the left of the large rocky peak. The other areas we skied are to the right.

 We then all regrouped, toured back to the top for lunch, and then descended back to the car with variable snow conditions. Another awesome November day! 

Stone Man Couloir - November 22nd

 After 3 days of sunshine my friend Miles Morris and I went searching for some north facing slopes and more sheltered areas in hopes of still finding some good skiing conditions. On Friday Nov 22nd we left the Heather Meadows Parking lot at Mt. Baker Ski Area at around 7:45 am. We followed an existing skin track that Miles had placed on Tuesday up the bowl and to the top of Mt. Herman. The steep NW facing aspect off the backside was untracked and conditions looked excellent.
 After transitioning and taking a short break Miles ski cut one turn and there were no signs of instability. After he exited in the valley below I followed and had great boot top consolidated powder the entire way down.

Me skiing down the backside of Hermans

 When we had arrived at the parking lot that morning Miles and I had been looking at the Stone Man Couloir. We had discussed possibly doing it if the exit chutes were filled in enough and we found conditions to be stable, I had never checked it out so early in the season. I quickly set a skin track from the valley directly over until we were looking up Stone Man. After 3 days of sunshine and consolidation Miles and I had found no signs of significant instability. There were some small pin wheels being consistently shed off the surrounding rocks, but we were confident it would only be a small concern in the couloir. The lookers left (skiers right) chute looked like it would provide the best exit so we decided to climb the lookers right chute to gain the couloir proper. It proved to be slightly tricky, but we both made it through without any significant difficulty. 

Me entering Stone man via lookers right (skier left) chute.

 While it probably would have been possible to skin up some of Stone Man we opted to boot back up the lookers right side. The main factor in this decision was leaving the rest of the couloir untracked for skiing. Throughout the lower section we had mainly sun warmed powder that made the boot pack not to difficult. Miles and I alternated setting the boot pack, and at the top, where the mountain provided more shade, we had some nice light powder that was more difficult on the way up, but great on the way down! There was no difficulty with cornices at the top and we topped out around 11:00am.

Me going up Stone Man

 We both geared up and I prepared to ski first. After ski cutting one turn up top and feeling confident I ripped the couloir the entire way to above the exit chute. I had one small sluff that I initiated up top, but it was minor and totally manageable. I skied cautiously up to the chute for a closer look. There was a rock in the middle so I pointed it, hoped over the rock,  and straight lined out to the snow field below. A couple big GS turns finished off an excellent descent in surprisingly good conditions! I then watched Miles drop and he as well enjoyed an excellent run.

Checking out our lines down Stone Man. You can just see the entrance track on the right.

 We then skinned onto the shoulder of Herman and back up to the top. After enjoying a gorgeous lunch with awesome views we skied sun effected mushy snow, that in no way compared to the morning, down the the creek below. We arrived back at the car at 1:30pm.

Creek Exit

Shuksan

Mt. Ruth - November 20th 2013

 On Wednesday Nov 20th my friend Jeff and I summited and skied Mt. Ruth. Ruth is located in the North Cascades near Mt Baker Ski Area and is 7115ft in elevation. All day long we enjoyed great weather and views of Mt. Baker, Shuksan, Glacier Peak, the Pickett Range and into Canada.
 Initially Jeff and I left Seattle at 3:30 am, arriving at the Hannegan Pass trail head at 6:15 am, after some adventurous snow driving in the Subaru. We were skinning from the car at 6:40 am. The sun rose shortly after and we enjoyed great views all morning.
  We reached the summit at 11:35 am to a cloudless sky and cold temps. After a quick break and transition we got ready to ski from the Summit at 12:00 pm. From the summit to the saddle we found a mixture of wind buffed powder, fresh snow pockets, and a few wind scoured areas. At the saddle we descended down towards Ruth Creek through steeper terrain and trees. It was a short pitch, before we traversed right to skin out, but was filled with light boot top powder!
 The summer hiking trail provided an interesting ski out. We were able to ski/hike/push most of the way out, but did put skins on for one section do to the fact we would post hole if trying to boot. Jeff and I reached the car at 2:05 pm. Our total trip was 7 hours and 25 minutes.