Valley of the Titans

Skinning back to camp

The Valley of the Titans is a north facing cirque that is littered with potential lines. wrapping from East to west it usually has favorable conditions if you are willing to do the long approach. Both Scott and I made a plan to set up basecamp so we could make the most out of our time. With one day of sunshine before another front came in we were on a race against time.

Read more

Sheep Lake Camp and Chinook Pass

1/10 ridge getting glowing in the sunshine
410 on the East side of Chinook Pass with a winter snowpack
Sheep Lake in the Crystal Mountain Backcountry

Sheep Lake has some great terrain surrounding it with a few different aspects. From Shepard Peak to Chinook Pass there is some great areas that see little traffic. Knowing this I made a plan with my friend Scott to do an overnight trip out there. This would give us the opportunity to explore the area and ski some lines we had looked at for a while. Once we felt that it was time to go we would exit via Chinook Pass.

Read more

Sourdough Gap Chutes into Morse Creek

Preparing to snowboard into Morse Creek
Preparing to snowboard into Morse Creek

The Sourdough Gap chutes are in clear view from the summit of the Silver King in the Crystal Mountain Southback. Being just beyond the resort people are always saying how nice of an area they seem to be. Being both north facing and near the top of Morse Creek valley they have the advantage of aspect and wind loading. Knowing both of these things my friend Scott and I made a plan to go check them out.

Read more

Morse Creek Ski Touring Outside Crystal

Enjoying the view on Sourdough Gap towards Sheep Lake

Morse Creek is the area just outside the Crystal Mountain Ski Resort Southback to the South. Separating both Silver Basin and Chinook Pass its a massive area with numerous different zones to ski. Being a east to west drainage its main ski lines are either north or South. The area is most popular for reaching both Sourdough Gap and Crystal Lakes but we worth sticking around. With the ski resort being decently tracking out Ash and I went on a traverse from Chair 6. Our plans were to ride some nice lines and find some good snow in the Morse Creek area.

Read more

Corral Pass ski touring Fiasco

Scoping out potential lines on Corral Pass in the Crystal Mountain Backcountry
Scoping out potential lines on Corral Pass in the Crystal Mountain Backcountry
Ski touring around Corral Pass Washington

Corral Pass at one time was going to be the main resort of the Central Washington Cascades. The original plan was to build a tram from Highway 410 all the way up to the ski hill. This idea went on for a few years before they found the terrain that would become Crystal Mountain. Being someone who loves history I was interested in what was up there. If it was good enough to become a ski hill then there must have been good skiing.

Read more

Pickhandle Point South Face Corn Conditions

Kyle dropping into the South face of Pickhandle Peak
Kyle dropping into the South face of Pickhandle Peak

Pickhandle Point on it’s south face is a wide open swath that goes all the way down to Morse Creek. It’s a big line that should only be rode in the most stable of conditions as it’s clear for a reason. Over the years I had been looking at the line waiting for the right day to snowboard it. With no snow new snow within the ski resort we decided to go check it out.

Read more

The Stormtrooper in Crystal Mountain Backcountry

Snowboarding lower down on the East face of Pickhandle Peak
Snowboarding lower down on the East face of Pickhandle Peak

The Stormtrooper is the face just to the east of Dogleg Peak in Silver Basin. Being of a similar aspect it’s a nice north facing bowl that holds snow longer than most places around. With a solid skin track it is a great place to take multiple laps and easily mitigate avalanche exposure. With that in mind Darren, Bryan and I decided to go link it with the west face of Pickhandle Peak. It was our hopes that is was the last of the untracked slopes near Crystal Mountain.

Read more

Glacier Basin and Yakima Peak

Walking on the ridge of Glacier Basin in a total whiteout
Dropping into the South slope of Glacier Basin
Snowboarding down Yakima Peak

On Memorial day weekend Mount Rainier National park opens the gates to its NE side up to White River Campground (usually a month later sunrise opens). Dan, Tim and myself wanted to go touring but the weather was looking nasty so we decided to head to Glacier Basin and Yakima Peak if the weather didn’t work out.

Read more

Crystal Lakes Basin and 3 Way Peak

Rainier coming out while on the ridge of Crystal Lakes Basin in the Crystal Mountain Backcountry
Rainier coming out while on the ridge of Crystal Lakes Basin in the Crystal Mountain Backcountry
Snowboarding into Crystal Lakes Basin in the Crystal Ski Resort Backcountry

Crystal Lakes Basin is the terrain just west of the Crystal Mountain Ski resort Southback. With its east ridge bordering the Silver King it is withing Mount Rainier National Park. With numerous small cirques it has lines on almost every aspect. As the name suggests the area has two alpine lakes and more then 5 separate peaks to chose from. Wanting to take advantage of a sunny day my friends which are both named Chris and I used the lifts to make our way out there.

Read more