King Ravine 4-28-07

[cbcbd]

Thanks lftgly for the excellent report which reminded me for getting back in the area

So...

After seeing this pic of Madison from 4/21 I wanted to make it up there and ski from the summit and possibly head over to Great Gully in King Ravine.
Well, after a late start, miserable ascent up the Airline (blowdown galore), soaking wet from the rain and trees, no visibility of Madison, running out of time and happiness... I decided to can Madison and just do Great Gully. After seeing pics of Madison from Thursday I'm not as bummed for missing out on it since it lost lots of it's snowpack.

pics:

Bare at Apalachia

Snow

Tight quarters up higher (maybe 3' high)

End of skinning

View South to King Ravine and Great Gully

Couldn't resist hiking up and skiing this small snowfield left of the Gulfside trail on the way to Great Gully

After walking around a bit I found the entrance to the gully in the fog

The snow up on the gully was amazing and as soon as I hit treeline the brakes were on.

Got lost a couple times trying to find the trail out, with some boulder hopping and sinking in waist deep in the white stuff. The skiing out on the K Ravine Trail and Short line was nothing short of amazing!! Amazing how much it sucked!!

But, thanks for lftgly and friend for clearing some of that blowdown last week and getting me in the mood to get back up there.

I might put some videos up later.

 

[cbcbd]

more pics

Looking down gully

After some sweet turns in "untracked" snow I decided to head back up to the way top. Most of the gully measures >35

The top section dropoff gets a little steeper

Above the dropoff, at top of gully

After traversing left a little bit to avoid the icefall another gully opens up, funnels and then opens up again

Avy debri

 

[andyzee]

Hey, I have one thing to say to you, you got balls! I hope you weren't up there alone, that looks pretty extreme!

 

[Greg]

Awesome! 8)

 

[skiadikt]

yeah great report. what's that bca thingy?

 

[SkiDog]

yeah great report. what's that bca thingy?

Think its called a "clinometer" measures pitch degree...or slope angle..

M

 

[dmc]

yeah great report. what's that bca thingy?

It's a Inclinometer.
I measures slope angles so you can see if you in the "red zone"...
Most avis occur on 30 to 45 degree slopes...

 

[cbcbd]

Hey, I have one thing to say to you, you got balls! I hope you weren't up there alone, that looks pretty extreme!

I got no friends, what can I say...

Ya like the watch?


btw, I probably ski the worse out of everyone that posted in this thread - but hey, I take it easy and wear a helmet

 

[dmc]

Hey, I have one thing to say to you, you got balls! I hope you weren't up there alone, that looks pretty extreme!

It's OK to be alone in the moutnains....

It's a choice..

 

[andyzee]

It's OK to be alone in the moutnains....

It's a choice..

Don't get me wrong, it's great to be alone at times, my only concern would be if something happens. That does looks like some pretty steep terrain.

 

[dmc]

Don't get me wrong, it's great to be alone at times, my only concern would be if something happens. That does looks like some pretty steep terrain.

Just let someone know where you are and when you'll check back in..
And accept the consequences...

 

[Grassi21]

It's a choice..

And accept the consequences...

Unfortunately some people don't realize these two statements go hand in hand. Present company excluded.

 

[dmc]

Unfortunately some people don't realize these two statements go hand in hand. Present company excluded.

Not my problem...

 

[JimG.]

Not my problem...

No it's not.

But if something happened to a person in over their head, somehow they would try to make it your problem.

That's what I despise about people who won't accept personal responsibility.

 

[Grassi21]

Not my problem...

Oh I agree. Just an observation.

 

[andyzee]

Ya like the watch?

Love the pics, love the terrain, love the watch. I got a new one, watch that is, the Suunto S6. (Hate that damn SAC!)

 

[cbcbd]

Love the pics, love the terrain, love the watch. I got a new one, watch that is, the Suunto S6. (Hate that damn SAC!)

Gotta love that SAC

 

[eatskisleep]

Awesome pictures...

 

[dmc]

Oh I agree. Just an observation.

I understood... Just making my usual comments about personal choice and wot-not...

And i didn't used to be that way... But learning some stuff from BC friends has softened my stance... Being alone in the BC is awesome...

 

[andyzee]

Gotta love that SAC

This is the new one:

You hook it up to your computer after your ski trip and get nice graphs like this: