Super Secret Stash Clearing

It's about that time.  Leaves are pretty much down.  It never stops raining, except when it's snowing, as it right now.  Time to get out the maps, look for promising spots and go do some scouting.

Then, of course, there's a list of stuff I should go see if I can clear.  Some of it's a friggin' mess and seems impossible, but I've skied it before looking like it is, so perhaps moving a couple logs and trimming some small stuff can make it better?

I don't like to start scouting until the leaves are down because the forest looks so different.  There are spots I never though I'd ski that look pretty damn good when the leaves and undergrowth have died down.

There is a lot of blow down this year due to the heavy winds and wet ground. I spent several days chain sawing. chopping, moving and trimming a couple of weeks back. Good luck.

I can't (legally) use a chainsaw in the areas I ski.

I take 14" handsaw and some nippers.  If it's bigger than what I can handle with those, I ski around or over it.

Again, I don't see much use in cutting up the big stuff or moving it unless I have an area to put it where I won't ski.  Putting it in small chunks and in holes (provided I can find holes) still is in the line of fire.

The one area I clean really well I pile all the stuff on an old rock wall which I don't want to ski over anyway.

I really like Hillmap for looking at areas on the screen:

http://www.hillmap.com/

I went out and did some "trail" work this morning.  The snow came early on me this year, so I got a late start.  This area is low elevation, so it lost most of its snow and looks like it may lose all soon with the rain coming.  If it gets a big dump, it should be on for short laps.



I started with this guy.  Natural drainage bowl with about 100'+ if you go all the way to the top knob.  Pitch is nice, really wide open with a nice runout at the bottom.  Super clean, shouldn't take much snow to ski.  There's still a big log in the middle I couldn't move, so I'll need to cut it out, but I didn't have a saw today.  With enough snow, it'll disappear.



That's the tippy top.  Short steep section then a flat and hard right into the gully.  Not sure if I'll actually ski from there or just from where I'm standing.



Flattish section before dropping right into the gully.



Same as first pic, looking down.




Another drainage I cleared - this one a little shorter and narrower.



From the top.




This one is really good.  Wide, steep but needs more work.  A little ways down from where I'm standing is a huge tree and it chokes into a narrow gully.  I need to go back with a hand chain or something to get that out.  Also clear a few logs up top, but not too much.



Something I'm thinking about working on... not sure if it's worth it.  Not that much vert but it's pretty clean to start.  It's kind of hard to get to though, which makes me think I should keep looking and working in other spots.

Here's another one I'm working on in my mind.  No idea if it's actually feasible.



NW facing hardwoods with decent pitch in an area I call "twin knobs".  The appeal to this hill is it connected by a truck trail which I can use to access and climb.

It's about a half mile down with some decent pitches.  I messed with the lines a bit to find the most consistent way down but walking it will be much easier.  It looks promising enough.  About 300' vert over 1/2 mile with about a 3/4 mile ski back up the (unplowed) road.

I need to get out there and do some boots on ground recon.

Solid work, Stunts. That creek bed could be a lot of fun with some snow. You seem to have a lot of energy, keep it up.

I agree.

Does anyone else see Keith Richards in this:

Those look like some nice places. I always have my eye out for areas that will be good ski tours. Having a friend to help with clearing that will also ski it with you is a smart thing, it's never really a smart thing to be skiing way back in the woods without a partner.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

Solid work, Stunts. That creek bed could be a lot of fun with some snow. You seem to have a lot of energy, keep it up.

The snow will come and I have a lot of areas.  Just a matter of time and space coming together.  Also, if you squint your eyes you can almost imagine a guy with a beard and poles that are too long telemarking down those slopes.

Harvey wrote

I agree.

Does anyone else see Keith Richard in this:

I see a a face, but I'm not sure it is Keef.

PeeTex wrote

Those look like some nice places. I always have my eye out for areas that will be good ski tours. Having a friend to help with clearing that will also ski it with you is a smart thing, it's never really a smart thing to be skiing way back in the woods without a partner.

I ski alone a lot.  You'd be surprised how out in the open some of my "secret" areas are.  Most people wouldn't even know because they don't care or know to look.

Man - I think I nailed it getting out the other day.  The ground was frozen from those cold days we had around Thanksgiving and now it's warm and raining like crazy.  It'll be a total slop fest this week.

I need to get up to my high elevation spots and do some work.  They were buried with snow and hunters the past few weeks, but hopefully I'll get a break after this rain.  I already noticed a couple inconvenient trees laying across stuff I skied last season.

There's a pretty sweet stash in my backyard.  Unfortunately, it's a tad bit too low elevation to be reliable.  It's been good for fairly extended periods 3 out of the 7 seasons that I have lived here.  It starts at about 3400ft (my backyard) and weaves up through a combination of state park and ski area land to a high-point of about 4000ft.  For fire protection, I clear my property annually, so the 100 of so vertical feet in my yard/state park is super clear.  It faces directly north, and needs 2 or 3 consistent desert dumps (4 to 6 inches is a big dump over here... it snows considerable less on this side of the Cascades... 40 miles west, and those numbers triple).  Farther up the hill, it becomes North East and East facing.  I have done some clearing up higher, and have been blessed by a state park logging operation that is currently in progress.  They creating a fire-break on the North side of the park.  I was hiking up there with my old lady yesterday... we both were amazed at the work they've done so far.  Going forward, it will require very little work to keep it riding smooth.  The upper portion (now owned by the ski area) was cleaned about 5 years ago.  The ascent is about 600ft... it takes me about 30 minutes.  Nothing technical... pretty much the text book definition of Hippy Pow.  There are some steeper lines above the high-point.  You can thrill seek up there when there is good snow, but it's not my thing.  These days, I'm down more for the Hippy Pow.  I share the space with fellow fanatics from the canyon, but in general, when it's good, there are only a small handful of people putting down tracks on it.

I'm not optimistic about this season, but we'll see what happens.  Snow level for this latest storm is well above my backyard.  It's never been rideable in November, but was amazing before Christmas of 2016.  

As of now... it's looking pretty boney



Here's the overhead view.  I'll post some pics if I get a chance to ride it this season.
 

Dude - that looks real nice.

Hippie Pow - uh yeah, that's about all I ski!

What I've found about low vert kind of stuff is you have to find really the perfect pitch.  Too low angle and you have no real speed in deep snow, too steep, and you get like two turns before bottom out or if it's real steep and technical, it's just slow jump turns around trees (at least here).

I used to XC ski and bike all over with no clue about any of this.  Then I started looking with a different eye.  Then I actually tried skiing some of it.  Now I try to spot the stuff that gives me the best chance at skiing a line or many, with the least amount of clean up.  If it's 50' of 15 deg slope, I'll ski it if it's clean.  If I have to move a bunch of logs, then probably not.

Some of the higher elevation areas where I ski (which are low compared to your high elevation Nepa) get a lot more snow, so I have to do less work.  Usually it's just finding something that has a somewhat sustained pitch, isn't a PITA to get to, and doesn't have too young a forest that it's covered in whips and saplings.  Also there are lots of plantations of evergreens like White Pine and such, which I avoid at all costs.  They are often planted really tight, get almost no snow cover and are a stick mess on the ground.  The actual natural White Pines that grow around aren't much an issue but often Hemlocks indicate a glen, which is not where you want to ski - they are typically really steep and where the bedrock has been eroded.  With a huge amount of snow, some could be skiable, but I generally avoid them and they are easy to spot on the sat images.

I've also had TERRIBLE luck with anything that even remotely faces south.  It's not that it doesn't get snow, but I keep hitting these death crusts everytime I try to ski those aspects.  There's probably a time when it's perfect, soft corn, but I can never hit it.

Cunningstunts wrote

What I've found about low vert kind of stuff is you have to find really the perfect pitch.  Too low angle and you have no real speed in deep snow, too steep, and you get like two turns before bottom out or if it's real steep and technical, it's just slow jump turns around trees (at least here).

For sure... this run is pretty low angle most of the way... just enough pitch to have fun with.  We're lucky over here on the East side of the Cascades.  It's much colder.  We get half the snow as the West side, but much higher quality than closer to the crest.  More often than not, we get Blower as opposed to Concrete.  Unfortunately, our blower cycles have fairly extended dry spells between them.  This low angle terrain with Steven's style snow is no fun.  Of course, if it were Stevens style, it would have fresh snow on it every 3rd day or so.  That said, the length of this descent is short, but still well worth the effort on good days.

Cunningstunts wrote

I used to XC ski and bike all over with no clue about any of this.  Then I started looking with a different eye.  Then I actually tried skiing some of it.  Now I try to spot the stuff that gives me the best chance at skiing a line or many, with the least amount of clean up.  If it's 50' of 15 deg slope, I'll ski it if it's clean.  If I have to move a bunch of logs, then probably not.

I totally understand what you're saying.  Before I moved out here from PA, I was an in-bounds resort rider.  Skied since 78, got on a snowboard in 92, and now equally enjoy both methods of descent.  Started skiing again when I moved.  I own a Splitty, but have found that skis are much more efficient for exploration.  It took a while for me to get an "eye" for spotting good low elevation back-country terrain.  Above the tree line it's pretty simple... down low, there are a lot of traps... with thin cover, often we find dog shit disguised as gold.

Cunningstunts wrote

Some of the higher elevation areas where I ski (which are low compared to your high elevation Nepa) get a lot more snow, so I have to do less work.  Usually it's just finding something that has a somewhat sustained pitch, isn't a PITA to get to, and doesn't have too young a forest that it's covered in whips and saplings.  Also there are lots of plantations of evergreens like White Pine and such, which I avoid at all costs.  They are often planted really tight, get almost no snow cover and are a stick mess on the ground.  The actual natural White Pines that grow around aren't much an issue but often Hemlocks indicate a glen, which is not where you want to ski - they are typically really steep and where the bedrock has been eroded.  With a huge amount of snow, some could be skiable, but I generally avoid them and they are easy to spot on the sat images.

Yeah.  I remember what the woods looked like over in PA.  I lived up in Susquehanna county for about 10 years.  I had about 25 acres that rose up from just above river level.  Thinking back, I can remember some cool spots, but for some reason was too lazy to do any exploring.  I never actually did anything but ride lifts.    I'm pretty fortunate I married a smart woman.  We both love snow, and were open to relocating.  She's in medicine, and has a skill that is in high demand.  We picked our location based on recreational opportunity.  We hit the jackpot with the Wenatchee area.
   

Cunningstunts wrote

I've also had TERRIBLE luck with anything that even remotely faces south.  It's not that it doesn't get snow, but I keep hitting these death crusts everytime I try to ski those aspects.  There's probably a time when it's perfect, soft corn, but I can never hit it.

It's a double edged sword.  I live in a North facing canyon.  This time of year, I crave south facing aspects as a result of Sunshine starvation.  The hills around me hold snow very well, but the lack of sunlight gets to be a bit depressing.

nepa wrote

For sure... this run is pretty low angle most of the way... just enough pitch to have fun with.  We're lucky over here on the East side of the Cascades.  It's much colder.  We get half the snow as the West side, but much higher quality than closer to the crest.  More often than not, we get Blower as opposed to Concrete.  Unfortunately, our blower cycles have fairly extended dry spells between them.  This low angle terrain with Steven's style snow is no fun.  Of course, if it were Stevens style, it would have fresh snow on it every 3rd day or so.  That said, the length of this descent is short, but still well worth the effort on good days.

Yeah, I don't know about that part of NY/PA too much, but you probably had a fair share of concrete down there too.  Being in an area where our main snow comes from either Erie or Ontario, and having a somewhat moderate climate, the big dumps can be heavy shit.  It's good because you don't bottom even with our moderate snowfalls, but it suck to break trail through and turn in with certain skis.  It's another reason I've gone to a wider ski.  The less you get down in that shit, the better you can turn.

nepa wrote

Yeah.  I remember what the woods looked like over in PA.  I lived up in Susquehanna county for about 10 years.  I had about 25 acres that rose up from just above river level.  Thinking back, I can remember some cool spots, but for some reason was too lazy to do any exploring.  I never actually did anything but ride lifts.    I'm pretty fortunate I married a smart woman.  We both love snow, and were open to relocating.  She's in medicine, and has a skill that is in high demand.  We picked our location based on recreational opportunity.  We hit the jackpot with the Wenatchee area.

Almost the same forest, rocks and hills here once you get away from the lakes a bit.  The parts of PA I've been to look exactly like southern/western NY.