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Post by patrick on Apr 18, 2009 19:00:05 GMT -9
Today I went up Pyramid with Lisa and Gregg and while the snow was pretty good - it was pretty much a whiteout. Wet slush falling out of the ski at the parking lot - sort of crusty but soft mid mountain, and around 2-3 inches of new snow on a soft crust on the top. Slight west wind but almost calm and very foggy. Sun poking thru the fog and while it was snowing I did manage to get a pretty bad sunburn.
But the great news is that somebody (rather, to judge by the tracks and clues, 2 coasties and a dog) dug a pretty darn good snowcave. It was nice to hang for a bit and wait on the weather - not that it made a difference. Still, without a snow cave you tend to leave right away. We'll have to make an effort to keep the snowcave maintained this year. I might even take up alder branches to mark the entrance because in the past I remember it used to get totally buried and would be hard to find. Patrick
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Post by Van Curen on Apr 18, 2009 21:56:45 GMT -9
 Hmmm, We found this cave too, after about an hour of digging! We're doing a photo shoot for Blue Diamond nuts. Preston, Andy, and Gage. Three civilians who happen to have short hair. |
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Post by patrick on Apr 19, 2009 6:44:39 GMT -9
The sticker on the truck got me thinking coastie. Just goes to show clues are only clues and can lead interpretations in the wrong direction! Nice cave by the way! Patrick
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Post by mrsquishy on Apr 19, 2009 7:04:37 GMT -9
Nice to see your beacon prominently featured in the photo. Good role modelling. ;D
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Post by preston on Apr 19, 2009 11:02:18 GMT -9
Thanks!
We got up there at about 12:30pm on Saturday and it was white on white, so we figured we'd kill some time digging the cave in hopes that the visibility might improve. That never happened, so we leap frogged down into the south bowl, carving turns for about 50 yd intervals to lay down distinguishable terrain features for one another as we went. The snow was nice at the higher elevations, but was pretty gooey coming down the three tree slope at the bottom.
Our thought was that there will be enough traffic up there to maintain the cave and everyone who ventures up will have a nice hut in which to hang out, etc. The alder cave marker idea is a good one, especially if you find yourself having an all white experience!
Here's hoping for some frosty temps to stiffen things up a bit.
Preston
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Post by patrick on Apr 19, 2009 15:16:22 GMT -9
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Post by Andy on Apr 23, 2009 23:08:11 GMT -9
Is the snow cave still there?
I've been everywhere from Palmer to Homer this week, and Kodiak's got as much snow as anywhere I've seen, at least with proximity to the road.
I did take a tour up Tin Pan Creek in Turnagain Pass on my drive up--my first foray into the mainland backcountry. Maybe more to come this weekend...
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Post by patrick on Apr 24, 2009 17:23:36 GMT -9
Preston and I checked on the cave today. We met John S up there too - He's finally moved back to Kodiak! The cave now has a seating area outside and has been enlarged inside. There are now a two tier bench inside.
Snow was rock hard in the shade and on the North Facing slopes (as of 2:30 PM) - but perfect in the South Bowl. Spring Corn conditions. Down low it got a little isothermic and deep. Patrick
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