Slalok Stonecrop sunrise trip
March 16, 2018
Did Slalok aka Stonecrop aka Rex’s Pillar as early am mission with Margus Riga and Kenny Smith.
Left city at 12. Duffey at 3. Upper Lake at 4.20. Matier Glacier 6.20. Stonecrop at 8am. Parking lot at 9.15. Approx 14km 1700m we found N faces with cold boot top stable pow. Wind effect very minor and mostly at 1700m probably from glacier outflow winds. -12 on Matier Glacier. – 6 at Stonecrop. +2 at parking lot.
Gorgeous day with fantastic skiing. We saw a beautiful brocken spectre!
Kenny on the Upper Lake
Kenny and I heading to the moraine. Margus Riga picture
Up in the dark. Don’t fall in the seracs!
Topped out on the Matier Glacier. Sky is just beginning to show dawn. Margus Riga picture
Across the Matier Glacier goes Kenny
Lightbro! Margus with the tools of the trade
Matier shot
Up on the Stonecrop bump as dawn breaks and the first rays of the March sun peek out
Made a kick turn a ways back of the cornice in a (successful) attempt to skin the Stonecrop bump. Margus Riga picture
Kenny up the ridgeline. Margus Riga picture
Matier sunrise – Margus Riga picture
Timeout on the last ramp to Stonecrop peak proper to get some breakfast. Margus Riga picture
The last leg to the summit. Margus Riga picture
Slalok Brocken Spectre!
Slalok summit – Margus Riga picture
Margus Riga picture
Summit selfie. Usually we’d be having morning coffee right about now. But now we got to ski – Margus Riga picture
Mt Baker almost 90kms away
Anticipation. Folsom Customs Cash 106 ready. Huge ski cut and just surface sluff! Fast cold pow. Hopped onto a rock perch and took some pics
Riga’s Rampage! Made short work of the steepest part
Kenny slicing the upper Stonecrop Glacier face
About a third of the way down
A bit less than halfway down. Another 500m vert to go to Upper Lake. Margus for scale
Into the central chute – Margus Riga picture
Kenny gutting the Central Chute’s collection zone – Margus Riga picture
Kenny on the last stretch. Powder from top to bottom.
and…. back to the barn. Off the Stonecrop Face and back on the Upper Lake
Obligatory Matier Glacier seracs. Each block of blue ice bigger than a Squampton townhouse
Our skintrack. Elegantly done if we must say so especially give that we cut it in the dark
More skintrack
Nice sluffage
Back to lower lake where the daily snowshoers were just arriving