Plummer
Ryan White on the Pinnacle Peak circumnavigation tour
South side of Plummer
Southwest side of Unicorn Peak
Goat Rocks
Ryan skiing down to the Pinnacle/Plummer col
Mike doing the same
Mike skiing down from Plummer
Ryan blazing down Plummer
Lane Peak
Zipper Couloir crown
Mike under the Tooth (different trip)
Mount St. Helens
Unicorn
Mount Adams
Mike and Ryan
Unicorn, Polycorn (unofficial but better than nothing), Adams, and Foss Peak
Tevens Peak and Unicorn
Stevens above Unicorn, north ridge
Foss, a sweet mountain top
Polycorn and Adams
Mike and Ryan thinking about dropping in
Castle from the east
After skiing the Tatoosh the last 4 out of 5 days of skiing, on the way up we were afraid of getting a little Tatooshed out. It is a small range after all. But then, thinking about the proximity to Seattle, the high elevation that the road brings you to, the stunning beauty of the rocky pinnacle mountaintops around you and Rainier right across from you, the sweet terrain to ski in any avy condition, and the wildness you feel due to the lack of people and the possibilities of tours we have not yet done, we weren't that close to getting Tatooshed out.
The last tour we did a circumnavigation of Pinnacle Peak by going up to the Castle/Pinnacle col, traversing around the south side of Pinnacle, then skiing down to the Pinnacle/Plummer col, hustling up Plummer (a cool mountaintop) before the storm rolled in, then having a great long run down to the valley floor. The spontaineous decision making and our course that went through new terrain gave the tour a sense of exciting exploration, compounded by the dark clouds heading our way that added urgency and adventure. Then, reaching a mountaintop, the epitome of achieving a goal or completing a challenge, is always a reward before the downhill, another reward, and a reward that loses more meaning on chairlifts.
People in the carpark below, especially at Rainier NP, ask why you hike uphill. They think it's crazy. They usually have southern license plates, big cars, and don't walk further than the 50 yards to get to the next scenic overlook. I want to tell them its crazier to drive to WA from Texas and not get out of the car when you're in these mountains. This time, I even pulled out my skins, let them feel the one way traction, wanting to convince them this isn't crazy! You're crazy not to do it, it's so good, as Bill Briggs would say.
Yesterday was a beautiful day and we went up to the Castle, then took a left up the ridge, skied off the south side, skinned back up to the little lake under No Name, skinned up that ridge while drooling over the ski terrain next to us. Got near the top and saw a sweet couloir that looked burly with the big cornice and cliffs around it. This is where we discussed the difference between inbounds and backcountry. The couloir wouldn't even deserve hesitation if it was inbounds. But out here, this far back, you think about avalanches, injuries, how you could get out, getting lost in a fog, losing a ski, etc. There are many factors to be weighed all day long, making this sport so much more involved than the inbounds variety, which is fun but more mindless. And after you do it awhile, even the uphills are a part of the highlights: "Man, skinning that ridge was the best part!"
But the couloir was short and would cut us off from our out, and beyond the couloir it looked a bit flat, so we decided to ski the run we drooled over next to the skin track. It skied beautifully. The undulating pitches were a playground for bank turns and hucking off rollovers. The snow was boot top cream. No worries over avalanches. So we went back up for more. Then traversed north, skiing more pitches down to the road.
Tatooshed out? Far from it. Next up: the riding that great Unicorn in the sky.
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