As part of the Bushwhacker's scrambling class, we headed up to Snoqualmie Pass to practice our snow and ice ax skills. It was a fun day with surprisingly nice weather. We started at the Alpental parking lot and began heading up beneath the lifts. We practiced walking with our ax, moving in balance, and turning. Near the junction of Lower International and Cascade Traverse, we set up a bench and began practicing self arrests. Basically you get to lower yourself down a slope in a bunch of different positions and practice stopping with your ax. It was a little unnerving practicing going down head first on your back as you must trust someone to hold your feet while you dangle upside down into that position. We learned a lot of important skills and played in the snow like a bunch of kids.
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| Doug one of our instructors |
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| Getting ready to launch myself (and hopefully stop) |
Once we had mastered our self arrest, it was time to put it all together and do some climbing. We headed up the International ski run taking turns leading and kicking steps. It's tiring work, but also surprisingly meditative. You can really get in a rhythm and all your mind is really thinking about is taking the next step. Eventually we made it to the top where the last ski lift ends. At this point you're almost to the top of Denny Mountain, but not quite. We took in the view and hung out on the stationary lift chairs.
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| Up we go! |
Our last skill of the day was glissading which basically means sliding on your butt down the mountain using your ax to control your speed and direction. This was by far the best part! We descended via the Edelweiss Bowl, which was my first ever descent down a black diamond ski run (although it was entirely on my rear!). From there we picked our way back down to the cars, plenty tired and ready for dinner and beer in North Bend.
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