Great Gulf

[boardman]

Anyone know how the snow's holding up over there? Thinking about heading up the Cog tracks on Friday to check it out.

[samthaman]

Anyone know how the snow's holding up over there? Thinking about heading up the Cog tracks on Friday to check it out.

see the circum navigation TR, plenty o'snow

[Doremite]

Boardman:

May be heading up to GG Friday for some exploration as well. Yellow Line skis and white Scarpa tele boots. Say wassssup if we cross paths.

[skimtwashington]

Always gone AFTER auto rd opens to plenty of snow.....full runs for weeks in GULLIES in May....

Are you inquiring about general condition in main chutes(airplane , Pipeline) or slopes on either sides outside of gullies? I heard from one person it was pretty covered...like maybe you could ski outside the gullies....which I haven't done(not counting the wide fans of snow lower down connecting diff. gullies).

In past week, I've talked to several groups who went over but backed off because it was too firm...but...

This past Sunday someone in Cog parking lot said they skied Pipeline and ice bulge was manageable.... plus good snow and coverage.

[Doremite]

Ice bulge?

Pipeline is skier's left or right of Airplane? Approximate distance between skiable entrances?

[RR]

Ice bulge?

Pipeline is skier's left or right of Airplane? Approximate distance between skiable entrances?
The bulge is close to half way down and can be tricky to pass later in the season.

They are a fair bit apart. One is off the northern aspect of the local summit and the other is in the col 10-15 minutes South of the same summit.

[mainwaring]

conditions were excellent last week (weds/thurs/fri). not sure what any rain would have done and i approached from hermit lake so don't know how ammo is (but if you're planning to hike the cog...). i may be up as well fri and may head that way either from the cog or hermit lake. most likely head to great gulf sat / sun given outlook for better conditions vs fri.

[Doremite]

The bulge is close to half way down and can be tricky to pass later in the season.

They are a fair bit apart. One is off the northern aspect of the local summit and the other is in the col 10-15 minutes South of the same summit.

Thanks RR. Been doing a bit o' research and think I understand where they lay as well as in relation to each other. Looking forward to checking them out this weekend.

[boardman]

Pipeline is skier's left of Airplane (i.e., toward Mt. Jeff). As for what I'm thinking of doing, I'd be up for anything. I've done both Pipeline and Airplane before. Might do one of those, then hike back up the center of the Great Gulf (Great Gulf Trail, I think) to see what's doable over there. Be happy to hook up with anyone interested. I'll be hiking up the Cog tracks and boarding down and around. Should be a stellar day to get out!

[Doremite]

Thanks for the info. GG trail preferable to boot back up airplane?

Currently aborting my Friday plans due to high winds and fear of instabilities. Planning on a Saturday mission instead. Hoping things settle down a bit by then. Wind-wise adn otherwise.

Have fun if you get up there tomorrow and be safe.

[yuckster]

It could be a runnel-kayaking, wet sluffs kind of weekend... until it all sluffs off. Hmm. Looks like it won't refreeze at night. Yikes!

[boardman]

Thanks for the info. GG trail preferable to boot back up airplane?

Currently aborting my Friday plans due to high winds and fear of instabilities. Planning on a Saturday mission instead. Hoping things settle down a bit by then. Wind-wise adn otherwise.

Have fun if you get up there tomorrow and be safe.

Depends on where you're heading, I guess. You can just boot right back up Airplane, to one side (there's probably already a boot pack in place). Going up the heart of GG takes you somewhat far to the left (looker's left) of Airplane. From the top of Airplane, it's a short haul over to Ammo/Monroe Brook.

[boardman]

It could be a runnel-kayaking, wet sluffs kind of weekend... until it all sluffs off. Hmm. Looks like it won't refreeze at night. Yikes!

Uh oh, they got 3-4 inches on the summit yesterday, and winds expected to blow hard all day today - that changes things significantly. Damn.

Though tomorrow looks very nice other than for possible avy conditions:

"The high will continue into tomorrow continuing to lower winds, keeping things clear, and beginning a warming pattern through the day and into the weekend."

[boardman]

Uh oh, they got 3-4 inches on the summit yesterday, and winds expected to blow hard all day today - that changes things significantly. Damn.

Though tomorrow looks very nice other than for possible avy conditions:

"The high will continue into tomorrow continuing to lower winds, keeping things clear, and beginning a warming pattern through the day and into the weekend."

damn, I take that back!!! USFS reports 9.5" !!!! :

When I think about the next few days polar opposites come to mind. For today we are back into full on winter with a number of cold slab instabilities. As of 7am this morning the summit has received 9.5”(24cm) of snow while down at 3800ft we only picked up 1.6” (4cm) overnight.

[boardman]

Rangers are killing me this morning. 8:55 and the avy report still isn't up. Still contemplating a run up there, since there's plenty of daylight this time of year, and it's only supposed to get nicer as the day goes on. But if the whole mountain is at High, I won't bother.

[boardman]

9:23 and still nothing . . .

[icelanticskier]

Rangers are killing me this morning. 8:55 and the avy report still isn't up. Still contemplating a run up there, since there's plenty of daylight this time of year, and it's only supposed to get nicer as the day goes on. But if the whole mountain is at High, I won't bother.

ya, late avi posting is pretty much useless for most of my start times so i go by the day b4 report and adjust to what the weather/temps/wind has been doing. most days, utahs reports come out b4 ours and it's 2 hours diff. if yer not where you wanna be already today at or b4 9am, it may be too late anyway.
whole mountain at high? never. plenty of low angle options up there. cloudy here, may not even be worth skiing till the snow starts to fall. gonna be a lazy day me thinks.

rog

[RR]

West side will mostly be scoured with some specific exceptions loading ...the descenders left side of MB Pipe, for instance, but it is so low as to get far less....BIG CAVEAT! above the MB Headwall there's potential for a rip-out that could flush the whole pipe :eek:

Some folks are thinking of Bigelow Lawn (that sounds like a good time to me btw) and what came to my mind was Ball Crag and Nelson Crag have ENE facing snowfields and some turn farming along the northern margins.

[boardman]

I hear ya, rog, but if you go up high today to play, you may be walking down. that sucks. Though the report is out and Left is at moderate. Oh well, I think I'll just wait for things to settle out and get up there one day mid-week next week.

[icelanticskier]

I hear ya, rog, but if you go up high today to play, you may be walking down. that sucks.

hey, whatever it takes to get the goods. come may, we walk all of the way in and most of the way out anyway. decending along the cog will be doable without walking much at all. the old surfaces would be a great option today as well as they heat up to perfection. most likely a much better ski day back home then i'll have out here today. if we get the 5-10 inches that's expected, things could be nice. if not, the touring will be epic and the turning-not so much. life in the wasatch. and people wonder why i prefer spending my ski life around mt washington. this trip was more abut spending time with an old bud than the skiing anyway. the skiing has been worth the walk so far.

already looking forward to skiing when i get back. it's just more consistent.

rog