I spent last weekend with up at Washington Pass in the North Cascades with Bruce Edgerly and Steve Christie from Backcountry Access, the folks behind the Tracker beacon and a variety of other fine ski touring gear. I'm happy to report that the skiing was springlike and the snowpack is as good as it gets for this time of year.

We spent a day touring from the hair-pin on just below Early Winters Spires and Liberty Bell on Highway 20. We climbed and skied Poster Peak as well as Copper Peak and Hidden Bowl. Temps were ideal for quality snow all day.  Our second day saw warmer  temps and, although the snow softened more than we had hoped on some aspects, we managed another fine tour in the vicinity of Maple Pass.

If you have the time and the weather cooperates with overnight freezing, now is a great time to head for the pass. The Highway opened on May 1st and the coverage is incredible for spring touring. The Pass area offers the ability to take on some excellent tours. If you are unfamiliar with the terrain give North Cascades Mountain Guides a call.

On Monday, I hooked up with Karhu to help celebrate the 25th Anniversary of their XCD ski line with a group tour on the XCD Guide Skis. The Crew included a variety of Media folks as well as Charlie Lozner, Graham Gephart, and Nils Larsen from Karhu. We were also joined by Steve Barnett, early adopter and promoter of cross country downhill skiing. More on this trip in the next post.

Here are a few more Ortler trip shots. The European huts are well known for their food and drink and the Ortler region in particular offers some of the best. 

I am headed north tonight to ski with the boys from Backcountry Access, Karhu, and North Cascades Mountainguides for a few days. The North Cascades Highway opened this morning and given  recent weather patterns, the skiing could well be winter like. I will have images and some beta from the trip next week.

Politics reach Everest. An American climber was booted off the the Nepalese side for carrying a 'Free Tibet' banner. According to the report I read from  Canadian news service CVT.ca, the American climber, identified as William Brant Holland, "is the first mountaineer to be stopped by soldiers and policemen stationed on the Nepalese side of the world's highest mountain to prevent anti-China protests during the planned torch run to the summit.

The climb will take place on the Chinese side of the mountain. But the Nepalese government, complying with pressure from the Chinese government, has posted soldiers on the southern side and banned climbing near the summit between May 1-10 as a precaution.

Police and soldiers have been ordered to stop any protest on the mountain using whatever means necessary, including use of weapons, although the use of deadly force is authorized only as a last resort. "

Full Story here

Here are a few more shots from the Ortler trip. The trip started with a ride up the tram in Solden, Italy.  Although the weather was less than ideal, we did have a few sun breaks now and then.  

I recently returned from a seven day hut trip in Italy through the Ortler region with our friends from North Cascades Mountain Guides. Touring between huts in Europe is much different than any North American equivilant. The rich history of the mountains and the level of comfort offered in the Ortler region huts is unmatched - even in Europe. From esspresso to the genepe, the Ortler haute route offerings are unique. The mountains are rich in glacial terrain, rugged summits, and World War I history. The huts offer excellent meals, a long history of mountain shelter and are relatively easy to access.

I will save the full experience for an article in the mag next fall but I will share a few highlights of the trip here on the blog over the next week or two. Our trip was marked by, plenty of snow, low visibility, and high instability, but we managed to enjoy some fine skiing, a variety of huts, scale a peak or two, and we even managed a tour of the Ski Trab ski factory in Bormio, Italy!

More to come.

Nalgene, long time maker of water bottles for outdoor users, has announced it will be pulling bottles made with the controversial bisphenol A chemical (BPA) from store shelves. The full release from Nalgene is viewable here on their website. You can also read more about it from various major news networks including msnbc here.

My understanding is that the bottles in question are the popular hard plastic Nalgenes that we have all used for so many years. Nalgene has a special webpage with details on their bottles here. The chemical industry experts are saying that the low level of BPA present is not a concern. Health experts suggest further studies are in need. Nalgene, to their credit, is taking a big step here. Please pass along any other info if you come accross good sources on the web.

The PDX snowrider blog recently posted the scoping notice for Meadows' Avalanche Control Plans. Check here for the link. The scoping notice is the first step in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The act is designed to involve the public and gather the best available information in a single place so that decision makers can be fully informed when they make their choices. If you have opinions/input regarding Meadows' plans, now is the time to voice them.

http://snowriderpdx.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/mt-hood-meadows-howitzer-scoping-notice/