# 2 weeks, 2 traverses and 2 destroyed feet.



## Kyle Miller (Sep 3, 2010)

*Day 3*


_From Mt. Daniel to Mt. Hinman_

We listened to the rain for hours on end, half awake and half asleep. By now both of us wanted nothing more then to get out of our refuge. We were loosing patients when all of a sudden the rain stopped. Quickly unzipping our tent we found that all our gear was caked thick in rhime ice. The cloud deck had lowered a few hundred feet finally loosening its firm grip on us.










We sat around for a hour drying our gear in the early morning sun wondering what to do next. We could turn back and return to the car or continue on and try to make up for a lost day. In the end we decided not to give up and push forward.

On the summit of Mt. Daniel we looked down onto the Lynch Glacier, featureless in a the sea of clouds. We waited for a hour before deciding to push on and head down to Pea Soup lake.

Jason went first and I closely followed.










We rode essential blind until we reached a suckerhole and saw the lake is 1000 feet below us. I had intended on riding to the shore line but quickly realized there was no shoreline. We would have to ride onto the lake itself. One at a time we got onto on the lake and quickly skirted across the surface to the opposing shoreline.










From Pea Soup Lake we rode down to the East Fork of the Foss tributary, surrounded in an amphitheater of rock. We started skinning up the lower flanks of Mt. Hinman in a Northwesterly direction passing numerous lakes and waterfalls still buried in the seasonal snowpack.










All of a sudden we once again reached the cloud deck. exposing the mellow contours of the upper slope. Below us the seas of clouds engulfed everything in site including Mt. Daniel.

Once on the ridge we watched the clouds slowly burning off. We were in sunshine once again and according to the forecast these would be the last clouds for weeks.










To the South Rainier stood proudly . To the north, lines that I had ridden earlier in the season. Mt.Stuart, The Big Chiwaukum, Seven Finger Jack, Kyes and Shuksan to name a few.










We were stoked. Finally we would get the opportunity to take a few laps on perfect corn with the setting sun lighting up the late afternoon sky.










We lapped up the northern face of Hinman for hours. Again and again we rode in perfect corn snow still feeling the rush of being in the sun and unbelievable terrain.










Our legs were worked. We had hiked and skinned non stop for the past 10 hours and needed some rest. We hiked back to camp occasionally looking over our shoulders at the setting sun.










Within minutes daylight had turned to darkness. We sat at our vantage point watching fireworks exploding in the towns and valleys below us.


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## Kyle Miller (Sep 3, 2010)

*Day 4*


_Mt. Hinman to the Summit Chief Col_

We woke up to a bright blue sky without a cloud in the sky. Slowly we exited the tent and put out all of our wet gear to dry in the early morning sun. We had waited for this forecast for months and finally we could see the route we would be taking the next few days.










With a renewed sense of faith we went over our options. Either we could traverse to a low col or get a run down the Hinman Glacier, we chose to get some riding in.










We could see every hump, bump and feature ripping down the Hinman Glacier. We acted like kids hooting and hollering at each other as we made turns on the open slope. We decided to stop at a massive glacier carved rock where we sat on the warm surface looking down upon Hinman lake. According to the topographical map it has doubled in size within the past ten years.










With our water bottles full of fresh water it was time to start skinning once again. Our endorphin levels were high as we skinned back to the low col. From our vantage point we could see well over 50 lakes scattered among the high alpine terrain. We had officially past the Eastern crest of the Cascades.











From what the topographical maps showed, the terrain below was riddled in cliffs. Below us La Bon Lakes turquoise color glistened brightly as we carefully examined the slopes. With a little bit of scouting we found a small ramp and were on our way to the next destination the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie river.










We passed by La Bon Lakes, Chain Lakes and Lake Williams before making it to the Middle Fork. We were at the low point of the tour and to no surprise we were once again on dirt. Carefully we followed the River taking into account both our elevation and how many streams we crossed.

Once we found the stream we needed to climb we clawed up the thickly vegetated slopes before reaching a snow covered bench. With skins on we pushed forward looking occasionally back at our route earlier in the day, amazed that we found a way through all the cliffs.










Once we made it to the col we were once again at another crux. Either we would go up and over or down and around. We Searched for hours unable to climb onto the Overcoat glacier because of a massive cliff band. It quickly became apparent that we would have to go down instead. Below we could see a steep melted out valley that would be a epic bushwhack. We had no choice there was no going over the mountain.

That night we camped on the col stressed about what was in store for us the next day.


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## Kyle Miller (Sep 3, 2010)

*Day 5*


_From Summit Chief Col to Iceburg Lake_

What to do? Either we would traverse across a huge cliff band and downclimb 2000 feet or ride down a potentially melted out gully. With our boards on our feet we rode down the gully for about 1500 feet until to our dismay it abruptly melted out.

Once on vegetation I tediously put my board on my back and downclimbed, grabbing hand holding on to anything I could. Once I made it back to the snow a 10 foot deep trench blocked my progress. I jumped across slamming hard and torqued my shoulder while using my ice axe for self arrest. After taking a few ibuprofen we were on our way.










The Summit Chief valley is truly a spectacular place immersed in massive cliff bands. There was no place in the entire trip that I felt more isolated, skinning on the Chimney Rock glacier and passing numerous waterfalls along the way.










Once on the upper slopes we switched to bootpacking, utilizing what little energy we had left. The afternoon sun blazed as sweat dripped into our eyes, finally making it to the open slopes of the Overcoat Glacier. We had passed the crux and it was time to take a much needed break.










For years I had wanted to ride the aesthetic colouir off Overcoat peak, a line both steep and committing. We skinned over to the base of Overcoat and dropped off all of our unneeded gear. With two ice axes in hand we pushed up the gut of the chute.










We were both stoked standing on the top of our line. Looking upon the Alpine Lake landscape we could see that our intended route for later in the day cliffed out.

We would have to go another way, but it didn’t matter because we were about to rip 1000 feet of perfect corn conditions.










With our intended route blocked we had to do a counter clockwise traverse around Overcoat. The terrain was steep and riddled with cliffs. Below us stood the magnificent Overcoat lake still frozen from a endless winter.










Carefully we bootpacked above and around the inhospitable terrain, finally acquiring the ridge. According to our map we would be able to ride all the way to Iceburg lake.











In front of us was 2 miles of mellow slopes, half in the shade and half in the sun. This would be far be the longest uninterrupted run of the trip.










Once on the shorelines we traverse to the western edge. I chose to bootpack instead of transitioning and once at camp realized I had dropped my pin somewhere. To make matters worse, it was my only pin. I retraced my steps over and over to no avail. What was once anger became fear knowing I had a long trek in front of me. I contemplated what to do while returning to camp, only to find out Jason had found the pin.

That night we watched the sunset alpenglow on Chimney Rock before calling it a night. If all went according to plans, this would be our last night in a tent.


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## Kyle Miller (Sep 3, 2010)

*Day 6*

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From Iceburg Lake to Gold Creek Valley_

We started early in the day, not knowing how long the final leg of the journey would be. With the snow still firm we replaced our skiis with crampons and pushed forward, traversing under Lemah mountain. Suddenly the last mountain on our trip came into view, Chikamin Peak.










We skinned up the slopes as the afternoon sun drained our energy, later to find it was the hottest day of the season. Occasionally looking back at Jason and all the terrain we had covered in the past day.










Our final objective was to ride off the summit pyramid of Chikamin. Jason led the way up the steep eastern face while I transitioned to crampons and put my board on my pack.

It was much steeper then anticipated as I clenched onto two ice axes, meticulously kick stepping on the frozen surface. After a hasty lunge over the shrund we were standing merely feet below the true summit.










Standing near the summit we could see that our line had melted out. We pondered what to do next, looking to where are car was parked 4000 feet and 10 miles below.










We descended down the couloir we had just climbed and looked once again over the topo. It seemed that everything on the west face was melted, this was the direction we needed to go. A decision had to be made quickly so we decided to attempt riding a NW facing chute in hopes it would connect us to the Pacific Crest trail.

Once arriving at the top of the chute we prepared for a epic bushwack before dropping in. Its was unnerving but at that time we had no other choice. Jason led the way finding a route that melted out only feet from the trail. We had made it out and from then on everything would be easy, or so we thought.

We kept a great pace following the summer trail but because of where the car was parked we had to drop down into the valley. According to one of Jasons maps there was a trail that led directly to our car so we downclimbed in order to find it.

We quickly found the overgrown trail and forged through dense vegetation going less then a mile a hour. The sun was blazing and our bodies exhausted from the past 6 days as we pushed forward.

Not realizing our mistake we pushed past a creek without refilling our water bottles. By the time we had realized there was no water available and we had worked ourselves to the ground. A rest was in order and I was seriously considering camping right where we were.










We rested for about a hour before pushing on, only to find a stream a rock throw from where we were.

The trail slowly improved and before long we were back on a maintained path. By now all we could think of was making it back to the car before sunset. I didn’t care about wet gear anymore, passing stream after stream of knee deep water without taking my gear off. The creeks were deeper then normal but totally manageable.

When we reached the Gold Creek we saw that the bridge was out. It was the hottest day of the season and in front of us was waist to chest deep water. Thinking nothing of it I started crossing but the current almost ripped me off my feet, I grabbed onto a tree and pulled myself back to shore.

If I wanted to get out of there I would have to cross the river but falling could easily be fatal, it was one of the scariest experiences of my life. Jason had experience crossing rivers so he slowly made his way across first. I didn’t want to attempt it again until morning but Jason went to the edge of the current and extended his pole for me to grab.

One foot at a time I stepped into the current and grabbed onto his ski pole, finally we were on the final stretch to the car.










All of my gear was soaked but I didn’t care. It was a race against sunlight and I was determined to win. My boots squished with every step for the final 9 miles. The nonstop hiking had taken its toll on my feet with not a inch of skin spared (later on my feet would be compared to a 3rd degree burn victim). We made it to the car just as darkness arrived, completely exhausted we dropped to the ground and celebrated.

We had completed our goal in traversing the regions most rugged mountains and pulled the route off perfectly.

No more 60 pound bags, no more freeze dried meals, no more living out of a tent. Or so we thought.

I highly recommend this tour if you have the opportunity to do so. Out of all the traverses I have done I easily found this to be the most enjoyable.

For a more detailed version check my website

Here is Jasons account of the trip

PLEASE PURCHASE PHOTOS FROM JASON. I OWN A FEW AND THEY ARE AMAZING. YOU WOULD ALSO HELP US PRODUCE STOKE!!!!!!


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## Kyle Miller (Sep 3, 2010)

Part 2 The Bailey Range/Olympus Massif Traverse

Introduction

When I started the 09/10 Season I decided I would have a unified theme of exploring all the sub ranges of the Pacific Northwest and more specifically Washington State, with the Bailey Range being my big project. These mountains are quite literally the heart of the Olympic Mountains with well over 20 miles of unscathed alpine, rainforest, and enough terrain to stoke any climber. Once at the end of the Baileys and dead center in the Olympics our plan was to exit via Mt. Olympus an area we became familiar with over a year earlier, pulling off a 7 day expedition to the Valhallas (Click Here for the trip report). To pull off the traverse we expected it would take 7 days so we patiently waited for the perfect weather window throughout the season. By the end of June we had all but given up with questionable forecasts, but our window finally came in July with the promise of weeks of uninterrupted sunshine.

The first of our endeavors was the Alpine Lake Traverse which crossed through the high points of the Snoqualmie Pass area for a total of 7 days and 70 miles.

Four days later were off to the Olympics, our feet still rubbed raw from the previous expedition.

*Day 1*

Anxiety always comes when you are at a trailhead packing gear for a multi-day trip. First comes excitement knowing that you are going to go somewhere seldom ventured, then fear knowing that you will have to be self sufficient . It was hard to believe that we would soon be alone as both Jason and myself passed group after group of spectators heading to a waterfall a mile into the trail. Once passing the falls it quickly became obvious that we were alone, it was mid July and rumor had it that the high peaks were still covered in a healthy snowpack.

It took 9 miles before we had our first glimpse of snow not more then a foot deep, it had been much less then I expected but travel was fast on well maintained trails. Things slowed down considerably as we hiked on patches of snow not big enough to skin on and not strong enough to support our weight. Here we were trying to pull of a ski traverse with insufficient snow.

It was late afternoon before Jason and I reached High Divide which allowed us our first views of the Bailey and Mt Olympus which was right across the valley. My heart sunk realizing this would not be a easy task and that we had 6 days of hard work ahead of us. While I couldn’t see a path through the Baileys I hoped it would become obvious as we got deeper into the range.

That night we watched the sunset over Mt. Olympus and studied our topographical maps before going to sleep.


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## Kyle Miller (Sep 3, 2010)

*Day 2*

We woke up to the sound of rustling outside the tent. It was just after sunrise and to our astonishment there were elk eating flowers not five feet from our tent. I carefully and meticulously spread out my wet gear in the early morning sun taking advantage of a opportunity to dry all of my wet gear before hiking. In front of us was a small basin covered with snow but beyond that it was dry with no snow in sight. We carefully followed the faint reminisce of the high Divide trail still buried under a foot of well compacted snow fearing that losing the trail would lead us to a legendary bushwhack, little did we realize what was in store for us.










I had heard of a section on the trail known only as the Catwalk which traverses through steep cliffs and is considered one of the sketchiest places around. What I originally thought was the Catwalk turned out only to be the approach finally turning into a climb up class 4 rock on a exposed knife ridge with dense forest. Each move was calculated, slowly moving through the brush so the skis on our packs wouldn’t snag branches. While the Catwalk was only 3 miles it had taken us hours to push through the steep slopes and vegetation, before long we had reached the open alpine of Mt. Carrie.










Mt. Carrie is the high point of the Baileys with a summit elevation of 6995 feet. The southern slopes were absent of snow but northern slopes hold Remnant snowfields that would allow us to skin, hopefully for the rest of the trip.










We hiked through Avalanche lilies straight up Mt. Carrie with not a patch of snow anywhere to be seen. It wasn’t until we were a few hundred feet below the summit that we would step foot on snow again. From the summit of Mt. Carrie we could see Hurricane Ridge to the north and Mt. Olympus to the south. Finally we were able to make some ground riding a NE facing glacier to the base of our next project, Mt. Ruth.










From the moment we set site on Mt. Ruth we knew that we just had to ski it. It was late in the day and we watched the shade take over the mountain as we quickly climbed up the steep NE face. We had gained more ground then anticipated as we rode perfect corn for 2000 feet to Stephens lake, our camp for the night.


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## Kyle Miller (Sep 3, 2010)

*Day 3*

After a little bit of route finding around Shephen lake we made our way up a low col directly underneath Stephens Peak and took a much needed break.










We had hoped to ride all the way to Cream basin but once we reached the ridge there was no snow to be found. The down climb to Cream lake was nothing short of treacherous with forests so dense I had to crawl on my hands and knees while dragging my backpack behind. Hours passed as we climbed through the woods with the afternoon sun weighing us down.










In the distance we could see open snow covered slopes as we once again reached alpine.










From our vantage point we were blown away by how much terrain we had already covered and how much was ahead of it.










We passed quite a few peaks to make up for lost time but focused on Mt. Ferry which would allow us to descent to our camp in Eleven Bull Basin for the night.


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## Kyle Miller (Sep 3, 2010)

*Day 4*

Here we were deep into the alpine with nothing but snow covered peaks all around us. We were now in the southern portion of the Baileys and right in the middle of the Olympic Mountains.










We climbed up Eleven Bull Glacier and before long made it to Bear Pass and the end of the Baileys. From here we would have to drop deep into the forests of Queets Basin then make our way north to Mt. Olympus via the Huhes Glacier.










We made our way down the mellow slopes of the Basin making sure to stay on the right and side of the quickly accumulating river which quickly became a 100 foot deep canyon. Within a hour of Bear Pass we were once again bushwhacking through dense forest trying to find a way past yet another steep canyon. According to the topographical map there were mellow slopes above us but after two hours of steep climbing we decided we preferred the canyon instead. The slopes were so ridiculously steep that we downclimbed with a ice axe and crampons. I grabbed on to anything and everything that I could as we slid down the steep canyon wall finally making it to Huhes creek.










We were able to follow the creek all the way to its source, the Humes Glacier a 3 mile long ramp of snow and Ice. We climbed up the Humes while the sun was setting and skinned among with the late night alpenglow to our backs finally reaching our camp for the night Blizzard Pass.










From our camp we could see Mt Olympus directly east and Mt Rainier to the west as the darkness enveloped around us.


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## Kyle Miller (Sep 3, 2010)

*Day 5*

We had traversed the Baileys successfully and now it was time to focus on the second objective, Mt. Olympus. We decided that we would pull off a one day traverse of the Mountain tagging East Peak, Middle Peak, Five Fingers and the West Peak in one westward swoop. It was quickly decided that we needed to go fast and light as we ditched our overnight gear on the Hoh Glacier. From Blizzard pass we rode down firm corn, navigating around cliffs and crevasses until finally stepping foot on the glacier.










This was familiar territory for both of us, the previous season we had experienced a white out on the same glacier. We followed the mellow ramp up zig zagging around open crevasses and slowly creeping towards the peaks. With some careful navigation we tagged all of the summits with the highlight being the Blue Glacier Headwall on the West Peak and True summit.



















The day was long and our ambitious goals had been achieved making a final run down to Glacier Pass and back to camp. That night we slept under a open sky on the Hoh Glacier anticipating a long day ahead, the departure through over 20 miles of well maintained trail.


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## Kyle Miller (Sep 3, 2010)

*Day 6*

The previous season it had taken us 2 days to exit Mt Olympus and we expected the same this season. Our backs ached and our feet were swollen as we down-climbed the wide open trail with each step getting us closer to civilization. Keeping a constant pace we made our way past landmarks that reminded us of old times, mainly a bridge where this photo was taken.










What had taken us two days the previous year was pulled off in 9 hours, finally arriving at our car stocked full with beverages and random food.

Looking back at the 2010 season it was filled with brutal approaches and rugged mountain terrain. Unlike the previous season, parking lots and trailheads were few and far between. The Cascades have changed who I am and how I look at the world. People think that ski mountaineering is all about your Physical abilities but in my experiences I have found that the mental game of being alone and self reliant is far more taxing.

I can honestly say that I now look at the Cascades with new eyes and a much better understanding of the layout. This next season is going to push me harder then I ever though possible.

Thanks for taking the time to read this story and I hope you enjoyed it.

By the way this trip is featured in the most recent Off Piste Magazine!

For Jasons Version Click here

To Purchase any of the photos click here


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## HUNT24/7 (Feb 8, 2010)

WOW!!!
Don't know who ya are, but that is an amazing story, adventure & the pic's are unreal! Professional work man! Like a magazine!


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## Milo303 (Apr 6, 2009)

Impressive


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## Magnum626 (Dec 31, 2009)

:thumbsup:

Wow beautiful photos and documentation. I wish it was a movie or a documentary in HD right now just so I can watch it again later.


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## InfiniteEclipse (Jan 2, 2009)

You always have the best posts... thanks for these


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## Shocktroop531 (Aug 3, 2010)

wow man. just wow. fanstastic trip report. pictures are absolutely incredible. I would actually buy some of those. great work brother! keep living the dream


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## neednsnow (Nov 30, 2007)

Right-On, Brother. Right-On!


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## H2O(s) (Dec 4, 2009)

Best TR since the Gulmarg report. Awesome.


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## walove (May 1, 2009)

I hike mt ellinor with the family every summer, and look into the olympics from the summit. This year im bringing the split.


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## zacm (Nov 4, 2009)

best TR i have seen on the net for sure!

awesome pics you got a site or flcikr?


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## mrjimyjohn (Dec 18, 2010)

damn...
amazing riding
amazing trip
amazing shots!

might i ask what camera you used?


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## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

Thanks for the stoke!!


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Wow, that TR was ridiculously good! Thank you.


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