Welcome to Louis (Lou) Dawson's backcountry skiing information & opinion website. Lou's passion for the past 50 years has been alpinism, climbing, mountaineering and skiing -- along with all manner of outdoor recreation. He has authored numerous books and articles about
ski touring and is well known as the first person to ski down all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, otherwise known as the
Fourteeners! Books and free ski touring news and information here.
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One of the best nights I’ve ever had in the mountains was a September night on top of Ruth with my dad looking over at Shuksan one way and the Pickets the other. Nice work.
So, Louie, you have been in the Northwest for a couple years, I have to ask the question that all us up here in the Northwest want to know. What’s better, the North Cascades or Colorado?
Also something is wrong with the Anti-spam quiz, “What device attaches boots to skis?” I correctly answered dynafits, but it rejected my answer. This is wild snow isn’t it??
Capital “D”ynafits
Be careful talking about quiz answers, there’s a room in India with 3,000 people in it, who’s job it is to break these things.
I love your first image Louie. Awesome! It was a great night in a wonderful place. We’ll have to get back there for Icy Peak in a few months.
Kevin,
Seems someone asks me that question every couple of days :-). They both have their pluses and minuses, but right now I’m liking the PNW better.
It’s nice to be able to do some mid-winter ski mountaineering, something that isn’t very safe 90% of the time in CO. The amount of wilderness in the North Cascades is unparalleled, and it’s cool to have a bunch of glaciers to ski on.
However, PNW “pow” isn’t even CLOSE to Colorado blower!
Great photos by you and Jason!
Nice pictures. A small request. Those of us who grew up in the PNW don’t need the “state” after Washington to know which Washington you’re talking about 😉
Great photos! Looked like an amazing bivy. Been planning on heading up to Ruth this weekend, this solidifies it!
Mark, that’s a good point, only not all readers of WildSnow.com are from Washington State. In fact, many are from Europe. Thus, our style guide will continue to ask that we state that at least once in each blog post. Sorry about that.
What bivy gear did you use?
Louie – That first pic is money. Amazing depth — I love what’s going on in the far background. Nice work dialing the exposure to get both the high and low lights.
yeah .. great b&w of hummel and icy .. nice work man!
Beautiful photos, Louie!
Christmas wish: a framed print of your B&W summit shot for my office. It will bring me memories of the fun ski we had with you on Ruth this past spring.
Lots of love, Mom
Cool, Jason! Looks rad! -Jessie
Wonderful pictures Jason and Louie. That picture of the the pickets and the sunset colors is a stunner. Gregg
Robert,
Louie just had a light bivi sack (around a pound I think) and I had no bivi, just a 0 degree mtn hardware bag and a thermorest. Hope that helps!
Good one!
It would be fun to got to Icy Peak with you guys…. I have two half hearted attempts due to two hour naps on top of Ruth Mountain!
There is a rudimentary rock windbreak/bivy site on the summit, if memory serves. I didn’t spend much time looking at the ground, though, when I skied it in August. The views are just too good.
Didn’t find any wind break, the top already had a bunch of snow, maybe it was burried. It’s funny, the summit looked completely different than it did in June. Goes to show how much of a difference a NW snowpack makes!
I was using a BD Twilight Bivy. It only weighs 10 oz, and works keeps snow and wind out well, and breaths fairly good. The fabric isn’t very waterproof, though, so I’ve never tried it in rain. I don’t use heavier bivy sacks much, since once you get above 1.5 lbs, you might as well just take a tent. Another thing that’s nice about the Twilight is it’s a pretty tight fit, so it doesn’t flap in the wind.
I was pretty pysched how that first picture turned out, thanks!
Great shots Louie and Jason! If I could quit going surfing on all of my free days I swear I’d go skiing. Which btw is another element in the great NW vs. everywhere else debate 😉
Ruth is a great place to head into anytime of the year. In the spring it is nice to wait until you can drive to the trail head other wise it is a LONG approach. Its nice to see you guys writing about some of my regularly visited playgrounds. You should come up and spend some of the winter days out on Hermans Saddle it is on the northside of Table Mountain, or ski the Swift Creek Drainage out to Lake Ann.
Now this looks like a skiing paradise! Hope u enjoyed!