Vesper Peak Backcountry Skiing – Washington, U.S.

by Louie Dawson
written by Louie Dawson

Taking advantage of a spot of wonderful weather. I took the parentals out for a nice tour up Vesper Peak here in the Cascades. Nice (albeit a little soft) snow, and incredible views were had.

Backcountry skiing Vesper Peak in the Cascade Mountains

The first stream crossing was mellow...

Backcountry skiing Vesper Peak in the Cascade Mountains

The second was a little sportier



Backcountry skiing Vesper Peak in the Cascade Mountains

Hiking through ferns, getting closer to the snow.

Backcountry skiing Vesper Peak in the Cascade Mountains

Hiking above Headlee Pass

Backcountry skiing Vesper Peak in the Cascade Mountains

Lou skiing off Vesper Peak

Backcountry skiing Vesper Peak in the Cascade Mountains

Lisa skiing off Vesper Peak

Backcountry skiing Vesper Peak in the Cascade Mountains

Louie skiing

16 comments
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

16 comments

Lisa June 28, 2012 - 10:45 am

Thanks for the fun trip Louie!

Rob June 28, 2012 - 12:33 pm

Pretty lucky to have such cool/capable parents . . .

Caleb Wray June 28, 2012 - 3:03 pm

What a cool thing to share. Simply just cool.

Dan June 28, 2012 - 4:07 pm

At least y’all did not get your feet/boots wet as on the exit from Ruth last July.

AndyC June 28, 2012 - 6:05 pm

And there is a report of a Dawson spotting at Vesper Creek on turns-all-year.com 🙂

3J June 28, 2012 - 6:46 pm

awesome man! your pictures are worth a thousand words.

Lou June 28, 2012 - 9:39 pm

Andy, I was dodging paparazzi up there At Vesper Creek, luckily their cameras fell in when they were trying to cross the bridge, but those paparazzi from TAY are persistent! (grin)

Seriously though, quite nice up there but the dirt hike seemed rather rough, me being a spoiled wimp and all… perhaps I need to spend more time in the PNW so I man up.

Andy June 28, 2012 - 10:24 pm

Glad you guys had a good tour. Our access isn’t always as civilized as CO, but it’s nearly July and we still have snow!

Rob Mullins June 28, 2012 - 10:51 pm

Great to see the family outing!

Nick June 29, 2012 - 10:55 am

Great stuff – man that has to be fun going out with your parents!

myro June 29, 2012 - 1:32 pm

Unbelievable, think I’m moving overseas :)…

Jason Keck June 29, 2012 - 3:36 pm

Really cool pictures. My favorite backcountry treks start where it is so hot and green that you wonder how you are actually going to be skiing later that day. Also, that crossing that first stream via a wet log with ski boots on seems pretty daring. Looks like a special day 🙂

Sandy June 29, 2012 - 4:03 pm

Beautiful! Lisa, what skiis are you using?

Lisa June 29, 2012 - 4:19 pm

Sandy, my skis are 171 women’s Dynafit Manaslus, very sweet! I highly recommend them. They’re super light and they ski great.

AndyC June 29, 2012 - 4:54 pm

@Lisa & Sandy: as my wife is approaching her 70th year, I finally convinced her to switch from tele to AT; now she has Women’s TLT5s, Women’s Manaslus, Manaslu skins, Vertical STs, and 7-summits titanal-carbon poles; a very sweet, color-coordinated outfit; it took her all of 5 minutes to master the in-and-out of the bindings and boots and just one run down a 25-degree slope to get used to the fixed heel; 3 backcountry days now and she is enjoying the new set up.

AndyC June 29, 2012 - 6:48 pm

p.s. Regine is 5’3″, 102 lbs, and the 24.5 fit her US 7.5 W foot perfectly and the 161 Manaslu feels a little long for her but she realizes it will solve the getting stuck in the powder in the winter; I plan to switch out her tele bindings on her G3 Aviatrix skis (157 cm) for Dynafits when she gets ready; the G3s for spring, summer, fall and the Manaslus for winter.

Comments are closed.