Charlie and I weren't about to give up so we decided to give it another shot the next day.
If it weren't for my watch, there would be no way to tell that day from the previous. The plan was much the same except that we only had one car. I agreed to drive. Clothing was washed, food was found, jugs were filled and we were off.
We arrived at White Pass a little later than expected. The weather was identical though a tad bit cooler. There were more cars along with more crowds but we had no trouble sneaking a ride on the small lift. I'm sure they were beginning to wonder why we were putting on skins at the top of the lift rather than skiing down like the rest of the gapers. However, this was our last attempt so we didn't care. We reached Holiday in no time and found the critical ridge. Charlie did a good job leading and we both enjoyed the skin. A lot of it was downhill or flat but it was simply fun to be going someplace different. There was a longer stretch of uphill where it opened up below Twin Peaks. I recalled this section well as it was as much of a pain to skin this trip as it was 5 or 6 years ago. Charlie ended up hiking a bit because his Alpine Trekkers suck at traversing steeps.
Charlie on top of the steep section below Twin Peaks.
It didn't take long to reach Twin Peaks (less than an hour from Holiday). The cornices were impressive as were the views. The sky had cleared up a bit so we could see the highway to the north along with Spiral Butte and even Rainier. We climbed the West Peak for a better view and some photos before continuing to the East Peak -- our starting point for The Y.
Charlie near the saddle between Twin Peaks. The East Peak is on the right. The Y begins on the opposite side of the rib above Charlie.
Myself skinning towards the East Peak. The West Peak is in the background and Rainier is in the distance.
Photographer: Charlie
We skinned a bit further and higher than the East Peak because there was still some uphill. Neither of us wanted to get rid of our skins too early fearing that we would posthole. There eventually came a point where we could go no higher so we stopped and took off our skins. I tried to eat and drink but my fingers were getting cold so I put on my gloves and we left. I had some idea as to where to go from there. Tygh and I hit it perfectly 5 or 6 years ago.
We skied east along the ridge and took a left at what felt like the rib. However, we ended up dropping in too soon so The Y was nowhere to be found. We both agreed to hike back to the East Peak and try again. The hike only took a few minutes but the confusion lasted over an hour. More clouds had moved in so our views were obscured. We finally narrowed it down to it's original location.
We skied east along the ridge and took a left beyond what felt like the rib. This led us to the rib and eventually to a very steep slope. It wasn't The Y but it was close. We traversed a bit east and there it was.
Charlie on top of The Y. The highway can be seen in the background. The valley, over 2,000 vertical feet below, is obscured by clouds.
This was definitely it. I remember it well from my trip with Tygh.
Our grins were nearly as big as the chute we were about to ski. Over 2,000 vertical feet of untouched powder. The chute was fairly narrow at the top with an angle of 40-45 degrees. Charlie dropped in first and discovered some hidden rocks. Out of sight, out of mind, he soon pointed his skis and sped off down the chute cranking large turns from side to side.
I wonder if there are any rocks?
What the heck.
Charlie stopped in a safe zone on the edge of the main chute and waited for me to come down. I skied a chute on the left because I didn't want to disturb his tracks. It was almost as lovely as I had imagined. I hit a few rocks but that was expected. We met up in the main chute and I continued down for another photo. Charlie skied a steep face on the side before opening it up in the main chute for as far as I could see.
Charlie skis a steep face on the side of the main chute. My tracks can be seen in the center.
The main chute eased to 30 degrees and maintained a width of roughly 30ft for another 1000 vertical feet or so. The base was more consistent although I hit a few ice chunks from time to time. It took me quite awhile to reach Charlie at his second and third stops because my turns were wastefully short. I took another photo of Charlie airing a drift into a narrow side chute. If it weren't for the photos I think he would have skied the entire chute nonstop. I guess that's what a winter in Europe and a summer in South America will do to you. I was neither willing or able to perform such a feat.
Charlie airing a drift about halfway down. Notice the highway.
Soon we exited the chute and followed a creek bed to the valley. The ski along the creek was fun as we aired from side to side. The snow was perfect -- soft and deep yet dry enough to maintain our speed. The slope eased and eventually became flat. We took off our skis to cross a creek and ended up packing them for the hike out.
Charlie packing his skis at the creek.
Crossing a log on the hike out.
You can normally drive to the base of The Y but the road is snowed in during the winter. A snowmobile would be ideal to cover the 3-4 miles that you would otherwise have to skin. However, we chose the most direct way out which is to hike straight up to the highway. The base was a little thin on the south facing slope so we ended up punching through from time to time. There were a few rocks to stand on and plenty of bushes to grab as we made our way through the mess.
We hiked roughly 700 vertical feet to the highway plus the traverse from White Pass but the 2500 vertical foot ski from Twin Peaks was well worth it.
The hitchhike back to White Pass took longer than we expected. Charlie and I switched thumbs for nearly an hour before a fellow in a truck finally pulled over. He gave me a ride and I drove back down to pick up Charlie and our gear.
Another look at the lower part of The Y. We skied the chute furthest right.
This is a superb ski because the rewards far outweigh the effort. If you had two cars and a means to ride the lifts you could easily ski it twice in one day. I'm not sure why you'd want to though. Once every 5-6 years has been enough for me. Having said that, there are two things that I would watch out for. Avalanches and avalanche debris. Either one would make your life miserable. Be safe and enjoy.