Skiing the Trap Dike

[David Metsky]

Link to Trip Report

Here's something all skiers have thought about as they move along Avalanche Lake. These guys are great skiers, and have been pulling off some incredible descents in the past few seasons.

 

[TCD]

Sweet!

I've seen ski tracks in the Dike when I was climbing up with my skis to descend the other side of the mountain. I always through it looked pretty reasonable with enough snow. But it's a hell of a terrain trap for avalanches, so I'd want to be moving fast, get done, and get out of there. Looking forward to reading the report!

 

[Peakbagr]

The TD in winter can be mild or wild. With the very warm temps, a good crust is going to form and then bombs away after the next heavy snowfall on top of that slippery crust.
The Dike is also a funnel for the slopes above it.

 

[TCD]

Nice report. I see this year they had to rap the second waterfall; looked like a pretty good chunk of exposed ice there. I climbed the dike one year when there was so much snow that only about 5 feet of ice was exposed there; in that condition, you could have skied the whole thing. We never had to get the second tool off the pack that year; just walk up with a long axe.

Nice job! But this comes very much under the "professional driver - do not attempt" heading. They really had to be on top of the avy conditions for this one.

 

[ksearl]

Wow, I'm not a skier, but this looks very scary. Totally awesome!

The pic you posted is definitely a money shot! The last two, on page four of the of the TR, are amazing too. That must have been one heck of a tense run as they mention. My anxiety levels would certainly be through the roof.

Thanks,
Karl

 

[MichaelJ]

Looks like fun! I'm glad someone else did it.

 

[David Metsky]

Nice job! But this comes very much under the "professional driver - do not attempt" heading. They really had to be on top of the avy conditions for this one.

Yup, these guys know their stuff. Even so, I imagine that the pucker factor is pretty high.

 

[yvon]

WOW!!!! But not for me!

 

[Chugach001]

Very Cool and inspiring. This melt makes me realize how fleeting the season may be for ski objectives.

/

 

[leaf]

thanks for the ice conditions update.

 

[Head]

Nice! Don't try this at home kids! Sick shot as well! Thanks for postin'

 

[Jason Berard]

very, very cool!

and, like you said, Dave, very high pucker factor!

 

[skiguy]

Awesome....definitely would have been packing some extra underware on that one!

 

[Mike P.]

Most impressive

 

[Darl58]

Really cool pics...glad it wasn't me doing it!!!

 

[prino]

Thanks Guys!! I would have liked to have used the Tele skis, but the jump was just a little to big!