Backcountry Meeting!
On this Thursday in the usual place (EEB 105) and at the usual time (7:00PM) we will be having our third meeting/event/whatever of the year. It’s backcountry night!
Join us, the Seattle Mountaineers, and the Karakoram split-board company to talk about all things backcountry, including a very important avalanche safety presentation.
The Mountaineers will have details on the avalanche safety training courses they offer. Your benevolent officers are planning on doing it, so saddle up with us; into the deep!
The Facebook event page is here. Remember, every time you RSVP it snows another centimeter at Baker!
2011/2012 Season Kickoff Info Meeting
Hey everyone,
This is yet another reminder that you can get your first rad of the year by joining us this Tuesday night (October 11th) at 7:00pm in EEB 105 (On campus!). Your very attractive HST officers will be talking about the club, answering questions, throwing stickers (and taking your money).
If you can’t make this meeting, we are still tabling in Red Square Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from roughly 10:30 to 2:30.
Backcountry Awareness Talk Tues. 5/10 @ 7pm
As spring progresses and the lifts stop spinning across the Pacific Northwest, many snow enthusiasts begin “earning their turns” by climbing alpine terrain and sliding their way back down. Spring has just begun in the Cascades and the snowpack is at or near seasonal maximums in many locations. As the days get longer and warmer the snowpack changes in rapid and often unpredictable ways. Melt water seeps down to harder layers and lubricates the upper layers of the snowpack, providing a slippery surface for large, wet “climax” avalanches to run on.
A large, early spring natural slide in the Mt. Baker backcountry. Photo: Gwyn Howat / NWAC.
Each spring there are far too many close calls and unfortunate and occasionally fatal accidents involving skiers, snowboarders and climbers in the backcountry. Such was the case this past March when HST lost one of our own to a low-elevation wet slide in the Steven’s Pass backcountry. In light of this tragedy and the increased risks our members may put themselves at while enjoying the late snow we’ve been blessed with this season, we’ve partnered with The Mountaineers to provide members and the general public with an informational evening about backcountry avalanche awareness and backcountry travel in general.
Backcountry Avalanche Awareness
Tues. May 10, 7 pm
EEB 105 (map)
FREE & Open to Public
The event will include presentations on necessary safety gear for backcountry travel, elementary information on snowpack analysis and signs of instability and information on what to do when the worst happens. Whether or not you’re planning on heading into the backcountry this spring, we hope you’ll join us for what we hope will be the first of many collaborative events between HST and the Mountaineers.
Shakedown!
This past weekend marked the second coming of the Ride Shakedown event to the Summit West base area of the Summit at Snoqualmie. A 4-star event for this year’s Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour, the event promised to be exciting.
Perhaps more exciting was what Mother Nature delivered for Saturday’s main event. After torturing spectators and competitors after Friday evening’s rail jam by snarling traffic and forcing a multi-hour closure of I-90 in both directions, the clouds parted leaving a foot of fresh, fluffy goodness and cloudless, sunny skies.
YES, the conditions were perfect in Washington. Photo: Anna X.
Rails were jibbed. Photo: Anna X.
Methods were sent. Photo: Anna X.
14 year old Yuki Kadono pressed his way onto the podium and into our hearts, donating half of his winnings to recovery efforts in Japan. Photo: Anna X.
After rounds of semifinals which saw such tricks as switch double wildcats landed and a plethora of dancy moves on the down-flat-down-flat-down rail, the crowd was treated to an autograph signing and the musical stylings of the Seahawks’ Blue Thunder marching band. Some light course maintenance later and the finals were on!
Kinda speaks for itself, no? Photo: Rachel T.
HST presidents past and present were on hand to witness the shindig. Photo: Rachel T.
In the end, Matts Kulisek took home the top prize for the second year in a row: $15,000 and more high fives than anyone could count. Yuki Kadono chased him into a close second, trailing only by a single point. Rounding out the podium, Tyler Flanagan climbed into third place and the Georgia-native netted himself a nice stack of cash for being from a state better known for its soda than its snowboarding.
Winning! From left to right: Yuki Kadono, Matts Kulisek, Tyler Flanagan. Photo: Anna X.
Del tha Funkee Homosapien rocked the afterparty into the wee hours of the morning. Photo: Anna X.