Dumb things and no Talypus (attempted)
We didn't make it to Talypus Lake, but at least we got to see (and do)
some dumb things.
We headed up the Talypus/Olallie with my friend shuffling awkwardly in
her new randonee skis and painful boots. It wasn't until miles
later that we discovered why her setup was so uncomfortable.
The Talypus/Olallie road is surprisingly popular with snowshoers,
crazy drivers, skiers, and sledders. We ascended in the tracks of
previous winter travelers and in the tracks of one truck. A truck at
this time of year? I wondered what kind of beefy truck could drive
through that snow; after two miles we came upon it... a Subaru
Forester. A stuck Subaru Forester with a clutch burnt out from
rocking back and forth in the snow. The driver said they had spent
two hours trying to turn around and had given up and called a friend
to come tow them. We continued skiing up the road.
Finally we decided to turn around because my friends boots where too
uncomfortable. Only then did we realize she had her heel-raisers on
the whole time. We're such smarties. After 15 minutes trying to lock
her heels into her bindings, we were about to give up when we noticed
a thin film of ice that added just enough thickness to block the
locking mechanism. We scraped the ice off and we were in business.
On our way down we encountered the Forester's friend digging his stuck
truck out of the snow. Two more trucks followed, I wonder how they
all got turned around? We didn't stick around to find out.
Elevation gain:
1,060 feet
Trip type:
cross-country ski
In:
South Fork Snoqualmie Drainage, Alpine Lakes Wilderness
Car-to-car:
6 hours 51 minutes
-
1 hour 34 minutes
driving there
from
Lower Queen Anne
to
exit 45 and road 9030
-
4 hours 51 minutes
ascending
from
exit 45 and road 9030
to
1/4th mile past end of road 9030
-
2 hours
descending
from
1/4th mile past end of road 9030
to
exit 45 and road 9030
Copyright © 2024 Gabriel Deal.