Currently we're getting pounded by several atmospheric rivers up here and the Olympics have gotten a nice coating. I got the chance last week (Thursday, Nov 14 2024) to find some snow. I dropped my son off at school and had the rest of the day. So, I headed out towards Port Angeles with my bike and skis. Parked at the Deer Park road where it is closed from October to April. I had mounted my skis to my bike using an old pool noodle cut to fit and several ski straps. I swamped out my clipless pedals for metal platform pedals with a strap so I could ride up in my ski boots. Light was the name of the game for this ascent.
After five miles of uphill riding with two thousand feet of elevation gain I got to the snow and stashed my bike. I headed up further on foot as the snow wasn't deep enough to ski up safely. I was concerned about a projected 10+ degree drop in temps so I didn't want to return to my bike to find the road slick with ice. That didn't end up happening though but better to be safe than sorry.
After walking up the road another six hundred feet in elevation I was able to don my skis and start climbing. By the time I made it to the summit of Blue Mountain at 5,980' (4k above where I had parked my truck) the snow was about a foot deep. Not deep enough to feel safe going off trail. As I got higher up the wind loading was intense and the light was flat. As such I crashed quite a bit going up and down because I could not see the snow drifts
Practiced my telemark turns, and I was pretty stoked to nail more than a few. The Sbound 102s are pretty sweet skis especially with the Xplore binding and Alfa Free boots. I was able to ski a bit further down than where I had started up as there was about an inch or two of fresh down to about 4400'. So, 1500' of vert all on fire roads or trails - not bad for the middle of November. The bike brakes were howling like a banshee for a bit on the initial decent. I don't blame em the pads and rotors were caked in half frozen ice... I've pounded the heck out of those Paul Comp brakes though and they work great.
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As you can see at the trailhead I had the bindings in the wrong spot so I kept hitting my knee on them at each pedal stroke
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Bike setup with the ski mounts worked well too. No slipping at all and when I figured out to mount the binding more forward I didn't hit my knee on it anymore. I think I am going to make a neoprene sock for the skis so that when they're mounted to my bike they aren't getting dinged up or sprayed with mud/rocks, especially on the descents. Found out that I do need a new hard shell. Mine was completely soaked through by the time I got back to the truck. On the ride down there was one eerie moment when I heard a bizarre noise off in the forest and all the hairs stood up on my body. Freaked the hell out of me - was definitely hauling ass after that.
I'm gonna try and get back out later this week. Found some possible glades above Quilcene around 4000-4500. Old logging areas that look pretty slashed up.
Namaste
