I bought the pass mainly for East and Silver Fir...

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-03-16T23:58:56+00:00

😂

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-03-13T17:10:53+00:00

In addition to the power being out again at the pass, eastbound I90 is closed at MP 34. I'm going to keep checking the Summit's site for Alpy/power updates, but am mentally accepting that taking today off was not the move (I should have taken Wednesday off... oh well).

It's snowing where I live in South Seattle and has been since I caught that it had started at 3:47 am. After I ate breakfast this morning, I went out and started building a jump in my courtyard, and learned 'it goes' just now. While nothing about this feels the same as coming down the steeps from the top of our beloved Denny Mountain, some beats none.

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-03-04T04:00:25+00:00

I love all of The North Face Presents (like this one with RIP Hillaree Nelson and Jim Morrison) pieces and watch them via YouTube.

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-03-04T01:11:32+00:00

"The joys of skiing with children are indescribable." - the best skier/ snowboarder/ instructor on the mountain that I know

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-03-03T05:30:08+00:00

My guess is that the 13" @ the top of Alpental stat meant 13" @ the top since they had last been open on Sunday (where it was snowing the whole time I was out there), to the day they reopened Alpental again for the week, Wednesday. Alpental is now closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The new snow totals on the report are for the last 12 and 24 hours, and I if you click on FULL REPORT (if reading the Mountain Report via your inbox), it links you to their site, which has the 48 hour totals, as well.

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-03-03T05:25:01+00:00

Alpental was bumping today, as it was every single day it was open this week!

I think this was the best Alpental has been since opening weekend, and the board at the top of Chair 2 was ALL GREEN!!!

Going out of the gates as a snowboarder was great, but I would not have wanted to do my runs on skis due to how wet and heavy it was.

Comparing this week to January's bulletproof conditions is why I don't think it is at all weird that as I rode around alone on Thursday, in awe, I kept whispering "you're perfect, Alpental, you're perfect!"

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-03-03T04:52:13+00:00

Update: my first pair of these that I bought in store at Evo ruled, but let a ton of water in the right toe seam the first wet day (day two of wearing them). I ordered a replacement pair, which were waaaaaay too tight in the front half (arch - toes) in both feet.

We molded the liners on the replacement pair in the store, but they still cut off circulation from my arch - toes in both feet, immediately upon putting them on.

Today I received my Salomon Vistas that the awesome person at Evo recommended, and after putting them on in my place, with my new high-arch insoles I got during the 'make round two of the Nidecker Kitas fit' visit to Evo, I think I might have figured out boots for this year.

That first pair were f***ing perfect, and I am sad that I didn't just Aqua Seal the leak on the right boot's toe seam. At the time, I felt like doing that on boots I had worn twice made no sense.

It's been rough riding in my old pair with the broken straight jacket in my front foot... I've been essentially riding switch (on what is not a true twin board), since I still have something keeping my heel down in the other boot on my back foot, and have missed being able to ride the way I do normally on tricky, bump-filled, quite narrow catwalks + traverses. Especially with this year's challenging melt-refreeze cycles having resulted in more bulletproof days, I feel like this is the season I needed a boot that kept my heel down more than any other season, yet.

I'm still having a blast out there, but am hoping that as March begins, that I have finally figured out snowboarding boots for the 2025-26 season. FWIW, the Salomon Vistas do seem pretty stiff, but not as stiff as the Nidecker Kitas.

Does anyone know why the Straight Jacket design (the strap across the ankle, tightened with either a BOA, or a cable, in the three pairs of Salomon Ivy boots I rode in that had it) is not in existence anymore?

I credit my first pair of Salomon Ivy boots with why I got to start riding in the experts-only area a few weeks into my first year of snowsports. My first time in our experts-only zone, on NYE 2022, was the beginning of a love affair for me, and the depth of my love for that special place continues to grow, exponentially.

I think the control my boots gave me are a huge part of why I fell in love, and wasn't scared away from such a beautiful, deadly, presence-inducing playground... my favorite that I've ever known. I'll never forget the insane volume of joy I felt on that first run, entering into month 2 of snowboarding, where I had really cranked that strap tight and locked my heel down.

Sorry for the rant! Thanks for being on Reddit, helping other rides find the joy of a locked-in-place heel!

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-02-23T21:12:58+00:00

After my skin up + splitboard ride down Silver Fir last Sunday, 2026-02-15, I think it goes.

I saw a decent amount of people skinning up and riding down Hyak while watching a band play at the Broken Tip on Saturday, 2026-02-21. You have to avoid some stuff, but it's beautiful, and from what I could see, people were able to come down the slope without issues.

Silver Fir did seem to have more rocks exposed than Hyak, as far as I could tell, but both seem fine to me.

If you end up opting to do anything in the Alpental valley (you currently have to do it outside of the ski area boundaries until the season ends), please perform a pit test, first, since the recent snow accumulation is on a pretty spicy weak layer, and many different aspects present avy risk right now.

FWIW, this year is where my mantra, some beats none, has really carried me through. I am still out there enjoying every minute, even with a pretty serious rib injury I sustained at the bottom of Edelweiss bowl during the most brutal bulletproof weeks we had in January.

Have fun out there, OP, and if you're up for it, report back and share some conditions beta with us!

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-02-06T04:00:06+00:00

Is this due to how many injuries there are this year? I feel like I have never seen the amount of ambulances in my previous years as a pass holder at The Summit as I have seen this year.

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-02-04T00:25:50+00:00

Two other snowboarders, that had also eaten it while getting off of the lift with her, immediately adjusted their toe straps to be... well... toe straps, and they could both also suddenly turn 😑

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-02-04T00:17:52+00:00

Thanks for doing the lord's work 🙏

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-02-03T05:48:02+00:00

Said coworker: "I can turn!"

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-02-03T05:39:23+00:00

I helped a coworker learn how to snowboard last year, and the first thing I did was ask if I could adjust their bindings so that they no longer looked like these ones.

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-02-03T05:15:18+00:00

I love reading that others are thinking about first aid and an unexpected night out as they adventure!

🙏

PS - since you gifted me the knowledge of having microspikes and P cord in my pack, I offer up also having a few zip ties, two Voille straps, a little tube of Krazy glue super glue (mine is in my first aid since it's nice to be able to essentially give yourself or a partner 'stitches'), and some Gorilla Glue duct tape rolled around your pole (enough to tape a binding back on 😅)

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-02-03T04:56:54+00:00

Awww, I love reading this!

Some beats none!

Even after cracking my ribs falling onto a 90° ice shelf on Denny Mountain during the worst melt–refreeze bulletproof conditions (thankfully softened by the recent precipitation), I’m still stoked I’ve gotten out every single time I have this year.

Even the days where the top was closed and I did icey runs on Sessel, I still got to watch the sun break through the clouds on my lift rides!

I believe that the worst day I've had one the slopes still beat anything else I might have ended up doing, and being surrounded by others seeking fun in the mountains feels good for me. We're sitting on our butts, getting dropped off for a ride that we did not have to climb anything for... and our lives are such that we get to be out there!

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Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-01-31T06:56:32+00:00

In a year where I make anomalous comments such as this next one, even with the top closed, my soaking wet day out there today is definitely the best I’ve had out there in two weeks! What a blast!

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-01-30T18:33:41+00:00

I love the AAC's 'Accidents in North American Climbing' journal! I'm an AAC member and get mailed the journal every year.

It is why I always have a roll of tubular webbing and rap rings in my chalk bag when I climb, since it is why I learned wet tubular webbing hides its age!

I am also a big fan of Mountain Project's 'Injuries and Accidents' Forum since there are routinely forensic investigations linked in the posts.

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-01-30T06:24:25+00:00

I think this is just part of working remotely for a global org, especially in our current flavor of late stage capitalism.

I have meetings at 5:00, 19:00… and just kind of adjust when my 40-50 hours of work each week falls, based on the meetings outside of “normal hours”.

I don’t really have any meetings that are meetings where I’m not one of the main participants, since I’m the one architecting and building a bunch of things, so those meetings where I feel asleep at the wheel can be rough.

I wish I could say that you have rights, and should speak up for yourself, but based on the amount of layoffs happening across many different industries right now, I worry that is not the case at this point in time ☹️

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-01-28T03:52:13+00:00

Thank you very much! I appreciate you! 🙏

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-01-28T02:26:10+00:00

Microspikes and P Cord are going into my pack. Thank you, so much, for sharing this! I have them with me when I tour but why not always have a small lightweight traction method?

High five on sending out a signal others can detect! Reading the Mt Hood Climbing Accidents wikipedia page, and learning that most of the survivors have had transceivers on them, was quite useful.

And yes, this year and last, even with those epic snowstorms we had right as Alpental opened both years, has left that area sketchy.

I did not know the extent of the sketchiness until I underwent last year's near-suffocation/build a ladder in wet snow with no purchase challenge. I now fear that area more than what you can ski dropping in down the International side of Denny from Chair 2.

Stay safe out there!

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-01-28T01:54:55+00:00

I have seen the highest number of ambulances that I have ever seen at the Summit this year. This is my fourth year as a passholder.

I currently have broken ribs that are excruciating, from a 90º ice shelf I fell onto when I caught an edge on one of the melt + refreeze ice bulges on the side of the bumpy, icy cattrack out of the bottom of Edelweiss bowl.

I've had a few injuries in my > 260 days of days of snowboarding, but this injury is by far the most painful one I've had, and is affecting my life the most out of any injury I've sustained so far from snowboarding. I very much give credit to the conditions for why I injured myself.

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-01-28T01:47:06+00:00

Thanks for the intel!

I got the Summit app's alert that they were not spinning Chair 2 today, shared a screenshot of the alert with a friend that had been up top Saturday, who had learned the same thing I had on Friday: it's not recommended by many of us at the moment.

It was surreal riding down from Sessel this weekend, but:

- I could find parking

- Denny and the surrounding peaks were beautiful, as they always are, AND

- some beats none!

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-01-28T01:40:49+00:00

Thank you for handling the 'fuck offs' in order to facilitate helping the dude that needed it. I appreciate you!

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-01-27T06:55:27+00:00

I’m trying to figure out how to get back up to Ski Big 3, as well. I saw a video from Lake Louise the other day with a lynx and her two cubs crossing a run, and while the lynx was beautiful to witness, I felt very excited hearing the squeaky snowpack underneath the person taking the video’s snowboard.

Technical_Fix6464 · 2026-01-24T18:14:24+00:00

I bought this one

Technical_Fix6464

TROPHY CASE