Need a place to test out crampons

[Rob]

Howdy,

Looking for a place to go test out some crampons this weekend.  The time window to test them out is somewhat limited so It needs to be within an hour and a half of the Seattle area, with no more than a 30 min or so walk from the vehicles.

Would be nice to have a little bit of steepness to play with, but not really intersted in dying in an avalanche just yet!  Mostly we want hard packed now/ice.

Anyone have any ideas on a place to try out?

[snowpack]

Paradise on Ranier?

[wildmanoutdoors]

Mt Elinor. Steep and quick.

[Rob]

Those are both great ideas (and thanks!), but was hoping for something closer to Seattle.  Both of those are a bit further than the 90 min drive time constraint we were hoping to hit.

The I-90 or HWY 2 corridor would be great

I have plans to try paradise later in the year, and I will be adding Mt Elinor to our list as well so I appreciate the ideas.

[jackelope]

Do you just want to strap them on and walk up a snowy hill?

You'll need a sno-park pass for this place... $20 I think. You could go to the Gold Creek exit off I-90 on the pass. Take a left off the ramp, go under the freeway and park. Walk up that road straight ahead of you, find a hill that suits your needs, strap on the crampons and go for a walk. If you're looking for a long hike with crampons on, I don't know where to tell you to go other than Mt Adams.

What do you need to try out with the crampons?

[Ice Cap]

Just go up to a ski area at Snoqualmie or Stevens.
Lots of snow banks to try them out.

[jackelope]

Just go up to a ski area at Snoqualmie or Stevens.
Lots of snow banks to try them out.

That idea sounds far too simple to me.

 

[Holg3107]

Find a local ice skating rink. There are a few that are still open and that will be your best test IMO.

[Rob]

Cool, thank for the input!  I think we will give the snow park a shot.  Or perhaps Snoqualmie pass ski area on our way there.

Some of my buddies and I are going to try to hit Mt St Helens this spring (allegedly not too technical).  We want to at least check our gear for bit and do a little bit of walking to work out any kinks before we backpack into the the glacier.

Appreciate the suggestions!

[JLS]

What are you trying to test?  Crampons are pretty simple, have you used them before?  Just make sure you get the sized right, just slighty bigger than your boot and tighten them down.  If they're good quality there shouldn't be anything else to worry about.

You just don't want them coming off when you're on a STEEP hill, trying to kick your toes in

[Noiro]

I was hoping you would come aerate my lawn until I read you need snow.
The most important thing I remember about crampons is if you step on the rope call it out immediately and get it replaced. Hope to see some photos.

[Rob]

Never used them (other than in the house).  Thought it best to test them out near the truck rather than on Mt. St Helens!

They are Black Diamond Sabertooth's so I think the quality is OK (not high end, but good starters).

Good call on the rope.  I have also been told to never use them to arrest a fall or you ankles will shatter....  thats what the ice axe is for.

[jackelope]

I wore them last year on Adams. Never before. Very straight forward. Got the rentals from Marmot in Bellevue and had them strapped onto my Meindl perfekt hunters. Everything went smooth.

[Rob]

cool!  Looking forward to messing with them and the future hike.

My buddies and I want to do Adams later in the year and then work our way up to Rainer in a year or so.  Working on putting the pieces together little by little.

I want to take the Basic Alpine class the Mountianeers offer along with the basic navigation class.  Both are supposed to be outstanding.

[JLS]

Yes, if you fall with crampons, keep your feet UP.  As you said, use the ice ax.  That's what you're carrying it for.

Don't step on the rope, and don't pee on it either.

Have fun and take lots of pictures.

[jackelope]

We're going up again July 13th. Can't wait...

[kentrek]

when on helens dont let crevasse (plural ??) slip your mind...esp if your going in the spring 

have fun 

[Rob]

As a follow up for anyone who might reference this thread later.

We went up on Sunday to Alpental.  WE drove to the end of the parking area and walked down the trail towards Snow lake.  This is a great place to go to test alpine gear (although check the avalance reports as this is an area prone to them). 

My buddy and I walked around in the trees on steep stuff.  the heavy snow made it not the best place to try out crampons, but the tree wells were nice and crunchy.

[Rob]

As requested, some photos from our venture to Mt St Helens yesterday.

Crampons were a hoot and worked well.

[JLS]

Great photos, looked like you could have used some snowshoes?

[Rob]

you could have used snow shoes for about 3/4 of the Mt, but in the steep icy stuff the crampons were a must!