Hypothermia Run 2007

Driving for hours up a mountain in the snow with the express purpose of sleeping outdoors in freezing temperatures sounds like lunacy to most people. Nearly everybody I mentioned it to, in fact. In the end there were only three people crazy (or dumb) enough to do it; myself, Ian (Slacker87XJ) and Michael (2xtreme). Ian and I had never done any true "snow camping" before so we were very grateful to have Miachel along with us. He's so hardcore he even manufactured his own snow saw. Really.

On the morning of Saturday the 27th the three of us met at the offramp to Tinkham Road, exit 47, the last exit before the Snoqualmie Pass, and aired down. Well, I should say that Michael met at 9:00 and had 30 minutes of waiting to talk about what a slacker Ian is.



The road was hard and icy, presenting a whole other challenge. There were also quite a few cross-country skiers making their way up the road. One time I came up on a group of three of them without them hearing me until I was pretty close. I downshifted into first, blipping the throttle to match the revs. The sudden and loud noise of a barely muffled 4.0 turning 3000 rpm sent them jumping into the ditch. Of course, I was only doing 2 mph and was still a ways away from them, but it gave them quite a start.

Luckily they were pretty cool about it; they were all grinning sheepishly as the brushed them selves off and we went on past them. Here's the group crossing under the Ironhorse trail RR trestle:



The snow had a VERY thick crust, but under that it was like really fine sand. You could scoop up some in your hand and watch it sift through your fingers. The trick was staying on the top layer. A couple times I had to stop and work at it a few times to get back on top; drive forward, sink in. Reverse. Drive forward, sink in. Reverse. Repeat as many times as necessary.

We were blessed with incredible weather, mostly clear skies and a bright sun. The temp during the day was only in the 30's, but it felt warmer with the sun on our faces.



Only a scattering of clouds crossed the sky:



We made great time up the road, covering the same distance that took us hours last time in just minutes. We all shared the hopes that we would be able to get to the top, usually not possible until the snow melts in June. When we got to the place we stopped last time, our hopes were dashed; the hole I made playing around on video had been expanded by other rig that had followed our tracks. Now it was as deep as our Jeeps, and nobody thought we'd be able to make it through.

I decided to give it a shot, though:





Amazingly, the snow was perfect and I made it through with no problem, as did Ian behind me. Then Michael got stuck half-way out of the hole. Ian and I went back to investigate and help and quickly discovered the front wheels were not contributing to the cause.

"Try 4-wheel drive, Michael," we both said, chuckling.

Pause.

"Uh, it is in 4-wheel drive," replied Michael with grim realization.

First task was to get the Jeep on level ground so we could figure out exactly what was wrong. It took a few good tugs to get Michael out of the hole. You can even see the strap snapping taut in this pic:



After a few minutes, we discovered the vacuum-disco line had been torn off when he dropped into the hole. Easily fixed, we were back on the trail after only a few minutes delay.





We were now on totally virgin snow; no vehicles had been up here since before Christmas, and a month of hard snow had all but erased their tracks. All I had as a guide were cross-country skiers' shuffle marks and a scattering of foot prints to guide the way.



It was very slow going, just creeping along in first gear. A couple times I stopped and talked with my fellow adventurers. I kinda wanted one of them to say "ah, let's just stop here." I was going so slow it was beginning to get tedious for me. Luckily, both Michael and Ian were keen to see how far we could get.

Here's the pace I was making:



Around 11:00 we broke out of the trees into the huge clearing/rock quarry that we refer to as "the Lower Shooting Spot" because of it's popularity with teenagers drinking and shooting their daddy's shotgun at abandoned cars. Some may also remember the last first run up to Tinkham of the year when the road had been plowed, allowing any and every kind of vehicle imaginable to get up there, from Land Rovers to Chrysler minivans.

Not so today:





More to come!

We stopped there for a few minutes, had a hot pocket and BS'd while admiring the stunning solitude and incredible vistas. Back on the trail, it was quickly apparent that if I thought the trail had been challenging up 'til now, it was only a glimpse of things to come.

My forward progress was nearly non existent, and Ian's was totally focused on just getting back on the trail. I struggles for 15 minutes trying get back on top of the snow and moving again. It was just not happening;no matter which gear I used, high-range or low, slow or fast I just plowed into the deep powder and stopped.



Meanwhile, Michael and Ian were having similar problems. For the hell of it , I decided to air down slightly. I went from 8 to 5 psi, and like that, I was back on the trail cruising along at 15 mph. Ian followed suit and aired down further and had similar results.

Now I was really hauling, having to shift out of low range due to my speed. My progress was such that it was decided that I would keep on pushing ahead while Ian and Michael aired down some more and followed a few minutes later. It gave me a chance to do a little target practice, too.

Once we regrouped we went the last of the way up to the top where the gate is to the Seattle watershed. Here's Ian standing next to the gate posts, the only thing visible above the snow. For reference, the gate is about 4.5' high:



We decided to camp here, in a small grove of trees that would, hopefully, block some of the wind. You can see the little clearing we camped in at the top of this picture:



While Ian and Michael started to get camp organized, I aired down to 3 psi and went a little further up the road to get some pics of Rainier and generally screw around:





Getting the rigs unloaded with all of our camping gear:





With that accomplished, what else would three responsible adults do but go sledding and build a jump?

Ian going for maximum speed:



Michael trying for style points. X-Games, watch out!



After getting that out of our systems, and I unloaded a couple magazines of 7.62x51, we started building our igloo. It was immediately clear that the snow simply would not work. Under a hard crust, there was just power, and nothing we did would make it pack.

Undaunted, we went ahead and built one for the experience. Michael showing Ian how to use the snow saw:

"No Ian, it goes the other way."







Here's how far we got before losing interest:

With the sun beginning to set we got the fire going and began to start thinking about dinner. Ian brought his little Weber BBQ along for this purpose (more on it later) and we buried it in the snow. It worked well and kept up warmer then we would have been otherwise:



While we were sitting there, a couple of cross-country skiers/hikers skied into our little clearing. They were incredulous that we had driven up there. Our conversation went like this:

Hikers: "How the hell did you guys get up here?"

Me, after quickly looking at the three Jeeps: "Well, we drove."

Hikers: "Yeah, we saw your tracks down there and thought it was from a Sno-Cat or something. I can't believe you drove your Jeeps up here!"

Me: "Only in a Jeep, buddy."

Hikers: "Dude, you guys must have fawking HUGE cojones!"

I looked around our campsite with it's fire, cooler full of beer, steaks and the pot of chili that was cooking, and then at the two guys. They had just climbed 3000 feet in 5 miles and were only halfway through their trip.

Me: "I think you've got it backwards, man, but thanks!"

The crazy bastards:



We were also treated to an absolutely breathtaking sunset, which these pictures do not do justice:









Our little campsite:



Sasquatch wandered through and was nice enough to take our picture:



The bastard drank all our beer, though, so we went to bed early. Everyone slept well, though it was very cold. When we went to be around 11:00 the temps were likely in the mid-teens. Brrrrr!

The next morning was a clear as the day before, which is to say freezing-damn-cold!



It was beautiful though, as we drank some coffee and huddled around the campfire to get warm. Meanwhile, Michael broke down our camp so nobody would fall in a hole we had dug:



All of a sudden it was nearly 9:00, when we were scheduled to meet the second part of our group, for the day's wheeling. Unfortunately, the BBQ was still hot and besides, Ian's truck was so full from careless, hasty packing there was no room.

"Shit, just throw it on my roof rack," I volunteered, not fully considering how stupid a Weber BBQ would look strapped to my Jeep. Once it was up there it was clear, though. "It looks like I've got Sputnik strapped to my fawking roof!" It was too late for my to do anything about it, so that's why it looks like I have a satellite attached to my roof in the rest of these pictures. Ian even volunteered to put together a CD of "Beep-Beep-Beep-Beep" so I could have the complete effect. Thanks, buddy.

Me and Sputnik the BBQ on the way down:



Never too late for some posing:



Then Michael lost a bead on his right front tire, not surprising considering the breakneck pace we were keeping on the trip down, bouncing from rut to rut.



Once I saw that Michael and Ian had it under control, I went ahead down the mountain to meet the other group at the bottom. There I met John (Avanteone), Aaron (a PNWJeep guy with a gold 4-banger TJ on 35's), Jeff (XJNana), and Jason (XJCasper). After a couple minutes, Ian and Michael joined us and we set off up the other side of the freeway to the Denny Creek road. Before I-90, this road was how you crossed the pass; it winds through the trees and comes out by Alpental.

Some of you might also remember that this is the road where I got stuck by myself for 10 hours last year. Since then I've wanted to go back and conquer it.

At the very beginning, either the forest service or the snow plow people or someone made an obstacle to make it harder for vehicles to get back there. We think it was a "you must be this tall to ride" type of thing. With John in the lead, me following and Ian behind me, we made it through. Then Jason had a little issue, slid off and popped the his tire off the rim:



Jeff tried to pull him back but couldn't get enough traction to get him unstuck:



Finally, Aaron tugged him backwards and we aired Jason's tire back up. Not the best start; stuck ten feet into the day. Before we even got on the trail we had all sorts of skiers and hikers giving us an ugly look, so this was kinda embarrassing.



With John leading, he and I took off like it was a race, bouncing up the road trying to pass each other. We came around a corner and saw something a little daunting. Half of the packed snow that made up the road we were driving on had washed away. It looked really unstable, but John gave it a shot:



It held, so I followed with Ian behind me. Not far up the road we came across another washed-out section, but it was totally gone. Here are the three of us at the edge of it:



After walking it, we decided it was possible. John went first, and none of us really knew what to expect. Here's the video of John going through the wash. Here's the video me following just after.



Here's Ian going through with no problem:



At this point we heard from the back half of the group; everyone was stuck. We decided to go back and assist and then assess. On the way back through, however, Ian chooses an "alternate" line and has to be yanked out of the creek bed:





Not before John gets himself stuck and has to winch out:





Finally we got out of there and went back to rejoin the other part of our group. Here's an example of just how deep the snow was:



When we got to the back half, everyone was already unstuck, but we decided to leave Jason and Jeff's rigs there and have them ride with the guys with lockers. Nobody who was having problems at the first section was going to make it where we had just gone.

Things were going well until Aaron had to overcompensate for his TJ ownership and snapped a shaft:



With Aaron running three-tire-fire we continued up the grade, closer and closer to the pass. The snow had also not seen vehicles for quite some time, but was pretty easy to drive on.

After clearing a downed tree, the group pushed on:



An interesting shot:



I-90 in the background:



Paralleling 90 East, there was a huge field of these snowballs. It looked otherworldly:



After while we came across the I-90 West bound overpass. On either side of the freeway, the spray from snowplows had created huge berms of snow. John promptly got stuck in one:



Here's the view from under the freeway, just before I drop down the bank, as shown in this video.



Getting up the other side would prove to be a challenge:



I tried this line a few times but gave up:



John wasn't going to be dissuaded, though and got fantastically and totally stuck:



We had his winch attached to a tree on the front, a tow strap around his passenger side B-pillar and my winch pulling him backwards. He was out in no time:



Okay, so that wasn't going to happen. Time to focus on getting myself and John out from under the freeway and heading home. I went first, charging up the bank a few times before hooking a winch line to my front bumper (thanks Aaron).



Unfortunately, the winch also puled my nose down into the snow, arresting forward movement totally. We unburied the tire and found it had lost the bead and nearly wrapped itself around my axle. Luckily, Ian had ether. Unfortunately, my camera's battery died just as the video was showing the fire. Very impressive if you've not seen it done before.



My custom 34x4.50 tire:



After getting that squared away we all made our way back down the trail and out to air up. Not before one last poser shot, though:



Best snow run I've ever been on. Thanks for making a great one, guys!

-----Matt-----

very cool, sorry i missed out.

I am so joules, I got to get my cage finished. That looked like an awesome run!

A beautiful job there! Really nice pictures, with nice comments throughout. Beautiful scenery. A true masterpiece!!!

Thanks for the photo credit

Nice writeup, Matt! Here's one of John expressing his love for gravity

Great write up Matt, awsome pics & vids too. So whens the next tinkham snow run... I wont be missing that one.
Ryan

Nice Matt!!

:cheers:

Just to be different......I think this write-up SUCKS........only because I wasn't there.

seriously, nice Job Matt, even though you don't need a bigger head

Good job with the pics John!

Megawatt
nice Job Matt, even though you don't need a bigger head

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You'll thank him when he's providing the Shade at NW fest

That is great Matt I totally enjoyed the write up. Looks like a blast. Next year

How about a Jacks Pass run?

Holy shit. Next year I will be there. What a blast to say the least.

So Matt I see you made it into a magazine. Congrats Just remember the small people And for those who aren't aware it is an online mag. www.jpfreek.com in the current issue. I hope to see this write in there soon as well.

Blkxjkrawler said:

You'll thank him when he's providing the Shade at NW fest

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:rof: :rof: :rof:

Slacker87XJ said:

:rof: :rof: :rof:

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Is he buying a motorhome or something?

Matt,
Very nice write up!!! I expect the rest of them to be at this quality from now on

Lot's of the photos say "Photobucket.com Bandwidth Exceeded" Is it just me? Or have you exceeded your photobucket acct?

Thanks,
Michael