The Tamanos Mountain Quadfecta was a project I came up with over the years ski touring on Mount Rainier. With a solid laid skin track we would be able to access 4 different line. Heading up Owyhigh Lakes trail and wrapping around to the Southern Ridge we would be able to ride 4 different and amazing lines. This would make the most out of a day tour up the White River road on one of my favorite mountains.

A Little Bit of Information about Tamanos Mountain

Tamanos Mountain is a 6,790 foot summit located on the East side of Mount Rainier National Park. Tamanos Mountain is accessed via the Owyhigh Lake Trailhead off of the White River road and in clear view from Sunrise Visitor Center. The Northwest side drains into Shaw Creek while the North East side runs into Fryingpan Creek. It has skiable lines in all directions other than south which is a ridge that runs to the Cowlitz Chimneys. While it is a high traffic area during the Summer, during the winter it remains relatively silent.

The Tamanos Mountain Quadfecta

Heading up the White River Road had become an annual pilgrimage over the last decade for Boot, Jason and I. Over the years it has become my favorite zone but the hardest part of getting there is riding up on the sleds.

Heading up the White River Road is no Walk in the Park

The first 2 miles are usually bare pavement before finding snow on the road but that doesn’t make it much easier. For some weird reason WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation) plows one side of the road for the first 6 miles leaving a 3 foot drop onto bare pavement on one side and another 3 foot drop to a trench on the other leaves a 2 foot wide track, barely enough for someone who drives a sled only 2 times a year to freak out a bit going 50 MPH

 

But once in the park there’s no more plowing and just open road surrounded by old growth forest. This is where you can really push the throttle and get the sleds moving

 

The Owyhigh Lake trailhead has always been a go to as it’s the first trailhead you come across. With Boot’s 1980’s sleds if there is over a foot of fresh snow there’s a good chance you could get the sled stuck. It’s a safe gamble to just start at the first option.The awesome terrain and the ease of the exit made it the perfect Quadfecta for me. Before long we were off the slides of making our way up a summer trail.

 

Heading up the Owyhigh Lakes Trail

This whole area is special for many reasons but one of my favorite parts is the skinning through old growth forests. With trees the size of cars all over the place it is one of the last remaining original forests in Washington state.

 

The place is beautiful in the summer but in the winter with a fresh coating of snow it’s when the forest looks its best.

 

We were able to follow the summer trail for the first thousand feet but once the snowpack got deep we starting making our own route.

 

Soon enough we were in tree line and looking at conditions up high. From what I could see weather was coming in and out but the snow looked amazing. I quickly realized that it would be an epic snow day if we stuck to the right aspects and played our day around it.

 

A Well Laid Skin Track

Looking at the Northeast face of Tamanos Mountain we knew that this bowl would ride great. Tucked between the rocks was a couloir I had skied many times. Putting in the skin track I made sure to head by the base of the line. If all went to plan we could ride to our skin track before heading back up for another lap.

 

Wrapping over to the East face near Owyhigh Lakes we saw that the main couloir was in as well. You can see the small notch in the photo below.

 

After seeing that both lines were looking good we decided to put in a nice mellow skin track. It would weave through the trees that wrapped around the eastern base of the mountain. Doing this would allow us to descent all the way back to it. Utilizing the same skin track as long as the sun and the snow would allow.

 

Making our way up the South East side of Tamanos Mountain I made sure to put in a low angle skin track. It was filled with mellow switch backs that never left us exposed to avalanches. Most importantly it could take numerous times ascending it without the skin track blowing out.

 

Our First Run on Tamanos Mountain via the East Couloir

The East couloir got our attention first as with the sun coming up we knew it was time sensitive for the best quality snow. It was actually Boot who really pushed for this line. When I say pushed I mean “man that looks good, you want to ride it?”……….to which I always respond……Sure!!! Since it was his line he was more than happy going first. From the first turn it was obvious that the snow was going to be great and it was a great first descent of the day.

 

The East face could be broken down to 3 sections, the entrance, the crux couloir and the open slide path below. We stopped only once above the crux to keep eye contact on each other before meeting up in the valley bellow. The entrance and the exit were both good but it was the crux zone that was awesome. With steep walls and well over 2 feet of stable snow I was expecting it to be good but not this good!!!

 

We rode all the way back to the skin track happy to have rode the line so early. The bottom was already starting to get warmer and our next area would be focused on North facing aspects. if they were happy it was time to get back on our old skin track and skin a few feet higher than our previous run for yet another zone of the Tamanos Mountain trifecta.

 

Once we arrived at the base of our line it was time to get back on our skin track. The next line was only a few feet higher than our previous run but would take us to the Northeast face of Tamanos Mountain.

 

Getting Back on the Skin Track

Having the skin track already in place our travel was much faster. I had specifically put it in knowing that I didn’t want it to be steep. A switchback at a time we made our way back out to the South ridge and heading towards our second line on Tamanos Mountain

 

Our Second Run on Tamanos Mountain via the Northeast Couloir

Soon we arrived on top of the Northeast Couloir. It’s a line I’ve ridden a handful of times yet keep coming back. It is steep, wind protected  just the perfect line in the Cascades.

 

I carefully dropped in first ski cutting the slopes and getting a feeling of the snow conditions. The last thing I wanted was a sluff carrying me down the slope or a high speed turn on firm snow leaving me tumbling.

 

But the snow was good and the sluffs were slow so I felt comfortable opening up. Soon I was making big arcing turns and not stopping until I could get into a safe zone in its lower apron. From there we regrouped before making the final descent.

 

Once in the lower apron it was obvious that the conditions on anything North facing was really good. We looked at our watches and decided it was worth racing the last hour and a half of sunlight for one more run before the exit. After chatting we dropped a hundred feet lower in the trees until we ran back to our skin track. This would be the last time utilizing the skin track.

 

Our Third and Final Lap on the Skin Track

By now the skin track was well broken in. We were a bit tired from the last two laps but made our way up a switchback at a time. Finally we were back on the upper ridge for our final descent off the North face of Tamanos Mountain.

 

By the time we made it back to the summit it was a race for light. The sky was dramatic with views of the surrounding mountains finally starting to come out. We still had two more lines left but the last one via the West face to Fryingpan Creek was a 10 minute skin.

 

With each run we pushed the skin track a few hundred feet further. Heading to the north face would require some climbing on top of a semi exposed ridge.

 

When on the summit views of the Fryingpan Creek area finally came out and Boot was showing Jason all the lines we had skied in the surround environment. We could barely see the base of the Emmons Glacier in the distance. In front of us was Fryingpan Creek and the Banshee couloir.

 

Riding the North Face of Tamanos Mountain

The North face of Tamanos Mountain is big, steep and open but it has one problem. There are cornices and there are a lot of them. Finding the right spot was a bit dangerous so we carefully made our way down 20 feet from the summit. Soon enough we found the perfect spot to drop into the North face.

 

By now the sun had set and every minute it was getting darker. We were a bit rushed as we still had one more 10 minute skin track before our exit run. Our final run off Tamanos Mountain was a avalanche chute that dropped all the way to Fryingpan Creek. The line is similar to the zone on the left of the photo below.

 

A Race Against the Darkness

Once we found a spot that seemed safe to drop in we transitioned to splitboards. Soon we were prepared to drop into our last run of the summit of Tamanos Mountain.

 

The light was getting flat but the snow was good making it top to bottom in one quick run. There was no time to celebrate as a run via headlamps is almost always 10x slower than without.

Racing against the Dark for our Final Line Down to Fryingpan Creek

We made it up to our final drop in point with just minutes of daylight left. Once dropping in we rode the entire 3,000 foot run until our thighs burned and we were right on the shores of Fryingpan creek. All that stood between us and the sled was a crossing of Fryingpan and a ten minute skin which would be easy if not for the fact that there is rarely a snowbridge over the creek. Sometimes you can find a tree to skirt but after 5 minutes of looking I gave in and just got my feet wet arriving at the sled in the dark. Out of all the tours I’ve done at White River I don’t think I’ve ever sledded back to the car in daylight.

In Conclusion

One time we took a friend out to White River and he said he wanted a quick and easy tour to which we replied “none of those exist in White River”. That’s one of the things I love about the area. It’s far from simple, it’s isolated and an endless expanse of mountains and aspects to choose from. For example this tour is great but it only represents 5% of the terrain of White River and 2% of Mount Rainier National Park in whole. You couldn’t ask for a better spot to get kicked around learning about Splitboarding and every time i’m back on this side during winter I’ll have a grin on my face.

Thank you for reading our trip out to Tamanos Mountain. If you want to see more ski tours within Mount Rainier Backcountry check out this link