East Quartz??

[Daverino27]

I'm wondering where exactly is East Quartz???

I have been to Quartz Creek several times but I am curious about exploring some new spots around there next week. Is East Quartz the general "canyon" that runs NW - SE that is essentially straight East of the Cabin over the big ridge??

If you are looking at the trail map provided on snowmobilegolden.com, I'm talking about the area that has the logging roads branch off the main trail in a South East direction at the "kink" about 2/3's of the way down the trail towards the cabin.

Are the logging roads on the trail map viable to get back into that area?? Is it tough to get back there to some nice areas?? Is there some tracks going back there or do you pretty much need to break trail? What sort of riding is back there? We're looking for sparse trees/open areas and minor climbs. Is this area pretty high traffic or is there a good chance of finding nice snow back there with minimal recent snow??

A group of us will be riding the Golden area on Mon/Tues/Wed.

This seems like a million questions but any feedback or advice about this area would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Stg2Suby]

Access is probably easier via Gorman/Lang than from the Quartz trail, either way not for beginners. To go from Quartz side follow the east valley at the fork about 2/3 way up the main trail. Then a lot of bushwacking through willows and drainages and where the trail ends you follow the creekbed up through a narrow ravine to get to the treeline.

 

[Taminator]

Lot's of bushwackin' up the road from Quartz. Gonna have to get a map and explore like the rest of the peeps to find these spots! Trial and error...and it's fun to explore to find places Peeps don't like to share spots they put alot of effort into finding and getting to, and with the number of sleds out here, you can see why.

You need to get to East Quartz for riding, there isn't much along the way...just a grown in trail that ends in a creek bed that you find your way up like S2S says...we didn't get past there from this side. Been part-way from the Gorman side too, some steep climbs from that way to get there but a whole different trip than from the other side.

 

[Modman]

Lot's of bushwackin' up the road from Quartz. Gonna have to get a map and explore like the rest of the peeps to find these spots! Trial and error...and it's fun to explore to find places Peeps don't like to share spots they put alot of effort into finding and getting to, and with the number of sleds out here, you can see why.

You need to get to East Quartz for riding, there isn't much along the way...just a grown in trail that ends in a creek bed that you find your way up like S2S says...we didn't get past there from this side. Been part-way from the Gorman side too, some steep climbs from that way to get there but a whole different trip than from the other side.

Yep - what she said^^^. Also dropping in from Gorman can be sketchy sometimes if the trail up the backside is chopped up and can be like an ice coffin.

 

[Carbon]

trail in was done in dec...no troubles getting in from Quartz side....I got shizz last yr for complaining about peeps giving area's out,what's the big deal.and you know it's good to show and tell,helps the valley's bottom line $$$$$$$

hope you have good times and find what ur looking for :d

 

[JoHNI_T]

how many k once ya leave the quartz trail???



any new snow down there??

 

[Shibby!]

how many k once ya leave the quartz trail???

any new snow down there??

It's further then Quartz Cabin.

We crossed into East Quartz from Lang two weeks ago. Some decent pulls to get in (think Gorman lake entry hill but steeper), then some sketchy trails to drop down along a mountain ridge. If visibility is bad or things are crusted over, good luck. You aren't slowing down coming down those hills and at one point there is about 25 meters of a trail thats barely wider then your machine. If you go down on one side you aren't coming out.

Snow was about 10-15 cm on a hard crust. We were snowboarding and not sledding.

 

[Carbon]

how many k once ya leave the quartz trail???



any new snow down there??

10k left side go straight,to the right Q,cabin

 

[Shibby!]

Shawn, PM me if you want directions.

I'm somewhat torn with posting this info on thet net because:

A) They aren't really safe areas for beginners.
B) If conditions turn for the worse it's not a good area to be in.
C) Sledding is becoming over populated =)

Mostly because of safety though. Like Gorman, there are added precautions required above and beyond mountain riding. The slopes aren't slide friendly and like I said, 5 feet to one side at the top of a climb and you are getting a helicopter ride out IF you are properly equipped and IF you make it to the bottom. No to mention if this mistake is made it's probably poor conditions and the heli wouldn't come. With poor visibility or a chance of poor visibility I don't recommend anybody go there from the Gorman route. Even Quartz as the slopes above aren't seen in cloud and all sides can come down. A good majority of riding area is in avy shoots.

 

[Taminator]

10k left side go straight,to the right Q,cabin

I think you better give a bit better directions than that

 

[Taminator]

trail in was done in dec...no troubles getting in from Quartz side....I got shizz last yr for complaining about peeps giving area's out,what's the big deal.and you know it's good to show and tell,helps the valley's bottom line $$$$$$$

hope you have good times and find what ur looking for :d

I think like Shibby...I don't mind showing peeps new places and riding with them...I'm a little leary about sending people into more extreme areas they don't know at all especially not knowing how much riding experience or terrain/avy knowledge they have. Going into some areas is dangerous in certain conditions and weather, which they may not consider if they aren't familiar with the mountains and what it's like at that elevation when the weather's bad. East Quartz isn't the trip for an occassional mountain rider IMO. And yes, there can be troubles. It's not all about the bottom line and showing and telling. Experienced riders who ride the mountains regularly will find these places on their own or from others taking them. "10 k left side go straight to the right Q cabin" might not cut it!

 

[BRP QSC]

we were at Quartz on Saturday with reports of no new snow. Was talking to Arron fron GSR and he was talking about east quartz as being unsafe to get into from the quartz side. we got there and there was between 3 and 8inchs of fresh but by 3 it was tracked out but there was more up top

 

[Daverino27]

Hey,

I don't mean to stir up any controversy. The group I ride with is a good group of riders. We know our abilities and are not trying to get into any area that we can't handle or an area where we feel our safety is compromised.

I was simply looking for some feedback on a new/different area at Quartz that we may want to check out. (if we decide to go to Quartz for a day).

Thanks guys for the advise and info

 

[Taminator]

East Quartz isn't really an area of Quartz...it's kind of an area all to it's own, not real close to Quartz itself. It's good to hear you're experienced, but it's tough for you to know if an area is somewhere you want to go or should go when you haven't been there. Some of these are lesser travelled areas and away from the main riding area. Easy to get lost, sometimes no tracks and you're pretty deep in the ranges. Google Earth is a good tool to use for exploring and to see what kind of terrain an area has.