June 4, After work party at Pineapple Pass
6/15/08
WA Snoqualmie Pass
3792
1
JM, AH, JC and I left the upper Alpental parking lot near 6:15 p.m. headed for Pineapple Basin. The weather was cool (5C) and overcast with the occasional low cloud enveloping us and light precipitation. Evidence for spring avy activity was everywhere (see picture of broken tree), but today the snowpack was fairly well consolidated and firm - our skis only penetrated a few inches at most. We had to cross some patches of tree debris and avoid the numerous piles of dog s**t. Once up in Pineapple basin we were lucky to get a glimpse of blue sky. The new snow from the night before was evident as the surface no longer looked dirty. The top of the pass near the Tooth was 1C and just barely snowing. (The snow temp ~20 cm down was only - 2C, for what its worth) We headed down around 8:20 and skied through the new, wet snow that released some medium size 'rollers, but was otherwise a layer of mashed potatoes over a firm base. After some nice turns (through 'Funville) we arrived at the car just after 9 p.m. and were able to ski just shy of the parking lot. It was a great way to top off a day at work! Given the cool weather forecast and the amount of snow thats left, this should be good for a while yet.
I skied Great Scott bowl a few days before snowman, same deal a late afternoon run after work. I agree, the snow conditions all the way down to Source Lake are still very good to excellent, starting to finally corn up nicely when I was there. With the new snow in the forecast, we could see some powder days soon ;)
In contrast, a few days before that, did a quick skin/boot up International (upper) from the parking lot, on a warmer day and besides the expected bumps up there, the snow is was quite dirty (as my skins will show) and starting to really pull away from the cliff base and larger rocks (ie open cracks). On the descent, in the soft snow, took a good shot to my base, didn’t even see that hidden rock. So beware. Then again, a good June snowfall up at Alpy may just fix all that!
In contrast, a few days before that, did a quick skin/boot up International (upper) from the parking lot, on a warmer day and besides the expected bumps up there, the snow is was quite dirty (as my skins will show) and starting to really pull away from the cliff base and larger rocks (ie open cracks). On the descent, in the soft snow, took a good shot to my base, didn’t even see that hidden rock. So beware. Then again, a good June snowfall up at Alpy may just fix all that!
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