June 6, 2008, Chinook Pass

Just a brief report: Five of us headed up to Chinook Pass, where we found wintry conditions and 4-5" of new snow in the morning, with moderate snowfall continuing throughout the day and adding another 1-2" by 2pm. Snow level was at about 4000 ft on the drive up, and SR 410 was completely snow-covered above 4500 ft. We parked at the lot just north of the pass and skied three short laps on the east-facing slope leading to the north ridge of Yakima Peak, followed by a longer run from high up on the NW ridge of Naches Peak.

Snow conditions were good powder at 10am (first lap), but occasional filtered sunshine quickly turned the new snow into soft slabs sitting (and sliding) atop a firm crust. Ski conditions remained decent, but we set off dozens of soft slabs of various sizes throughout all the other laps, on aspects ranging from east to NE to north to NW. None of the slabs were large enough to be dangerous or bury anyone (all entrained only the < 6" of new snow), but certainly some caution was in order. We called it a day at 2pm, with a modest total of only about 3000 vert, but it sure was nice to get out and ski some fresh powder in JUNE!