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June 22, Source Lake

6/15/08
WA Snoqualmie Pass
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Posted by lordhedgie on 6/22/08 3:06pm
I introduced a friend visiting from Maryland to the concept of skiing all summer long.  I think he took it as quite a shock, both to his mental concept of what skiing is, and to his muscles.  The kind folks at Marmot rented him equipment at a very affordable rate, even if I did feel a little silly carrying the the wide powder skis out of the store because that was all they had in the right size.

After taking a little side trip up to enjoy some hard-frozen ice on a side slope, we skinned to Source Lake, and made it about halfway up the divide before my friend called it quites.  The entire area is covered in debris, with the south-facing slopes especially hard hit.  Plenty of clean routes down if you watch yourself.  The snow was outstanding, and we saw about two dozen others enjoying themselves, and a tent pitched in the basin.  Obviously a lot of folks stole my idea of "enjoy it while it's there."

On the way back we skied down to the Snoq River just past the ridge, and I was surprised to find the east-facing slopes still icy and hard at 1PM.  Oh, well.

Got a picture of me looking like an experienced tour guide (ha!), showing our ascent route through the bits of tree in the basin, and a picture of my friend learning how to ski in June.
Thanks for the ride!

We were the two you ran into on the way out.

You were right; there was a lot less debris heading toward Pineapple Pass than toward Chair peak.  I'd recommend heading left from Source Lake.  Coverage was quite good for late June.  Surface was moderately cupped, but soft enough.  Well worth the trip.

Funny- I am also from Maryland and upon moving here became a year round skier. My friends still cannot comprehend the fact that I can ski year round and that we had powder in June. Wow, what a good place to live! Sure beats the hell out of 100 degree summer days in the DC area.

Hope your friend did not make us Marylanders look too bad, some of us can skin more than 1000 vert feet before crapping out :)

Chris

I don't think he made Marylanders look bad.  Considering he'd never skinned before, he got pretty far up before pooping out (see below, arrow points to him at his highest point of ascent).  His downhill technique may have left a little to be desired, but that's understandable...  He was trying to figure out what the white stuff was, and where he could find some familiar ice.

It's actually funny; we'd skied together at Liberty before (you may notice my picture has me wearing a Liberty staff hat), so when he said he was coming out to visit I invited him to go skiing with me.  I recall telling him that we'd have to rent skins, and I'd teach him how to use them, but it didn't sink in until well after we passed Source Lake what exactly we were doing.  He asked me if the run was blue or black, and I just looked at him funny, and realized he didn't comprehend that we were no longer on a marked ski run.  After a quick talk, he confirmed that he had no idea I was taking him skiing in the backcountry.

To quote him, it was an experience of a lifetime. :)


Yup -- I agree.  Skied from the upper Alpental lot yesterday (June 25) all the way to one of Chair's sub-summits.  The little bridge over the creek in front of the cars disappeared in the 3 hours I was up there, but otherwise it is skiable all the say.

Source Lake is totally buried, and except for the carnage of avy debris around the Lake, the skiing is incredible all the way.  I went up the Chair Peak Valley (climbers left of the cliffs facing Source Lake and left of Chair).  If you climb too far up the gulley on the left, it cliffs out and gets very steep -- I had to climb through a notch in the rock under a couple of trees.  I realized that if I had followed other ski tracks, could have stayed out of trouble.

Solid snow all the way to the ridge crest and a short scramble to the summit.  It was late evening so I didn't contemplate a scrable to Chair.  Ice Axe advisable if you're doing the whole thing.  Dropping in from the Ridge was a scary 45 degree slope which I side-slid until getting up the nerve to make my first turn.

Sweet after work trip, but may be too hot this weekend unless you go early.

author=lordhedgie link=topic=10430.msg42348#msg42348 date=1214371982]It's actually funny; we'd skied together at Liberty before (you may notice my picture has me wearing a Liberty staff hat), so when he said he was coming out to visit I invited him to go skiing with me. 


Liberty PA?  Near Round Top?  Man, that brings me back... I used to cut out of school early to drive up there from northern VA with friends and night ski...  We though it was such a big hill. 

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2008-06-22 22:06:48