January 14, 2009, Snoqualmie Pass

After a chilly night at the Pass, I headed into Commonwealth with an eye toward Red. The several creek crossings needed proved enough of an impediment as to make getting to work on time impossible, so I bailed up the drainage between Red and Kendall. Pretty dawn - pictures later.

In the forests/below 4k, soft breakable above ~6-8" of soft and wet-ish atop something bomber.  Above 4-4.5k in the clearings at 8 am, the firm and dry crust was just soft enough to skin and edge happily, and unbreakable. Sun/warm will change things a lot today. Several snow bridges were mid-collapse but passable when cold. Creeks are much better defined this year. The breakable was more of an annoyance than I'd anticipated, though not too bad. Surface hoar in the forest. Best morning skiing probably in open forest. Beautiful weather at North Bend and higher.