1/27/09 Kendall Ridge

Went up to Snoqualmie to sample the fresh snow that was falling today.  Found 3-5 inches by noon, more in drifts on top of a solid base.  Skiing would have been more fun if not for the effects of the numerous holes dug and created by what I can only surmise were wilderness education classes.  Actually, there were only a couple of those holes and in out of the way places.  No, what really prohibited opening it up and getting some speed were the left overs of the 10 inch rain storm that hit a couple weeks ago.  Most of the slopes were smooth and very skiable and then there'd be a gaping 6 foot hole where the creek had surfaced...then all would be fine...then whammo! more hydro effects.  Every gully even remotely resembling a drainage had been washed out in places or had even found new paths through, around, or on top of the snowpack.  Not to over do it here...there were only a few holes around...but enough that I took it easy today.  Good creamy new snow though...in the open.  Death crust, bomb-hole, tree branch littered forest kept it spicy on the approach back to my car...where it had begun raining...but only for a short time...