March 25, 2009, Hex Mountain (Cle Elum Valley)
3/25/09
WA Cascades East Slopes Central
2192
0
Little Hill--Big Effort
Hex can be good right after new snow and a freezing level below 3000 ft. when the Cascade crest is either too hazardous with slide danger or too deep to avoid a serious trail breaking wallow.
Tough trail breaking in 12 inches of very heavy new from 3000 feet to 4000 feet. Above 4000 the snow deepened to 14+ inches but lightened up a bit. Unfortunately the wet snow had its way on my skins so I was carrying the light snow up the hill with me. Spring is here- time to treat the skins with glop stopper.
Skiing was fun. The descent I like goes SW down off the top into the open old growth gulch to about 4000 feet where it opens up into a cut unit. Then I climbed back to the ridge along the cut edge and got about 600 more vertical on the west slope on the edge of the same large cut unit.
Finally I side stepped up to Pt. 3501 to get one last short run Sw through pretty old open pine.
Take a map and look to recognize the lower Transat point knobs as now roads have been punched in all over the place down low.
Not much traffic up there lately and with the new snow couldn't really see any evidence of anyone, although NWHikers has recent reports. Fun to have it too myself, but I am a bit more worked than I should be for such a minor tour!
Hex can be good right after new snow and a freezing level below 3000 ft. when the Cascade crest is either too hazardous with slide danger or too deep to avoid a serious trail breaking wallow.
Tough trail breaking in 12 inches of very heavy new from 3000 feet to 4000 feet. Above 4000 the snow deepened to 14+ inches but lightened up a bit. Unfortunately the wet snow had its way on my skins so I was carrying the light snow up the hill with me. Spring is here- time to treat the skins with glop stopper.
Skiing was fun. The descent I like goes SW down off the top into the open old growth gulch to about 4000 feet where it opens up into a cut unit. Then I climbed back to the ridge along the cut edge and got about 600 more vertical on the west slope on the edge of the same large cut unit.
Finally I side stepped up to Pt. 3501 to get one last short run Sw through pretty old open pine.
Take a map and look to recognize the lower Transat point knobs as now roads have been punched in all over the place down low.
Not much traffic up there lately and with the new snow couldn't really see any evidence of anyone, although NWHikers has recent reports. Fun to have it too myself, but I am a bit more worked than I should be for such a minor tour!
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