May 13, 2009, Snoqualmie Powder
5/13/09
WA Snoqualmie Pass
1740
1
Surprise! Bluebird and powder above Source Lake. Followed a nice skin track remnant from yesterday up to the top of the Chair Peak Basin. Snow up high near the summit was dry and deep. Lower down sun affected powder and really nice. Stability was good before 10am but after it warmed up a lot of loose snow was starting to go and it got sketchy on the Chair Peak side though I never got anything to slide. My partner had to go after one lap, so at 9am I went back up into the Basin for one more, then went down and skinned up to Pineapple Pass. Dug a pit in the bowl and found an unconsolidated slurpee with no discernable layers down to about four feet where I hit crust. My column went on the first wack from the shoulder and fractured at 30 inches depth. Big trees of Alpental also had deep turns and some of the best of the day. Overcast by the time I left at noon. I was hoping tomorrow might be good but it looks like rain. Glad I went today. Thanks pardner for the call out.
Edit to add a couple pics.
Rain/snow mix now at the pass but it snowed again overnight. Should be good up there today higher up!
Edit to add a couple pics.
Rain/snow mix now at the pass but it snowed again overnight. Should be good up there today higher up!
Looks like I missed the better snow conditions by a day (“should have been here yesterday”) :'( Glad you got some good pow up high, that’s what I went looking for this morning… I took a quick skin up Alpental today (May 14) after arriving at parking lot about 11am still raining (hoped the rain would be subsiding by the AM).
Keeping it simple, skinned up to top of Chair 1 and then on the ridge lookers left of Chair 2 lift, up to top by way of Rollen (back under lift) which was nicely filled in with several inches spring powder. Still snowing above 4300’. Was anxious to get some fresh turns down International but ounce I dropped in, found most of the face littered w/ avy debris and same goes for low Nash & Snake Dance. Found some narrow tracks w/o debris to make turns, but for the most part it was a real mess. I can’t believe all that was due to natural slides, was Alp ski patrol doing some control work up there (why would they)? Debris was soft, could easily ski thru it.
Turned to mank and slush by the lower sections of Lower Nash. Grabby, requiring a straight line it the rest of the way back to parking lot just to keep from stopping.
Keeping it simple, skinned up to top of Chair 1 and then on the ridge lookers left of Chair 2 lift, up to top by way of Rollen (back under lift) which was nicely filled in with several inches spring powder. Still snowing above 4300’. Was anxious to get some fresh turns down International but ounce I dropped in, found most of the face littered w/ avy debris and same goes for low Nash & Snake Dance. Found some narrow tracks w/o debris to make turns, but for the most part it was a real mess. I can’t believe all that was due to natural slides, was Alp ski patrol doing some control work up there (why would they)? Debris was soft, could easily ski thru it.
Turned to mank and slush by the lower sections of Lower Nash. Grabby, requiring a straight line it the rest of the way back to parking lot just to keep from stopping.
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