March 13, 2004, Skyline Ridge

Quite an amazing day. My friend & I snowshoed up Skyline Ridge & beyond the lake to the ridge that overlooks the highway & the ski area. Started around 9ish and the snow seemed a little soft already but still was firm enough for steady progress. On the open slopes just below the radio towers a steady breeze was whipping through the pass from the east but it wasn't that bad.

Incredibly, there was no one around at the lake or just about anywhere else along the route. We ran into a couple of people near the top but they all seem to disappear quickly. Spent about 2 hours laying in the sun before I got around to digging a pit.

The upper 4" or so are a firm layer but the next 8" or so are pretty sugary snow before a third (and firmer) layer about 2-3 feet down. No real surprises- tests were shearing at the layers I had identified. We seem to hear  quite a bit of rockfall (or something like that) headed down towards the highway but we didn't see anything.

By the time we headed down, the snow was nice & soft. Even better, we didn't encounter anyone on the way down until we got to the parking lot.

A great, great day. Should have been out there!