April 25, 2010, Red Mountain, Snoqualmie

Headed up Red Mountain on Sunday under fair skies and warm temps.  My friend Chris tagged along on his inaugural BC trip.  We wandered up Commonwealth to the base of Red, where some skiers heading down reported the snow was  "superb" up top.  Chris was gassed, so I heeded the downcoming skiers advice and "turned on the afterburners" up to the top.  I boot packed the final ~500', as the base layer was frozen to the point of making skinning difficult. 

Views were expectedly rad.  I caught my breath and ripped down the face in proto-pow-corn snow.  The 4-6" of new easily pinwheeled (see the pic below), but didn't slide.  Overall, the skiing was fantastic down the upper portion, with the new(er) snow providing a smooth skiing surface. 

Temps were warming up fast, and the remaining snow was glop in the open and semi-crunchy refrozen delight in the trees. 

Great day to be in the mountains and introduce a friend to the backcountry.