June 12, 2004, Fortune Mtn

I tried to avoid rain by heading east. Clouds gave way to sun between the pass and Cle Elum on I-90, but upon arriving at the end of the teanaway river road, it was overcast again.

The trail to ingalls basin was mostly melted out. I hiked in my trail shoes until just below the ridge where much snow was encoutered. There was still lots of snow in the basin itself and Ingalls Lake was still frozen. I skied a short north facing chute off the ridge between the trail and Fortune Mtn. It was most amusing. New snow from a week ago had consolidated nicely and was well bonded to the old snow, smoothing out the sun cups and making for delightful turns. I was grateful for the overcast conditions which prevented sloppage.

Then I made a couple of runs down Fortune Mountain into Ingalls basin. Very nice.    :)

I would suspect that there will still be good skiing there next weekend even with hot weather on the way. I could see Daniel from the top of Fortune. The snow coverage there looked quite good. Lots of snow above Cathedral Rock and mostly melted out below.

Also I saw a nice slope on Bear's Breast. Has anyone skied that?