June 13, 2010, Copper + BD, Washington Pass

Craig, Sally and I drove out Sat eve, and found little snow by the Easy Pass TH.  It seems the snow has continued to melt while waiting for sunny sky in the South.  The blue lake lot was not plowed open, but will probably be clear by the next weekend. We changed our plan to the BD route and something else along.  There is a lot of snow once you leave the road.  Another party of two skied back from below the col.  The snow was probably best there; some people knew better than us!  Madison Ave was a little mushy, but fairly enjoy-able.  Continued to Copper Pass, then to the summit.  The upper gentle slope was not well consolidated.  However, the summit provided a spectacular view all around.  Getting back down to the pass required cautious skiing on sun-baked wet snow.  The route back to the hairpin was a bit bumpy, but still continuous all the way back to the road.

This would probably be our last ski trip to Wa Pass this season.  But there are a lot of skiing options if you are willing to do a little hiking.  (There should be snow at the Blue Lk and Rainy Pass THs for a bit longer.)