June 22, 2010, Broken Top, Various

Went in to Broken Top via Todd Lake Rd this morning.  Road remains completely covered 1/2 mile from Cascade Lakes Highway.

There is still a considerable amount of snow in the Broken Top area, with small patches of rock starting to show on southern aspects.

We climbed up 11 o'clock Couloir to access the north face, our intended ski descent.  Starting from the summit pinnacle, we skied down the north side from the nw ridge, but unfortunately began to encounter icy conditions that prevented committing to the full line, which we could not see from top to bottom.

Attempting to salvage the day, we traversed back to 11 o'clock Couloir and skied that.  We encountered the opposite problem here, with large slush avalanches starting and rocketing off the cliffs in large roostertails.  It made for a nice illustration of what would happen to your body if you were caught in it.  Fortunately it was manageable, and we had a nice corn ski out at the base of the couloir, and were back to work by the afternoon.  Probably the last few days to get a sled to the wilderness boundary via Todd Lake Rd.

Some conditions observed for those interested:

Green Lakes Basin - completely snow-covered.  Lakes are breaking up.  Word is there is still snow at the trailhead.
South Sister - Great coverage.  Prouty Glacier is in from summit to bottom.
Middle Sister - Hayden Glacier looks prime.
BT - Nine o'clock Couloir - good coverage, small bergschrund, menacing cornice at left not long for this world.  Massive crown and debris on the west shoulder of the crater.  Must be about 8' high.