January 27, 2002, Bear Gap, Crystal Mountain

It was a great day in the PNW with 2 - 3 feet of fresh powder!!! Arrived at Crystal Mt. with 19 degrees, broken skies, and occasional snow showers. Charles, Ron and I headed off the top of Chair 4 onto the groomed return track from Silver Basin, and then turned off towards Bear Gap. The going was easy and fast until we got off piste into the deep fresh snow, where each of us took short turns at "trail breaking" in the 2 foot deep snow. The avi conditions were high, with the recent snow fall, and some significant winds in the past 24 hours. Some natural releases were noted on slopes of 45 degrees or more. We were able to find some very skiable slopes and enjoyed the occasional burst of "over the head" powder. Temperatures remained cold throughout the day, skied out the "Jim Town" drainage to the Elizabeth Creek Drainage and back to the car. Being the only three in the Bear Gap area for the whole day, it was quite a shock to see all the skiers and the skied off conditions on the local Crystal Mt ski area as we made our way back to the car. Looks like we are in for more of the same snow/ski conditions until Wed of this next week.

Photos from this trip can be viewed here.

Jeanette