Feb 22 Mt. Snoqualmie

Matt and I headed up to the pass, excited about the 9" of fresh, planning on a play it safe day at Hyak.  Upon reaching the pass it was evident that the overnight stormy weather had abated so we elected to go take a look at Mt. Snoqualmie. We headed more or less directly up the phantom, favoring timber where possible.  Once in the open slopes of the upper mountain there was more like 18".  The top four or five inches was prone to cracking and shifting as we skinned up but nothing slid.  The snow and breeze picked up by the time we neared the summit.  We donned puffies, lunched maybe 200' below the summit, then topped out, transitioned and proceeded down the magical fluffy stuff.  Shooting cracks were observed.  We avoided convexities and did not trigger any significant sluffs.  One note:  There is apparently a gravitational anomaly present in the creekbed just above the waterfall.  Just as I attempted to exit the phantom stage right I was sucked into it.  In future I shall give it a wider berth.