December 1, 2004, Edith Creek Basin, MRNP

Spent the last 2 days tracking the Edith Creek Basin.  After all the glowing reports from the weekend, I figured it was time to test my new Scarpa Matrix boots and find the "hot spots" on my petite size 14 feet.  Nov. 30 was a stormy day at Paradise with visibility limited and only 2 other vehicles in the Paradise lot.  About 8" of new snow was fairly heavy with a slight crust.  Skied the treeline in Edith Creek for depth perception.  The new snow was well bonded to Sundays snow but it was heavy and wind affected.  

December 1 was quite sunny with great visibilty. A couple inches of new fell overnight and the snow seemed to be lighter in density.  The few skiers in the Paradise lot headed up Pan and towards Nisqually.  I returned to Edit Creek and had the place to myself.  The snow along the treeline was softer and boot deep. No face shots but no boulders to avoid either.  Most of the lines in the basin are still litered with boulders and require good visibility before laying down first tracks.  The lines with a WSW exposure along the trees and nearby have great coverage.   O yeh, the boots felt quite good. Only a couple of hot spots and the liners will need one more cooking with some added pads.  They almost feel as good as my downhill boots. My skiing buddy just returned from 3 days at Alta and Solitude - 27" of blower dust. Sickening !