December 20, 2011, Smithbrook - McCausland Mt.

Jtack and I had a nice tour from the Smithbrook pullout on HWY 2 to Mt. McCausland above Lake Valhalla.  Surprisingly, the skiing above about 4500' is still enjoyable.  The steep pitch above the lake was around 800' in vert and was firm with a 1 inch crust that broke and tinkled away.  The sound was a bit overwhelming and added to the excitement.  After exiting the lake valley to the west, we side-hilled until we were in open trees and here the skiing was fine with soft, fairly consistent snow with a high moisture content.  (I think it will be much less fun if it freezes).  There were tree bombs and old pinwheels but it was mostly smooth.  The skiing deteriorated as we got lower and the last 500 feet or so before reconnecting with the road was strenuous and sometimes scary.  Hard to turn, lots of surface irregularities, occasional encounter with a tree, etc.  The glide back to the car was quick and we skied right to the truck.  Worth a repeat as long as the weather is warm.  Frozen conditions would make the entire bottom half difficult.

Here is the only video footage from the day.  Jamie has amazing timing.  http://youtu.be/q1GMoslfJQo