February 20, 2005, Paradise

This slow paced day just kept getting better with time.

Made our way to Pan. Pt. but decided that post-holing the crust looked undesirable (slacker mood in play) and decided to ski low in the greater Edith Creek basin area.  We spotted what appeared to be some soft wind deposited snow on a small north aspect beyond Golden Gate and above Bundy's.  After traversing the crust around the bowl Jon and I were pleased to find that we'd indeed scoped some soft freshies that would afford us a few nice turns.  Ate lunch in the breaking clouds on a promotory and enjoyed ever clearing views of the summit of Rainier, Edith Creek, Mazama Ridge and the Tatoosh.  We yoyoed a few runs in our chosen spot and ended up chumming in a small posse of random skiers from various directions.  Got some nice high speed turns in on some hard-pack with a slight corn sheen on the top of Bundy's on the way down to the Paradise Valley road.

So what in the morning looked like a day that was going to deteriorate to cold winds and white-outs ended up being a day of blue skies, sunshine and those amazing views that I don't think I'll ever grow tired of.

Yes, yes we did dig a pit on a north facing 30 degree aspect, wind deposited.  Got no results from the compression test, but found a moderate shear 4" down that I'm guessing is last weekend's new snow settled on surface hoar.  Nothing slid on that slope but I'm wondering if anyone saw anything go on steeper wind slabbed north slopes?

Here's a shot of "Geech" enjoying the fruits of his labors: