June 14, 2012, Snoqualmie Mountain

First post on TAY! 

Made a quick post-work trip up to the pass to get some June turns under my belt.  Knowing full well that the approach might be a bit hairy this late in the season I got a good jump on my on-foot climibing group leaving the Alpental lot at 5:30pm.   Nearly continuous snow starts just below the Guye/Snoqualmie trail junction (creek is exposed, lingering snow bridge was too sketchy).   Booted the whole thing on the way up, only 4-5" down to consolidated snow meant for good steps and made for a more efficient climb than skinning would have.  The summit was shrouded in cloud, with no views, mild temps (mid 40s) and light winds, and after a short rest and snack, I headed back down at 8:00pm.

Ski down was smooth, albeit a bit soft through that top 4-5" mentioned earlier, but with good consolidation below this made for some nice lines along and skiers right of the ridge.  A little bit of careful picking was required to drop into the gully that divides Snoqualmie from Cave Ridge, but then once in, snow conditions permitted a short & speedy descent.   Managed to stay on the skis through the trees down to the falls, then opted to boot it out from there.   

There's still a lot of snow up on the hill, but the price to entry may be a bit high now for many, with all the lower-section alder exposed.  Better route would probably have been to go up through the Commonwealth and around Cave Ridge to avoid the worst of the brush, and since the E aspects seem to be holding a fair bit more snow, and much lower down.  All in all it was a good ski, and the first-time for me on Snoqualmie.  Now I'll just have to make a point of doing it when coverage is good this winter.   

WxMan