November 22, Stevens Pass, Dawn Patrol

Left the U district at 0315 with the goal of getting turns and being back in time to keep Thanksgiving family commitments at 1000. After a refuel (car and my stomach) in Monroe, made it to the lot and on skis by 0515 under a starry sky. Skinned up the corduroy under Brooks chair, then cut left near the top of the terrain park and skinned up to the top of Skyline. Skinned up through the trees between Nancy chute and Solitude, then continued up the ridge to the summit of Cowboy a little after dawn. Visibility was excellent, with clear views to Sloan, Glacier, and Stuart. After soaking in the alpenglow for a while, I pulled skins and cruised the ridge back down to the top of Solitude, where I found 24" of stable powder with a slight wind crust that skied quite nicely. I then continued down the ungroomed edge of Skyline in medium density powder, finishing by linking up with the bottom section of Hog Wild. Reapplying skins, I put in a half lap on Big Chief before realizing I needed to head back to the car, picking up a few hundred more ft of vert and nice powder turns. Made it back to SEA with 20 minutes to spare for Thanksgiving festivities.