January 8, 2006, Snoqualmie, Snow Lake vicinity

skiing at Alpy on saturday was interesting... rain till 11am, snow level up around 4000ft, but it looked like sunday would be much much better and it certainly was.

Back up today and toured around by Snow Lake, Chair Peak, and the ridge that divides Snow Lake basin from Thunder Creek.

Tap tests showed a nicely stabilized snowpack, the new snow (a few inches in the trees,  lots more in the open terrain where wind had helped) was bonded well to the old wet snow underneath, and the only failure I could get out of tapped and pulling on snow columns was the old layer about four feet down from the inversion a couple weeks back.

Kinda misjudged our turn-around time and finished the day skiing by headlamp....always entertaining to have at least one tour like that each winter.