January 4, 2017, Dirtyface

Climbed the summer trail, I was surprised to find the lower elevation snow had been warmed enough to create a non supportable crust with about two inches of new on top. Above 3000 the snow was better and above 4000 it was great.  It was my first time in the area, so we could have probably used aspect better than we did.  There were huge snow plumes forming on the west sides of the higher peaks of the Cascades, Beautiful views of the lake, of course it was cold, but we managed to stay mostly comfortable. On the decent the last 1000 feet were demanding breakable crust brush crash, we chose to ski the old slide path, and it may have been wiser to take the trail.  Great day to be out not a cloud in the sky.   Pictures to follow.







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