January 14, 2017, Unicorn Peak
1/14/17
2053
1
I'm a transplant from Alaska and this is my first TR. After meeting Andrew and Justin on TAY, we decided to check out Unicorn Peak.
It was excellent! We left the Longmire parking lot shortly after 9am and made good time getting out to Castle Peak before traversing to Unicorn, this despite the park ranger taking his sweet time opening the gate. Regardless, the conditions were basically perfect. We encountered boot-deep powder on North aspects without significant wind effect. South aspects were beginning to show evidence of sun exposure such as small roller balls (<5-10cm) and occasional sun crust. We also found limited wind loading as dictated by regional topography, but nothing widespread.
The weather couldn't have been any better. It felt like spring skiing in winter powder. All in all, it couldn't have been a better day! I'll put some pictures up shortly.
As an aside, PM me if you have weekday availability throughout the month of February and want to do some touring!
It was excellent! We left the Longmire parking lot shortly after 9am and made good time getting out to Castle Peak before traversing to Unicorn, this despite the park ranger taking his sweet time opening the gate. Regardless, the conditions were basically perfect. We encountered boot-deep powder on North aspects without significant wind effect. South aspects were beginning to show evidence of sun exposure such as small roller balls (<5-10cm) and occasional sun crust. We also found limited wind loading as dictated by regional topography, but nothing widespread.
The weather couldn't have been any better. It felt like spring skiing in winter powder. All in all, it couldn't have been a better day! I'll put some pictures up shortly.
As an aside, PM me if you have weekday availability throughout the month of February and want to do some touring!
Sounds like a fantastic day in the Tatoosh Range! Thank you very much for your report! Hope to see you in the mountains soon!
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