Home > Trip Reports > February 27, 2017, Snoqualmie Pass, Phantom Slide

February 27, 2017, Snoqualmie Pass, Phantom Slide

2/27/17
WA Snoqualmie Pass
2978
6
Posted by thatcherk1 on 2/27/17 5:11am
Trying to stay warm in the pancake house while waiting for the pass to open. So much for a short dawn patrol. GScruggs and I skinned up above phantom slide to just below the summit ridge/false summit. Things started getting reactive. So we transitioned and skied a beautiful 600' of light 4" blower on 16" of nice cascade powder. Face shots and whoops were had. Initiated a storm slab slide at about 5300' with an 18+" crown goin down to the rain crust. Stayed near the trees and on smaller slopes from there down. Bottom 2k was a nasty breaking sun crust under 2" of dust, then some decent snow in the trees. The crust wasn't unskiable, just a bit of a challenge.

Also of note was the skin track switchbacking up the center of the slide. Bad form people. And that's coming from a 2nd season skier from Seattle.

It was a good morning tour. Worth it for the top 600'. Now heading to drubru to wait out the closure.
author=thatcherk1 link=topic=37973.msg153970#msg153970 date=1488229884]
Also of note was the skin track switchbacking up the center of the slide. Bad form people. And that's coming from a 2nd season skier from Seattle.


Let it be known that I put in the abrupt left in the skin track when it went to the slide path. No way was I going to follow it, no matter what the avi forecast says.

You realize that the Phantom slide path was created after a huge snow storm followed by copious rain and warming.  It was a major event.  Not likely to happen again easily.

I love skiing and skinning the Phantom slide

Switchbacking across doesn't seem quite as bad as these snowshoers last year who went straight up one of the gullies:

I rode the slot today and found fantastic conditions! Deep unconsolidated powder, with some dry loose sluff management. Surprised to see no tracks in it when we arrived.

Definitely saw some funky skin tracks on our way up, thanks for taking it out of the center of the slide path...

Wasn't my tracks. I followed the track up the center of the path ;)

You should have seen the skin track maze I made retreating from the White Salmon Glacier on Saturday. It was complete with balancing on tree branches.

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thatcherk1
2017-02-27 13:11:24