October 8, 2017, Ptarmigan Ridge

The forecast called for 4-8 inches of snow Saturday, so Sunday morning I headed out onto Parmigan Ridge with my son. The initial look was good -- the road was covered in snow and ice, and was bordering on difficult to drive up. But at Artist Point there was only three inches of fresh snow, and it wasn't close to enough to allow a skin along the trail.

We made it about two-thirds of the way to the Goat Throat before my son started complaining that he wasn't used to the altitude and he was getting dizzy. He's fifteen, and we just moved back to this coast, so I decided to cut him some slack. We made multiple laps on a fairly long snowfield, several hundred vertical feet. The snow was great light fluffy powder, and while it wasn't a snorkel day, it was good for October. Everything melted, and by the time I returned to my car there was nothing white in sight.

Great trip, but it's all gone now. Forecast is calling for more this week, so enjoy while the road's open!