February 17, 2019, -- Mount Walker (Olympics)
2/17/19
WA Olympics
1348
2
Skied up the road to Mount Walker. Used rock skis and didn't hit bottom on the way up. I kept them on the whole time (except for lunch) but on the way back scraped a couple times and had to walk (on skis) on bare ground a few feet. Should be OK for tomorrow but be prepared to walk in several places. Lots of snow towards the top.
Pictures are on NWHikers: http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8029078
Pictures are on NWHikers: http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8029078
Mt. Walker is not exactly a fall-line tour. Runcle and I did the road last winter in a cold snap and started with really icy walking carrying skis. There was fresh snow up high same as for you, but only survival skiing on the descent. I wonder if anyone has ever skied the hiking trail? It would need coverage like this last week.
At least you can count on a nice bench or two while eating your sandwich and peering into the clouds!
At least you can count on a nice bench or two while eating your sandwich and peering into the clouds!
I'm guessing there are very few people who ski the road the whole way (from the car) and even fewer that attempt skiing the trail. I suppose you could ski some of the upper parts, but even half way down it would be a challenge. It is one thing to ski a couple inches of snow on the north side of a paved road, it is another thing to ski a very steep south facing trail.
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