Snoqualmie Central Feb 4

What an odd snow year.  Watching the forecast we decided to catch the 12 hour cold spell.   The amount of rain at 3k has take its toll at the pass.  There were a number of bare patches marked off and creek wells - very odd for this time of year.

We did catch the cold spell and 5 inches of new, which made for decent skiing.  The groomers are doing their best with what they have.  Very light crowd.

We did get stuck behind a semi wreck on the Denny Ck Bridge for an hour until they shoved it aside.  They kept the road closed for a couple more hours for treatment as it was getting pretty slick.

And this morning I see it's raining again - so was a good move for a few turns to get up there.

The blue runs skied like champs once the refills started up in the early afternoon. It just got better and better and visibility improved once it got dark enough for the artificial lights to take over, opening up new "refill stash" opportunities. By that point the night skiing "crowd" was starting to grow and by "crowd" I mean that we had to wait behind maybe 2-3 other parties to load Central Express a few times. Untracked steeps skied like dust on bulletproof but more moderate pitches were quite lovely. On days like yesterday it's good to not be a slave to the steeps!

We noticed the road was closed during a quick break at the Silver Fir Lodge at 2PM (at which point we were the ONLY people in the large upstairs dining area until Silas came and joined us) and the refills incented us to keep skiing until around 6:30 at which point the highway had reopened. It had been closed westbound at Ellensburg for at least a few hours and just reopened at I think around 6PM (though a few glances at Gmaps at and a little after 5PM made it appear that you could use the highway to head west if you got on at the exit 51 on ramp) so we had serious zombie highway on which we passed only 2 or 3 other vehicles until we got near to North Bend. The plows must have been heading back from near Ellensburg because there was little evidence of their existence heading west off the pass. I was glad for having fairly new snow tires on the car.

Wise timing. If we had a crystal ball we would have stayed later and avoided the parking lot. Seems like this year for the lifts and backcountry you have to get out there "on that day" or else it's slop.

Yes, I missed a round or two before catching on that this year you have to hit it when it's even vaguely "in" or miss out until the next pineapple cycle ends. On Monday evening, after taking the dog for four skin laps on very nice dust on crust at Hyak, I pondered the Tuesday forecast. Looked like the snow would not start in earnest until sometime in the early afternoon and get most intense in the evening. Stevens closes at 4 on Tuesdays so we launched mid-day for Snoqualmie, knowing we'd be at it until at least 5PM, perhaps 6. Conditions were good enough we passed our intended stopping time by "just a few more runs!" but still got home in time for an already prepared dinner at a very reasonable hour. Life could be worse but I would not mind another week or two in a row of cold weather!!

And it was a fun novelty to have that empty highway - so unlike the usual experience in the modern era!

I left my laptop charger in the office on Monday so I had to go down to the lowlands to retrieve it Tuesday morning. I had one of those "gut" feelings right around 2:30pm that I should head home and minutes later received a text from WSDOT about the WB closure. I wrapped-up my work, headed for the exit and beat the EB closure by the skin of my teeth (I was, at one point, driving in the shoulder at about a 20° angle with my right tires up on the snowbank), but I made it.

After such a "harrowing" experience and seeing the lights on and things coming alive at West my brain decided it was Wed. so I went home, changed into my ski gear, aggregated the recycling and headed for the golf course to get some laps. I thought it was weird there wasn't anybody scanning tickets but with the freeway closure I figured maybe they were just short-staffed. It wasn't until like my 10th low-angle Dodge Ridge pow lap that I caught-up with a buddy who remarked, "So you're poaching the buyout, too!"

D'oh! It was Tuesday. West was open for a "private event" but because I never go into the lodge I hadn't noticed. So a big thanks to Boeing for supporting my habit and a sincere apology for taking advantage of your offering. I hope you didn't mind crossing my tracks in the dark

Ha! That's lucky.