March 19, 2006, Tatoosh Range

Like a dope, I checked my brains at the Tall Timbers and followed the herd for a Sunday drive to Rainier - place names may be a little sketchy. Skiers were Darryl, Mo, RonJ, Maddog, JW, Jen, Brenda and Mike, with Stefan straggling but not late. When the road opened at 10 (damn it, fresh snow!), we drove to the Narada Face. On skis, we dropped below the face, past the falls, and tracked a contour south below the ridgeline and into the Tatoosh. About 7 inches of new snow and bright sunshine made the bushwack lovely. Arrived around noon to a wide expanse of north-facing slopes and picked one. Two pits were dug on either side; both revealed a uniform snow pack to about 3 to 4 feet, with one short layer of crust at about 3.5 ft depth, and a more substantial crust at 4 ft. The rutschblock on the east side of the slope was a 5, with a clean shear at 8 to 10 inches depth, and the same on the west with an uneven shear. Our first lines were in or near the trees, the snow was cold, soft powder… perfect really, so we hung out and yoyo’d as much as time allowed, venturing further across the face until it was a mess. We decided to cut a new, higher route back, hoping to find the easy way in for next time. The sun had turned the fresh snow to crud up there, and the snow bombs took on a decidedly malicious attitude. Back to the cooler..er, the car by 5ish.

I'll leave the photography to others.