May 10, 2006- Post-work Pilchuck

     A posse of three headed through Everett and to the Pilchuck trailhead, arriving around 4pm. Sadly, we got greedy and decided to push the Subaru a little bit further than we should have. This meant an hour of excavating the high-centered car to no avail, until some nice folks in a Jeep gave a push out, thanks! We then skinned up about 1/3 mile to the trailhead. We decided to head up through the trees to climber's right of the old ski slopes. This was also a very poor decision, as a mat of pine needles and icy rocks made skinning a serious chore.
     However, after around 600 vft, we broke out of the trees and onto the open snow slopes.  The rest of the uphill was uneventful, and we reached the base of the cliff band around 7 p- the cornices were huge and meancing!  A few other parties were around, but none were TAY'ers. One of us went to the lookout, then we regrouped and began the ski down. The light was perfect "Ansel Adams" light, and the snow was nice, soft proto-corn. Baker, Three Fingers, and the San Juans were all visible in the sunset.  All in all, it was a perfect evening to not be at work or on the 520 bridge....