Crystal to Sourdough Gap 5-21-06

Scotsman and I set out with a plan-as you-go destination and ended up at Sourdough Gap. The route goal was to avoid any exposure to  hanging cornices.  The snow was firm and not always smooth. The higher we traveled the softer the snow surface became, but not real deep, an inch or two on the surface. There is a brief walking period out of the Crystal Parking lot to the snow. The last week's heat wave really effected the snow. Two or three feet of snow is gone. If you want to ski East Peak it will require a walk to at least the upper trailhead. Only the top third of Gold Hills Lift has snow now.

Nice sky turned to  spitting rain on our approach to Sourdough Gap, then turned into an all out squall on our return. Telemetry showed .27 inch of precip in the period we were trying to get back. Thank goodness for Pack-Lite Gore Tex. The rain helped slightly soften the snow surface and the skiing was good to marginal.

One warning is that the cornices are falling. Scotsman saw a good one drop in Moorse Creek area. But looking out to Chinook pass, there were several cornices that dropped and the weight created a fracture in the snow resulting in large slides.
So there is a subsurface layer that has not quite become part of the overall base on North faces.

Joe