Dec 2, 2006, - Tombstone Pass, OR

My wife and I went snowshoeing today at Tombstone Pass.  It was a snowshoe trip, but I packed my board hoping to get a few turns in on the way back to the truck ;)  The weather didn't disapoint.  It was clear and cold when we left the trailhead at about 9:30 and remained so throughout our hike.  The sun was out in force, and the blue sky was nice to see.  We didn't venture too far up the hill before eating lunch and heading back.  I was able to scope some nice runs on nearby peaks that I'd like to head back for.

The snowpack was very deep, especially for this time of year.  There was a hard crust layer about an inch deep over top of deep sugary powder snow.  I did manage to find one nice open area where I got about 500 vf of turns in on the return trip.  In a couple of locations, it was hard to turn my board due to the hard crust layer.  We didn't dig any pits or do any avy tests, but our route was mostly high angle thick trees or low angle open slopes.  The snowpack did seem solid.