Feb 3, Kendall Stump
2/15/07
WA Snoqualmie Pass
2643
1
After a great 4 day trip in the Wallowas last weekend (with a surprising amount of powder left despite warm temps prior to the trip!), our legs were jonesing for some exercise, so after sleeping in and cooking a big "fat boy breakfast," we headed up for the quickest little stairstepper I could think of that might actually have a few good turns on it. I also wanted to test out the ski crampons I just bought, and I was not disappointed in that venture - they came in quite useful toward the top. I knew it was time to put them on when I watched Yanna skip backwards about 4 feet into a slumped position.
The trip did not start auspiciously in that we hit rain at about Bellevue, but it dried out as we passed Tinkham Creek, and the precip held off until about the time we put on the cramps. It started as graupel (or teeny hail?) and then turned to massive snowflakes for the rest of our tour. Quite pretty.
The turns off the top sucked due to all the old and still-hard tracks until we contoured north a bit to some smooth an firm snow that skied quite nicely in a "I paid good money for that at a New England ski area" sort of way. We followed the smooth snow down to the mature forest, at which point the "good practice" (as our friend Dina would say) began. The turns on the rough snow beneath big trees were easy but annoying, and the smooth snow in more open areas was breakable crust that still allowed for aggressive jump turns. The semi-rough snow inbetween was the best, but hard to find.
In other words, more or less the same conditions others seemed to be desscribing for the day.
Afterwards we took the mobility-challenged dogs (no crust posthole ski ventures for them any more!) for a nice walk up to about Source Lake via the cat track and a maze of snowshoe tracks that were nice and firm for booting. We saw multiple parties in tents and snowcaves, and I'm enjoying my position in my warm bed right now as I think of the morning they're having based on the picture I just saw on the pass camera. Well, I guess they're getting their own version of "good practice" right about now...
Despite the conditions, it beat a walk in St Edward Park.
The trip did not start auspiciously in that we hit rain at about Bellevue, but it dried out as we passed Tinkham Creek, and the precip held off until about the time we put on the cramps. It started as graupel (or teeny hail?) and then turned to massive snowflakes for the rest of our tour. Quite pretty.
The turns off the top sucked due to all the old and still-hard tracks until we contoured north a bit to some smooth an firm snow that skied quite nicely in a "I paid good money for that at a New England ski area" sort of way. We followed the smooth snow down to the mature forest, at which point the "good practice" (as our friend Dina would say) began. The turns on the rough snow beneath big trees were easy but annoying, and the smooth snow in more open areas was breakable crust that still allowed for aggressive jump turns. The semi-rough snow inbetween was the best, but hard to find.
In other words, more or less the same conditions others seemed to be desscribing for the day.
Afterwards we took the mobility-challenged dogs (no crust posthole ski ventures for them any more!) for a nice walk up to about Source Lake via the cat track and a maze of snowshoe tracks that were nice and firm for booting. We saw multiple parties in tents and snowcaves, and I'm enjoying my position in my warm bed right now as I think of the morning they're having based on the picture I just saw on the pass camera. Well, I guess they're getting their own version of "good practice" right about now...
Despite the conditions, it beat a walk in St Edward Park.