April7, 2007, - Lake Ann Area

Drove up to Baker on Saturday and toured out to the Lake Ann area. Weather was cloudy when we left the parking lot and we got a little drizzle on us down in the valley and thought we might get rained on but, the rain never fell and the sun was in and out for most of the day. By early afternoon the sun was out and it got really warm. The snow was soft from the get go and got REALLY soft once the sun was out. Some fun turns, although it was a bit sticky/slow. Set off some small soft snow slides but nothing major. There is a ton of snow out there still and should be for a long while. Didn't have any problems skinning even with the soft snow. The skin through the valley is quite pleasant. There is a huge cornice at the top of the ridge before you drop down into Lake Ann, see photo below. Had great views of Baler and Shuksan. When we stopped for lunch on the ridge that looks across to Shuksan we saw someone skinning the ridge far above the Lower Curtis glacier, may have been the group from the White Salmon/Shuksan TR from the same day. I hope the photos I attached come through. there are also some links to some other photos below. On the drive down we ran into a film crew that was shooting some skiers gapping the highway. Got a couple photos, see links below.

http://img242.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lakeann076mediumsy8.jpg
http://img442.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lakeann099mediumbd1.jpg
http://img72.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lakeann125mediumdz4.jpg
http://img329.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lakeann133mediumww6.jpg
http://img96.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lakeann147mediumls0.jpg
http://img167.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lakeann148mediumap2.jpg