April 15, 2007, Mt. Snoqualmie
4/15/07
WA Snoqualmie Pass
2418
2
Had a pleasant day out on the mtn thanks to mother nature. She provided us with some good temps- hovered around 32*-35* depending on elevation, good sun- depending on aspect (obvious South thru SE facing aspects proved to be sun drenched and difficult to skin up),good weather- no wind to speak of and great visibility, and good times- courtesy of the group of Mountaineers- thanks Dale!
Now onto the specifics- We traveled up thru the Sahale Ski club and into the old growth towards Commonwealth Creek and around Guye Peak. This proved to be a challenge at 8:30 am with the trees keeping the snowpack nice and hard. The dusting from yesterday helped provide a bit of much needed grip on the hard stuff. Once up to the saddle the snow was much more sun exposed and actually more of a pain to maneuver due to the sloughing. Needless to say, traverses were difficult but not unmanageable. Once we passed Cave Ridge and dropped into the basin below Mt. Snoqualmie we noticed several point releases throught the bowls and chutes lining the Basin. Also, lots of sunballing happening earlier in the day made the slopes look nastier than they actually were. Once we took in the awesome beauty of the hanging valley and looming peaks of Lundin Mtn and Red Mtn we headed up the slushy ridge and found that the closer we got to the actual ridge and the farther we moved from the sundrenched slopes , the easier it got to skin. We found that mostly west facing aspects proved to be the best areas to skin up and the firm base on such aspects also proved to be the best skiing as well. Once we approached 5,300 or so feet the snow became much colder and the base firmer. This proved to be wonderful for both skinning and skiing- we used the ridgeline to the east and the rocks to the west to dial in our descent for later. Made our way to the summit. The summit was beautiful and was a popular spot today with many people approaching from all aspects. We descended around 1:30 and the snow along the ridge was perfectly softened on the surface and the base was firm enough to hold a good edge on steep slopes. Most of the ascent along the ridge was enjoyable for all and posed no challenges (except for who was going to have first tracks!) Top inch or so easily clumped off with each turn and produced many mini cookies (or as Dale called them- hors d'oeuvre s). For the last few hundred vertical feet of the ridge run we decided to drop into the steep gully and into the Basin. This we knew was going to slough as it was all south facing and was really wet on the way up, and was even wetter on the way down! Two of us ski cut our respective routes and released 4-6 inches of slough down the hill and into the Basin. We then skied over our slide paths to hoots and hollers of excitement. The rest of the descent basically sucked -though there were a few sweet spots we found in the woods leading to Commonwealth Creek. Then down and out to the cars we went and another great day in the PNW was had!
Now onto the specifics- We traveled up thru the Sahale Ski club and into the old growth towards Commonwealth Creek and around Guye Peak. This proved to be a challenge at 8:30 am with the trees keeping the snowpack nice and hard. The dusting from yesterday helped provide a bit of much needed grip on the hard stuff. Once up to the saddle the snow was much more sun exposed and actually more of a pain to maneuver due to the sloughing. Needless to say, traverses were difficult but not unmanageable. Once we passed Cave Ridge and dropped into the basin below Mt. Snoqualmie we noticed several point releases throught the bowls and chutes lining the Basin. Also, lots of sunballing happening earlier in the day made the slopes look nastier than they actually were. Once we took in the awesome beauty of the hanging valley and looming peaks of Lundin Mtn and Red Mtn we headed up the slushy ridge and found that the closer we got to the actual ridge and the farther we moved from the sundrenched slopes , the easier it got to skin. We found that mostly west facing aspects proved to be the best areas to skin up and the firm base on such aspects also proved to be the best skiing as well. Once we approached 5,300 or so feet the snow became much colder and the base firmer. This proved to be wonderful for both skinning and skiing- we used the ridgeline to the east and the rocks to the west to dial in our descent for later. Made our way to the summit. The summit was beautiful and was a popular spot today with many people approaching from all aspects. We descended around 1:30 and the snow along the ridge was perfectly softened on the surface and the base was firm enough to hold a good edge on steep slopes. Most of the ascent along the ridge was enjoyable for all and posed no challenges (except for who was going to have first tracks!) Top inch or so easily clumped off with each turn and produced many mini cookies (or as Dale called them- hors d'oeuvre s). For the last few hundred vertical feet of the ridge run we decided to drop into the steep gully and into the Basin. This we knew was going to slough as it was all south facing and was really wet on the way up, and was even wetter on the way down! Two of us ski cut our respective routes and released 4-6 inches of slough down the hill and into the Basin. We then skied over our slide paths to hoots and hollers of excitement. The rest of the descent basically sucked -though there were a few sweet spots we found in the woods leading to Commonwealth Creek. Then down and out to the cars we went and another great day in the PNW was had!
Florian and I took the road less travelled to Red Mtn Pass and Lundin Peak (?Mountain). The first run from Red Mtn. pass to the minilake was good, but then it got warm. Big pile o' slurpee slush anyone? Saw a few folks on Red...looked sketchy. A few pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/koelle/ and a few other pictures at http://www.dianadornfeld.smugmug.com/gallery/2767166#P-1-15 and a little movie at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2pwa7s-jQc
Reply to this TR
Please login first: