4/29 Snoqualmie Peak--Lookin' down the Slot

My friend Einar and I set our sights on skiing Slot Couloir on this day and began booting our way toward the Phantom waterfall a little after 9am under cloudy sky but otherwise good conditions. Booting was faster and easier than skinning since it is basically a staircase all the way to the summit and the snow is not continuous in the trees climber left of the Phantom. Summiting around 11:30, we were treated to less than inspiring conditions€”fog, wind, and snow that was frozen solid. We put on every item of clothing we had, hunkered behind some rocks, and waited optimistically for the sun to shine and the snow to soften. By about 12:30, we gave in and skied down to Slot€™s entrance still surrounded by fog and side-slipping the icy slope. At the entrance we took off our skis and peered down the opening pitch. Skier tracks from the day before were frozen solid and to ventured even a step or two into the run would have required crampons to avoid slipping. We chose sanity over suicide, chalked it up as a good workout, and worked our way down Snoqualmie€™s mellower west flanks, back to the Phantom and into the woods where one small section required carrying skis then arrived back to the car for cold beverages, some lunch, and an afternoon of lift-served backcountry at Alpental in mushy, but fun conditions. For anyone else interested in hitting Slot before it€™s gone, there is still time and plenty of snow, but it may vanish fast, especially in the entrance.