May 4-6, 2007; Stafford Creek

Brenda and I cut out from our jobs early on Fri, and drove through very stormy weather in the Pass to clearing, windy and cooling weather at the Stafford Crk Trailhead at 4:30. Road was clear to the trailhead, and we made it to the horse camp at 4200€™ in just over an hour. There we met two of our regular ski partners who already had the fire going and the bar open. Temps continued to drop that night, and in the morning my thermometer was reading 22F. The cold temps and clear skies promised excellent corn skiing, and I was nearly as excited as on any powder day. The snow didn€™t disappoint. We climbed to the ridge of the south east side of Earl Peak then worked our way up the ridge to the head of the Standup Crk drainage. That south slope held some of the best corn I€™ve ever skied. East aspects of the ridge towards Stafford Crk were excellent as well. The next day was warmer with thin cloud cover, but excellent visibility. We climbed towards the saddle below Little Navaho and skied the east basin below. Excellent snow from the summit, and then a nice run down the rapidly disappearing strip of snow on the west side.
 
Continuous snow didn€™t really start until just before the  camp at around 4200€™. Melt out looks to be about a week ahead of last year. The big basin on the east side of  Earl still has tons of snow.

here's some shots in Standup Crk drainage.