Jan 6, 2008, Guye Peak

My friend and I decided to go snowshoeing on sunday rather than skiing since she doesn't have backcountry gear and was interested in learning more about backcountry travel.  We headed into Commonwealth Basin about 9 AM and right from the start were into some serious powder snow.  Even with snowshoes on we were sinking at least 12 inches and maybe more.  At the point where you leave the bottom of the basin and start heading up to the Guye/Snoqualmie saddle it got significantly more difficult due to the angle and the deep snow.  However, it wasn't too bad but definitely slow going.  We eventually reached the ridge where I spent some time  teaching Jaga how to use an avalanche beacon, avi poles and shovel.  It was only a quick lesson but she was able to find the buried beacon and dig it out which gave me a little more confidence in case i was buried.

We then went uphill a little ways where I dug a 4 ft deep pit, did both a compression test and a shovel test and couldn't get the column to go at all.  That made me a lot more confident as we ascended the steep slope to the summit of Guye but we tried to stay in the trees as much as possible.  Traveling up the slope was extremely difficult as we were sinking some two feet with every step, still with snowshoes on.

We eventually reached the summit, came down a short distance, dug a little snow cave to get out of the weather and have a late lunch.  From there it was a quick trip back out to the car as we arrived shortly before sunset.

It was a great day in the mountains with wonderful snow.