 |
| Seth, in the slot entrance. Snow Lake in the distance. |
This is my twentieth winter living at Snoqualmie Pass. We moved to Hyak in 1998. We counted our ski days for a few years and typically would end up somewhere in the mid sixties. I haven't kept track in a long time so I am trying to remember to write my ski days on the calendar. Today was day 50. My season typically starts in October or November with a ski tour at Mt. Rainier. I count any day that skis or snowboard are on my feet, alpine touring or lift served. It has been an extremely good week of skiing as we have received copious amounts of new snow and had cooler than normal temperatures. I started the day with two laps at Alpental, accessing the powder through the "Nash" backcountry gate. For the afternoon I hooked up with Seth at 12:30. Starting at the Adler condo's back door we toured up Snoqualmie Mt. to the entrance of the Slot Couloir. Due to our late start, a couple of ski groups had already proceeded us. This made for easy skinning, as a good trail had been put in, but much of the fresh snow was tracked out in the Slot. Sometimes I don't mind being late to the Slot. The steep slopes require a lot of attention to avoid falling and manage the loose snow that is kicked off with every turn. The couloir still required our full attention until it eased up on the lower slopes, where the apron skied beautifully. On our exit climb, we decided the snow was too good to not due an extra lap. Back on the front side, we stayed in the trees to avoid the strong Solar effect on the open slopes. Great day 50. Nice video, by Seth, at bottom of page.
 |
| Always steep |
 |
| Exit apron, lot's of tracks. Sunny day brought out the skiers |
 |
| Heading for the exit pass. |
 |
| Hard to see, but decided to stop near the top of the exit route and ski another lap. Seth is tiny dot at the bottom |
