Alpental Valley / Snoq Pass

Thanks for the positive comments, actually had pretty good in-person responses Saturday and most everyone was willing to let the boys work. Great slides out of the bigger bombs that shake all the new snow from the cliffs. They ran fast and loose to pretty good distances. Did not see the same on the smaller scale, almost no ski releases to report and the continuing cool temps had kept the surface snow pretty stable and the skiing excellent.  Have not done more thorough snowpack looking but we know there is a hard FR ice layer that is getting deeper all the time. Lots of wind and another 6 inches this morning, 3/4" forecast for this 24 hr period, adds up to another explosive day tomorrow (Monday) and setting up the mountain in an attempt to open by next weekend. Thanks again for the suppot.  Gib

Skinned up to airplane turn today, Sunday. Thought about trying to make it up to the top of International, but did not feel safe going above gunmount. Lots and lots of unconsolidated snow. Sunk my 240 cm probe in one spot and couldn't touch bottom. Thanks for the updates on bombing days. I don't think anyone wants to add aggravation to the patroller's work. However, if we can access Alpental when it is not open, ie. Mondays, it is really the most convenient and biggest bang for the buck slope at Snoqualmie Pass. Many of the other tours at the pass require a larger time commitment, and especially now have a certain level of Avalanche danger. I do hope, those that tour at Alpental respect the many slide paths that are present, and realize it is not a safe environment, just because it is a ski area. Thanks for the updates, and please try to tolerate us, remember we are all out there for the love of a turn!

Hey Gib-

Don't bomb Phatom on Thursday, OK? Pretty please?

THANKS,
Sky

Gib, you might want to post this info at cascadeclimbers.com and nwhikers.net. Both are used a lot by snowshoers/climbers. I was up at Pineapple on Aply's opening day where the bc was not open nor were you guys doing any work there. When coming out saw the usual managerie of clueless snowshoers without packs of any kind just following a beaten trail.  Certainly not an easy area to police and then there are attitudes. Maybe some signs pointing across the river to snow lake trail could be useful to funnel the mountain rescue poster children away from the alpy exit trail. This weekend will probably have fairly high avy danger. Not the right time use this trail.
Thanks again for keeping us updated and your patience.