4/1/15 - Summit West, April Fools!

It should come as no surprise that in the winter that wasn't, Old Man Winter would deliver a foot of new in Snoqualmie Pass while riding his lion out of March. Fitting that it fell just in time for April Fools Day - but there's no joking about how much snow was on the ground this morning.

Pulled into the empty parking lot of Summit West at 8:15 this morning in the middle of a heavy snow shower. Quickly donned skins, shedded layers and headed uphill, breaking trail in a foot of thick, wet snow. About halfway to the top of Pacific Crest, a younger fellow on skis caught up to me yet never seemed to catch the drift that perhaps he should repay the favor and help break trail so I ended-up busting trail all the way to the top. He was the only person I saw all morning and he headed-off towards Wildside to explore the steeper pitches. I did a lap about halfway down until the snow began to significantly thicken then headed back up for a top-to-bottom to close it out. It's always nice to follow your own skintrack - you really can't complain. The snow at the bottom was very heavy and difficult to slide sideways through. Fortunately I was able to use my poles to maintain my balance and momentum and didn't need to unstrap until reaching the small creek 5 steps away from the car. Clouds and snow showers drifted in and out with the occasional, but very brief, sun break between them.

Hit the road just in time to catch Dan opening up the Aardvark for the day - snagged a breakfast sandwich and drove it over to Alpental for brunch. A few more inches of snow at the bottom there than at West, but coverage was looking much sportier. As I started to walk back to my car, Armstrong began to slowly spin so perhaps there's hope for some lift-served on the upper mountain. After all, it is only April 1st!



http://i.imgur.com/pHQBqTL.jpg" />