Blewett Pow to Crust

Last week going out right after a dump - and right before a warming worked. Today it didn’t. Staying at my house at 1800 in Valley High, I was thrilled to see 12” of dry yesterday afternoon and evening…up at 7 it said 31 degrees, but there was a crust. At the turnout at 2500’ at least it was plowed. The crust was so bad I almost turned around after 20 feet…But I was there for exercise and thought it might go away as I climbed. I put in a good track right up the ridge for about 800’ and was spent. It was worse than 3’ of powder, and I knew the down would suck. It was so bad that I walked the road more than half the time. Only relief was when a snow shoe guy came up a ways and made it so I could ski thru his tracks without diving under the crust. It’s someone else’s turn to extent the track to 5200’.