December 2, 2001, Ski Acres, Snoqualmie Pass

Various limitations forced Andy and me to go to Snoqualmie Pass for our skiing, instead of my hoped for destination of Crystal, and we feared that we would completely miss out on the weekend's powderfest. We were, however, pleasantly surprised. Ski Acres (aka Central) was closed, and ungroomed except for single tracks near most chairs, which made for easy ascending. Coverage was excellent on the named runs; at the top, a ski pole could be pushed in to the handle without hitting ground. Our first run on Alpine Bowl revealed that the rain level had briefly risen to about 3200 ft on Saturday (submerged crust), so we found a groomed track to take us to the lofty summit of the area (about 3800ft), and skied the deep, loose snow for another 8 or 9 runs. With all the new, unconsolidated snow, we didn't venture into the woods, and it was clear that the local clearcuts also won't be skiable until there is a better snowpack.

There are some photos from this trip here.

Charles