December 22, 2009, Kendall Chute

Got out early on the 22nd with the plan was a chute on Kendall's West Face. The approach up Commonwealth was typical for early season: a lot of maneuvering through trees with limited coverage, though once you clear the thicker forest the skin track opens up considerably. Party of two, moving at a moderate pace.

Conditions on the way up were promising. Four or five inches of fresh fluff sitting on top of what felt like solid, well-bonded snow — the kind of early season setup where you hope the upper mountain delivers. Stability felt fine. The new snow was sloughing in small amounts on steeper pitches, but nothing structural moved and the layers below were clearly bonding. That recent rain had penetrated pretty far into the pack, which was actually a good sign for settlement; the layers were sticking together.

We made good progress until the final couple hundred feet. An ice patch across the chute stopped us and was unnavigable without crampons or axes we hadn't brought. Neither of us was interested in committing to that exposure without the right tools, so we backed off and skied what we had.

The descent from our high point was actually decent. That 4-5 inch layer made for soft, consistent turns on the upper pitch, and the smooth base underneath meant no surprises. It skied better than I expected given that we didn't complete the route.

This chute is worth coming back to with crampons on hand. The approach is moderate and the west face aspect can produce really nice wind-loaded snow when conditions cooperate. I've started putting together more detailed notes on the Kendall zone and the rest of the backcountry terrain at the pass over at the Snoqualmie Pass backcountry skiing guide if you're scoping objectives ahead of a trip.

Car-to-car took about four hours with time spent probing the upper pitch.