Feb 10, 2011, Snoqualmie Mountain

Encouraged by a TAY trip report from Tuesday (http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=19509.0), we made a bid for Snoqualmie peak.  We skinned shallow wet snow over crust up to the commonwealth basin, then followed a series of really inadvisable boot and ski tracks along the flanks of Guye before making our own sensible tracks up toward the ridgetop.  A very sunny day, so by midmorning all the snow-laden trees on the approach to Cave Ridge and Guye Peak were raining pretty hard.  Still, the ascent was easy enough, with maybe 6" of wet snow over a boot-able crust. 
Turning north before the saddle, we continued on boot up slush over crust (the crust was soft enough to get easy toeholds, but we found no postholes), gaining the east flank Cave Ridge easily.  Beautiful sunny slopes arrayed above us (and some aggressive lines - well done to our predecessors), we booted then skinned the east ridge to the east Snoqualmie peak.  Incredibly easy traveling: shallow snow over styrofoamy crust. 
We took a corny lap partway back down to Cave Ridge, skinned back up and followed tracks towards Lundin Peak.  We found plenty of good snow (lighter wet snow over hardpack) skiing east down to the Commonwealth basin, and booted easily back up a particularly nice part towards the top.  On our descent we were periodically treated to the sights and sounds of large sluffs cascading over the cliffs at the base of Lundin/Red Mountains.  These sluffs traveled a good deal farther along the gulleys, moving fairly slowly.  Scary only if you're above or below cliffs.  Good stability on the slopes between Snoqualmie and Lundin, though, with sluffs and spindrels minimal except on the steepest slopes. 
The slopes above the basin grew a breakable crust very quickly as they became shaded around 2:30, but down in the basin the trees were still raining onto slushy snow. 

Overall snow assessment:  A very stable crust pretty much everywhere, just soft enough to make travel really easy.  Slush down below, but fairly nice snow above Cave Ridge (above 5200').  At the ridgetop the wind had scoured all the snow in places, but overall there was plenty of snow over the crust, making for very enjoyable spring-like skiing.  Avi conditions were very comfortable.  We did create some sluffs on steep slopes, but nothing you couldn't ski through.  Even the old debris was soft and barely impeded skiing.