claurel
New member
Conditions at Crystal were ideal on Sunday: cold temperatures, very light powder, and sunshine. No new snow has fallen for a few days, so all of the obvious lines were packed powder. But, unusually cold temperatures in the Pacific Northwest has kept the snow in great shape, so the in-bounds stashes and backcountry was amazing, with snow even lighter than what we saw during the late November cold snap.
Unfortunately, we arrived later than usual, so I only got one North Backcountry run in before lunch. We found fresh tracks down most of the top half, then packed powder through the run out. I had my split board along, so I decided spend the afternoon just outside the South Backcountry skinning up and making turns in the vicinity of Three-Way Peak. On what was to be my final backcountry run of the day, I descended into the wrong bowl from Three-Way and ended up with a longer than anticipated trek out. It wouldn't have been concerning except that these January days are short, and I had to race the fading light back to the base area. The sunset descent of a completely untracked line in Silver Basin was a sweet finish to the day.
The Seattle area has been experiencing a very strange and stormy winter . . . This is the fifth morning in a row where I've awaken to see snow on the ground and ice on the streets. I've lived hear for almost ten years and have never seen lowland snow persist this long. I'll happily deal with the sketchy driving when it means that conditions in the mountains are so incredible.
--Chris
Unfortunately, we arrived later than usual, so I only got one North Backcountry run in before lunch. We found fresh tracks down most of the top half, then packed powder through the run out. I had my split board along, so I decided spend the afternoon just outside the South Backcountry skinning up and making turns in the vicinity of Three-Way Peak. On what was to be my final backcountry run of the day, I descended into the wrong bowl from Three-Way and ended up with a longer than anticipated trek out. It wouldn't have been concerning except that these January days are short, and I had to race the fading light back to the base area. The sunset descent of a completely untracked line in Silver Basin was a sweet finish to the day.
The Seattle area has been experiencing a very strange and stormy winter . . . This is the fifth morning in a row where I've awaken to see snow on the ground and ice on the streets. I've lived hear for almost ten years and have never seen lowland snow persist this long. I'll happily deal with the sketchy driving when it means that conditions in the mountains are so incredible.
--Chris
