In what should have been the first weekend that the Pass was officially closed, Dan and I decided to head up in search of some corn snow, knowing if was going to be pretty warm. After hitting the store in the morning to buy a 6-pack and some brats for the apres-ski, I headed to Dan’s and we carpooled up Highway 58 in his Tesla, making good time to the Waldo pullout for a quick pit stop, and then to the Pass, where we shouldered packs and headed out.
The frontside was holding, but the snow was going fast, and bare patches were starting to show on ByGeorge. It was warm on the skin up, and we worked our way up George and over to High Lead under the relentless sun. Once at the top, it was a quick skin over to Peak 2 for a run down Northern.
Coverage on Peak 2 was holding on quite nicely, and I snapped a few photos of Dan as he dropped in. The snow quality wasn’t as good as we were hoping for, closer to mashed potatoes than corn. Even so, it was a fun slide down the marquee run on Peak 2…
We skinned back up Escalator, then Boundary back to the top of Peak 2. We contemplated another run on the back, but elected to hang out at the top of SDN and enjoy the views while putting a beer on ice. Sitting there in the sun, looking out over Diamond Peak, Fuji Mtn and Waldo Lake, it was hard to deny the beauty of this part of the cascades, and how easy is is to take it for granted during the season.
Once the beer was good and cold, it was time pound it down, and then make a few more turns. Given the conditions on the backside, we elected to head back over to the front and make some turns there. I snapped a few pics of Dan skiing the Peak 2 cornice before we headed over….
Once on the front, we strapped/stepped into our sliding gear, and headed over to RTS. I handed the camera off to Dan, who snapped a few photos of me making turns. The snow was soft, but the run is so steep, it usually doesn’t matter.
We skied down to the bottom of the run, and decided to head out via Amber’s Way and try ByGeorge, which turned out to be a good idea. The lower mountain was holding the best corn of the day, and we made big, fun, sweeping turns down to the bottom. It was so nice that we decided to do another lap, and donned skins and headed back up. Once we made it to the top, we decided to try Rough Cut, which was just as good as George. I snapped a few pictures of Dan heading down…
We skied down to the parking lot, and made the short walk across the lot to the car. From there, we headed to the Gold Lake snowpark to take a well earned break, drink a cold beer, and grill up some brats. Dan’s Coleman grill cooked up the brats quickly, and coupled with some bread and mustard, they hit the spot!
Five brats to a package meant two and a half apiece, along with some chips and salsa for the side, and the beer to wash it down. Not a bad way to end a good day of skiing in the mountains.
