Amabilis
Mountain
3-01-14
Gary
and I headed up to Snoqualmie Pass for a day of cross country skiing.
We were prepared for interesting conditions. Forecasts were for very
strong winds on the west side and 14 mph winds at Amabilis. With the 13
to 30 degree expected temperatures (quite a spread of forecasts) it
would be somewhere between cold and frigid. So often the high winds at
Amabilis fail to occur and so we headed east anyway. We stopped at the
Hyak sno-park to buy a day sno-park pass. Then on to Cabin Creek. There
were only half a dozen cars in the lot at 8:15 am. Some looked like
they were there overnight. The huge dump of snow the week before
finally brought winter to the mountains. There was snow on the road
across the overpass to the start of the groomed ski area. The wind was
almost non existent. It was chilly in the mid 20s but not too cold.
The route up Amabilis had been groomed to the ridge top on both forks
three days earlier. Just the day before it was groomed up to the
junction. It was also in the high 30s to low 40s the day before. The
freeze thaw cycle had made for a very firm snow/ice pack. Not the solid
ice that is scary for me to come down. Just slick enough to be
challenging. On the positive side it was snowing lightly and kept
snowing all day. There was just a little fresh snow on the hard pack to
help with traction going up and coming down. Though we were not
expecting any views, the clouds were high enough for us to see much of
the mountain from the bottom.
The wall of snow to the side of the grooming was knee high or more. It
was also rock hard. As we climbed up the road we began to see signs of
snow sloughing off the steep road bank and onto the edge of the road. I
was very surprised to see this at lower elevations in the forest. They
had fallen on the freshly groomed road so the sunny warm day before
must have set them off. There were also some huge snowballs in the
trees. Huge as in hundreds of pounds big. One of those falling on a
person would likely kill them. five feet of snow in a week will do
that. Traction proved to be okay and we made reasonably good time
heading up.
We reached the junction in 1:06. Not too bad. I was nervous about an
avalanche chute on the right hand road. Experience has proved that
route has a very windy spot too. With the temperature now around 20
degrees, wind was the last think I wanted. After a short break we
headed up the left hand road. The way was a bit icy. Some spots had
wind blown snow on one side that was very nice to ski. Any ruts made by
skiers the day before were rock hard now. For the most part the way up
was fine. On the now more open slopes we did not see
additional signs of recent sloughing. Up we went.
At about 3800' we were in the wind. My thermometer read 15 degrees. The
wind was not too strong but dropped the temperature considerably. The
road was even harder here and I was not anxious to ski down it. We made
the wise decision to turn around. We were only a few hundred feet below
the ridge top but wind, frigid cold, icy snow, and no views were not
good reasons to continue up. The ski down to the junction was
interesting. I was able to check my speed for the most part. Patches of
wind blown snow were fun and patches of ice were not. I was glad we
only passed a few people who were coming up. I needed all the room I
could get to avoid ice and stay upright. Gary had considerably less
difficulty.
We had another short break at the junction then down we went. We passed
quite a few people who were heading up. I even recognized Jonathan with
his wife and youngster who was riding in an enclosed ski cart. I
managed to stop without falling while saying hi. It was still early and
half way from the junction to the bottom we stopped at a switchback for
lunch. We skied off the road and took off our skis the hard pack did
not stand up to my weight. I fell in knee deep. A very hard crust but
soft snow beneath. In a switch I was getting cold before Gary. After a
little lunch I started down first. I was glad we were among the first
to ski down. Each snowplowing skier took off a little more of the thin
fresh snow. There would be much more ice showing later. Much to my
surprise I made it all the way down without a fall.
At the bottom we headed right on the main road. Easy groomed skiing out
to the road to Lake Kachess. This added several miles round trip. It as
fast and easy skiing with less of a crowd than I recall on most of my
visits. By 12:20 we were back at the start. A little less than 4 hours
to cover nearly 11 miles with 1500' of gain. Skiing can be a lot faster
than hiking. It was back in the mid 20s at the parking lot. The strong
winds never materialized.There was wind up high but most of the route
was fine. Once again the forecast was a little too gloomy just east of
the crest. After only one ski trip last year this was my second this
year. Hopefully I'll get in a few more before the snow melts.