Cold Creek RD-Windy Pass
I usually get out
very early to ski up to Windy Pass. I like to get up and partly down before
the crowds arrive. Now that it's Mid-March skiers seem to be done for the
season. I left Seattle in fairly heavy snow and 32 degrees. By the time I
reached Preston the snow and rain had ceased and the drive to the pass was
easy. I arrived at the Keechelus Sno-park at 11:00. The freeway sign read
37 degrees. I'm not used to going up to the pass the escape the cold of
Seattle. Even at 11:00 there were only about a dozen cars in the lot. The
snow is very good for March. I followed the woods trail up to the groomed
Hyak trail and had an easy time heading up to Windy Pass. I saw 4 or 5 skiers
coming down and passed 5 going up.
At the pass the wind was
light and I thought about heading up to Nordic Pass. Several skiers had
done so in the last few days as their tracks were fairly fresh. Instead,
I decided to head right back down. Only a few skiers had been down since
the morning grooming and the conditions were great. I came down 4km in 12
minutes, which is pretty good speed for me. Even now at 1:00 I saw only
a few skiers coming up.
Back at the railroad grade I turned right
and skied out to the old snowsheds. A flat and slick track made for a fast
aerobic workout. The trip back was very quick. All totalled I covered 13
miles and 1300'. A very nice afternoon of skiing.