Crystal Mountain 3-17-13

Nine inches of new snow overnight.  I left the house at 0515 and made it to Crystal by 0730.  I was in the third gondola up.  The wind was blowing on top and the visibility was poor but the snow was deep.  After a few turns down I was out of the wind.  It was deep enough that every turn yielded full facial snow.  I was finding untracked sections all morning.  By about 1300 I was pooped and decided to call it a day.

Gondola lineup

It was blowing some, right to left.

I checked out the historic Silver Creek Guard Station on the way out.  It turns into a visitor center in the summer.  There's a nice campground close by.

No trip this way is complete without a stop at Wapiti Woolies in Greenwater.  It's a nice little shop with a surprising amount of outdoor gear packed into it.  And they have espresso.  A 20-ounce iced mocha quenched my thirst and kept me awake for the long drive home.

Cabin Creek Cross-Country Skiing 2-19-13

Younger son had the day off school on a Tuesday and I had just come off a 60-hour work week.  The weather didn't look too iffy, in fact it turned out rather nice.  What could be better than a day of cross-country skiing?

Off we went eastbound over Snoqualmie Pass to I-90 Exit 63, the Cabin Creek Sno-Park.  This is a popular cross-country ski area that usually gets crowded on the weekends.  Today, there were only a handful of cars in the lot.

The Cabin Creek Nordic Ski Area has a network of groomed trails ranging from beginner to expert.  The ski area is maintained by the Kongsberger Ski Club and the trails are groomed by Washington State Parks.  Kongsberger Ski Club regularly holds races here.

Today younger son and I did the easy road trail out and back for two laps for a total of six miles.  We had clouds and peeks at blue skies.  The weather was warm for this time of the year, maybe mid to high 30s.  The snow varied from soft to crusty depending on where the sun hit or didn't hit.

We also had taken the opportunity to outfit ourselves in new skis and boots from the big winter sale at REI.  I had been skiing for over 20 years on a pair of Epoke 1000 skis with Rottefella three-pin bindings and a pair of made-in-Italy leather boots that were about a half-size too small.  I plan to mount NNN-BC bindings on the Epokes because it's still a fantastic ski on and off track. 

I picked up a pair of Fischer Jupiter Control skis that for the price will make a pretty good track ski.  In fact, they worked out just fine for in the tracks and I even was able to skate on them in the skating lane.  The boots are Madshus CT100 and fit my EEEE foot comfortably the whole time.  I'm set now for casual days in the tracks.

Stevens Pass 1-3-13

I had planned to get in a few days of skiing during the Christmas break this year but work got in the way.  It was a shame because during that time it was an epic powder dump, or so I heard.  After the New Year, I managed to steal away one day at Stevens Pass, up with my two boys riding in older son's jeep.  The sun was shining as we paused in Skykomish for refreshments.  The day remained mostly sunshine but with temperatures never above 20F.  Clouds occasionally shrouded the higher reaches creating foggy patches.  It was a perfect dad and sons day full of the humor and guffaws that only happen when mom is not around.