Alpental 2/22/19

After two years away it’s good to be back in the Cascades!  Flew into Seattle last night and less than an hour out I-90 to Summit.  I’ll be skiing Alpental today and Sunday, with a day in the Snowqualmie Pass backcountry tomorrow.  Maybe even a little night skiing in the mix as Alpental and Summit West spin lifts until 10pm, all on my $65 day ticket.  A few shots from the parking lot of the Summit Inn to set the stage.

Summit West just across the parking lot.




Looking West toward Snowqualmie Mountain and the Alpental Valley



I guess someone hasn’t needed their car since the 4+ foot storm (in 36 hours) that shut things down for a couple days a week and a half ago.  That’s not going to be fun to dig out.


With a foot last Tuesday night, and a foot plus forecast to fall this afternoon into Sunday it should be great.

Very jealous!

Sorry Crystal, I may have found my new favorite PNW haunt.  What a cool place Alpental is.  Think Platty vibe with a MRG attitude.  



Their saying is “Take it to the next level”.  Really, it’s an experts dream.  I thought Baker skis big for a small place, but Alpental trumps that.  In bounds Alpental only has like 300 or 400 acres.  However, it’s mostly blacks and double blacks, very little grooming.  Every acre is pure playground, steep, rocky and cliffs.  Locals today are a little disappointed.  “Crispy” “Dust on Crust”.  Ha!  To me it’s a 9 out of 10 by east coast standards!  The forecast snow is mixing with some sleet and rain, but I think it will change back.  Heavier than yesterday, but I’m not complaining.  Visibility is eh, but that comes with storm skiing!

After playing inbounds most of the morning a run out the high traverse from the Nash gate and it’s 500 acres led to this.....




And this...







And this.....



I found another Bloody better than Cloudspin.  It was a good morning, and there’s nobody here..

Nice!! Be careful... Alpy can bite you in the ass if you're not on your toes.  That said, make sure you try a Space Dust... it's been the top PNW IPA for the past several months.

The skiing looks amazing!!
The drink looks like a meal..

Yes, I’ve already met Space Dust, although here I feel obligated to go with the Alpental Amber!

Yes, down Trash Can, which navigates a stream bed, there were some deathly drop offs and holes.  One had to be 50 feet straight down into some water, and it’s hard to tell those things are there until you are right on top of them.

Alpental’s rep is well earned!

Fortunately while I was having lunch the weather improved....and it nuked all afternoon.  I feel a little guilty, Armstrong spins until 10:00, but I’m shot.

Not much of an afternoon for pics, this is all I got.




Here’s a little video from the am.

https://vimeo.com/319094277
https://vimeo.com/319094259

Awesome! Sounds like you're finding your way around just fine!

Where are you skiing on Sunday?

Awesome! Be safe out there.

I’m headed out to the backcountry tomorrow, then Alpental again on Sunday.  It’s nice the place is small and I have a second day, so I don’t go home feeling like I missed too much.

It's going to be good over here... not nearly as much snow, but it will most likely be less crowded.  If you get the urge to come East, let me know.

Mission Forecast

If you can hang around until Monday, it will be pretty amazing everywhere!!
Mission Forecast from the Westside Office

I wish.  I extended this trip to three days and my wife was something less than pleased!  Baby steps, may be another few years before I can push it to four without divorce papers!

Would be fun to have you show me around Mission, but that would make getting back to SeaTac for my Sunday flight a little harder.....

Totally understand.  Enjoy and be safe!!

Wow careful out there

Where about are you on map?

Of course some guy in the parking lot was telling me it would so be worth the drive.  I’m tempted, just not sure I’m up for an extra 4 hours in the car.....

So cool they have night skiing here, way better than the night skiing I grew up on.



A couple of parking lot shots...




The first one there reminds me a lot of Zermatt, chalet at the foot of a rocky mountain.  That last pic is Shot 8, a spicy face in a permanently closed out of bounds area.  You know photos never do steepness justice, but it’s STEEP.  That one is a little above my pay grade/station in life....but there are locals that ski it.

Photos and video are from the Back Bowls off the high traverse out the Nash Gate.  Looking at the Back Bowls map, that run was Sharon Bowl (for some wide open powder) to Billington’s (for a nice chute under a rock face) into Trash Can (which was full of drops and pillows and some sketchy traps) then I cut to the bottom of Gun Barrel Trees.  Took another run down Knoll Three toward Billington’s, then caught the bottom of Mach’s Couloir into the Heaven Trees.

Fun stuff!