Alpental, WA 03/01/2017

In the PNW, March can go either way... it really depends on wind direction and elevation.  My experience has been that March is usually easy in the morning, and lots of work in the afternoon.  Poor timing can mean the difference between Powder Hour and Sloppy Seconds.  

It's the time of year when you go from...



To



To



Within 45 minutes of driving and 2,000 ft of elevation gain.

Things have been a bit backwards this week.  It was warm on the East side, and cold on the West which has yielded lots of snow at Snoqualmie.  It was 40 and sunny as I drove through the Wenatchee valley.  90 minutes later, I arrived at the Crown Jewel of the Snoqualmie complex.  If you're visiting Seattle, and heading to Snoqualmie, Alpental is the place to go.  There are 3 other areas included with the ticket (East, Central, and West [ordered best to worst)).  While at times they offer good snow,  the terrain and layouts are fairly 1 dimensional.

6 inches overnight, and 24 in the past 48 hours.  It snowed heavily the entire morning.  Despite difficult visibility, it was quite wonderful for the first 2 hours.  The crowd never arrived.  I had to go in twice to clean my lens... face shots were unavoidable.  It began to get a bit gooey around 11, and by the time I left at 1, it was a bit more work than fun.  Headed back again on Friday...  hopefully it will be a repeat.

No crowds...
   

Upper International/Felsen






Lower Mtn

That's awesome. Makes one want to move.

Snowballs wrote

That's awesome. Makes one want to move.

If you ever want to come visit, let me know.

Hey that's very kind ! Thank you Nepa ! I would love to but,,,Someday !,,, sounds kinda up James the Deluxe's alley, he travels a lot, loves him some low cost trips and he writes travelogue worthy trip reports.

Go get those goods James. Post 'em up here !  

Thanks again Nepa !

Snowballs wrote

Go get those goods James. Post 'em up here !

I'm flying in the opposite direction tomorrow night, stay tuned.

Thanks, nepa. Odd how few TRs we see from Alpental and Snoqualmie.

Balls....SEATAC and environs isn't as ambitious as most of James' trips.  My next weekend trip out Seattle way, conditions permitting, is likely to be a day at Alpental/day in the Snoqualmie backcountry jaunt.