Monday, January 24, 2011

Two Days in a row in the mountains!

Saturday  (all pictures here)

Saturday was the first field trip for my back country ski class.  Ross and I were up at 5am (ughhh) and on the road by 5:30 with coffee in hand.  We met up with the whole class up at the Stevens Pass parking lot about 8:00 and after breaking into groups we headed out.  The day started really cloudy and snowy so I did not have high hopes but the group was great and we were on the snow so I was psyched.  Well about 30 minutes out of the parking lot the sky cleared and soon the sun was shining.  It turned into an amazing blue-bird day!


Our group consisted mainly of splitboarders which was pretty cool.  We spent most of the day going over basics and exploring the back country.  It was not anything with amazing runs or huge vertical drops but it was a good tour and gave me a great base knowledge of the area so I would feel comfortable getting back out with with one or two other people and getting some good turns in.

We met some great people and I am really looking forward to the next trip we have scheduled the first weekend of February up at Baker.  I will have my fingers and toes crossed that the weather cooperates.

Sunday

Sunday we met up with the recently expanded couples hiking group of Mike, Katy, Dan, Laura, Natalie, and myself for a little snowshoe exploratory mission.  I have been reading a bit about people skiing and snowshoeing in the commonwealth basin just past Snoqualmie Pass and thought it would be a fun trip for everyone to wander around a bit.  We arrived to a very full parking lot and had a great hike up the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail).  We did not get any real views because it was pretty foggy but it was great getting together with everyone.  We all caught up and got some exercise.  What more could you want?  We ended up hiking about 6 miles which was about perfect.  After the snowshoe we all loaded up and headed for Snoqualmie Brewery to gorge ourselves on beer and pizza.  Always one of the best parts of the trip.  Thanks guys it was a great time!!

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