[Just_Some_Hiker]

Starting from the upper Alpental parking area, I skinned up Alpental valley to Source Lake. Visibility was very poor but at least the precipitation was coming down as snow – not rain. Snowfall was constant during the entirety of the trip. At first it was very light, but became heavier as the day progressed. From Source Lake, I ascended the NW slope to the top of Snow Lake divide. There was a thick rain crust with 2-3 inches of fresh snow on top, with more snow continuing to fall. From the top of the divide, I roughly followed the summer trail and then skied down to Snow Lake. The slope was heavily tracked-out, so it was a very bumpy ride. I crossed the lake and did laps on several different slopes, including the east side of Mt. Roosevelt. Then I went to the north side of Snow Lake and got on the summer trail to Gem Lake, which also seems to go just fine in the winter. I followed the trail to Gem Lake, and then reversed course and skied back down to Snow Lake. I crossed the lake again back to my starting point, and then skinned back up to the top of the divide. I skied the heavily tracked-out slope down to Source Lake, and then down the trail to the car. Several inches of fresh snow fell during the trip (on top of what was already there) and it didn't look like it was going to let up.

[jdk610]

Nice trip!

[cascadeclimber]

Nice pics. That rain crust is nasty and is, I fear, going to be a dangerous sliding surface for the rest of the winter.