[John Morrow]

Well, oppressive fog/clouds over town was enough to motivate to climb above it even if I guessed the skiing would be less than ideal.  It was worse!
I drove the Salmon La Sac road out of Roslyn and parked at the French Cabin Snowpark.  Then I skinned up, shortcutting the switchbacks of the French Cabin Road through occassionally annoying vine maple and breakable crust.   The real climbing started on the north side of Fools Day, leaving the Thorp Creek Road about 1/2 mile from the French Cabin Junction.  Skinning in the forest sucked, bullet proof drip zone without crampons for traction.  Finally I gained the open north slope hoping for powder but none to be had.  Too low, I guess even in the shade of a steep north aspect.

Out of the inversion!

North slopes

No powder here today

OK, gain the east ridge for some more enjoyable skinning, which it was, onward to the top.

Onto east ridge

Across at Sasse768]

On top!

Fantastic views up there for such a minor summit!

Snoqualmie Pickets!

Red, Stuarts, Jolly

BB, Hinman, Daniel

Lemah, Chimney, Chiefs

Roslyn's beneath the muck

Jolly, Sasse

Now to ski.  Knowing the north side would have been hell I tried the SW ridge to a glade that nearly reaches the valley floor.  First turns were great in a mock corn but then it went to deep doo doo.  Breakable crust, no crust just deep mank, and icy firm all within seconds of one another depending on sun/shade.

Turns off the top

Fun SW ridge

Hmm, looks good

Well..not really

Manky glop gloppy mank

I was happy just to get down!
The frozen groomed French Cabin Road was fast ,homeward!
Check another minor bump of 400 feet prominence off the list.  And I saw the sun!

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“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
― MLK Jr.

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[John Morrow]

[kite]

Looked like a beautiful day to be outside making tracks.

[Type E]

Fools day was a fun one, glad you had views that I didn't

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[yukon222]

Sorry you didn't experience the skiing conditions you had hoped for, but it still was worth your time to visit the new peak.  I liked Fools Day peak; good location for views on a nice weather day.

[Magellan]

Nice day out.  403p? Perhaps a snowshoe is in order.

[BigBear]

Were you the white car parked on the road? We were headed for the same place! We seen your tracks on the way up. When we got to the French cabin junction we decided with the crust it was not worth going any further. Plus I didnt have the right set of skis for the job.

[John Morrow]

That's right, that was me.  I wondered about those tracks visible on the groomed route that weren't too far ahead of me going out!  You did not miss much...

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“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
― MLK Jr.

[dicey]

Sorry you had crappy snow.  This peak was a pretty good ski last year, but we didn't have the weird inversion thing going on either.

Guess I'll be on snowshoes this weekend...

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I'm not always sure I like being older but being less stupid has advantages.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32121172@N00/sets/

[John Morrow]