[kycooyo]

After a week of fairly mild weather, a few friends and I figured it would make a great day trip to summit Teneriffe and Si on the same day. Now, being the optimistic thinkers we are, we also concluded that the snowpack would be minimal and snowshoes, crampons, and the like would be unnecessary. This proved to be somewhat true for Si, but Teneriffe is still impressively covered. We parked at the Mt. Si trailhead and were off by 7:15 AM. Following the Si trail for about 3/4 of a mile, we proceeded to take a right on the lower access of the "Talus Loop Trail", which has no official marking besides two turnpike logs suggesting an alternate trail. We followed this until the obvious turnaround point, and took the unofficial trail down to the Teneriffe Road. After crossing Roaring Creek, we were well on our way. Now, despite my preconceived notions, the Teneriffe Road Trail is very steep, and we chose to take a break after each lengthy switchback. The last swtichback (the one that leads to the intersection with the Si connector) is annoyingly long. We hit consistent snowpack at about 3000-3200 feet, and as we continued Teneriffe became much less of a possibility. After finally reaching the Si connector, we ruled it out completely. Trudging through loosely packed snow over to Si was, as one of my companions for the day put it, "the longest 0.8 miles of my life". Once we reached Si, there was a great deal less snow, and much to our delight the haystack was about 95% snow free. The haystack scramble is always fun, albeit more dangerous than most think. We reached the summit at about 11:30, where the winds were sustained at about 15-20 mph. Hike apparel was quickly beefed up, with me putting on a beanie and ski jacket to fight the windchill (which I'd estimate at about 28-32F). After eating and enjoying the views, we headed down. Some snow was present on the Si trail, but not enough to warrant the use of any winter gear. With the descent came sore feet, and we made it back to the car by 2 PM. In about a month or so, we will be back to tackle both mountains. Pictures This gives a good idea of the amount of snow at ~3750 ft.

The Haystack from Mt. Si-Mt. Teneriffe Road connector trail...

[captain jack]

I must have passed you. I started up the Mt Si trail at 1:15pm, arrived at the Haystacks at 3pm. Somebody well known on this site said I probably wouldnt have any trouble going up in trail runners, but , ummm, yea, theres still snow and ice on the trail before the summit, luckily not in the most sketchy areas. I took shelter on the southeast side of the rocks, the wind was really cold blowing over the snow, I also donned my gratefully packed fleece while enjoying the muted views of Seattle and the Olympics. The only unnerving part was watching the small rockslides cascading down below my perch in the fragmented stacks as I sat there

vertigo shmertigo