[Elvis]

Location: WA Hwy 2, across from Stevens Pass Ski area I had the opportunity to participate in a beginning Avalanche Awareness Course via the Everett Parks & Rec program. This basic class included a Friday evening lecture followed by a day 'in the field' on Saturday. More on that later, if you are interested. We didn't actually go to the lake - but were within 1/4 mile of it's location. Weather was pleasant - but bitingly cold when we arrived at the pass. It seems my toes were cold before I even exited the vehicle, but they warmed up on their own after a bit of trail time. Our group followed the groomed track/road up past the energy tower and then headed off, up the ridge to meet up with the road a bit later. There were quite a few people on this trail - much more than I would have expected since this is the first year I have even heard of this destination. We reached an open field within 1/4 mile of the lake where we spent some time learning and relaxing. From there we followed a few others' off-trail tracks back to the communication tower, and then a few other off-track routes where we witnessed some beautiful cornices and excellent winter scenery. Superb!

Stevens Pass

Shovel in Snow

Pack and Slope

Pit Training

Shadow on Snow

Snow Curve

Trail Commuters

Snowy Sentinels

Robber Jay stalking snacks

Robber Jay stalking snacks

Tower Cornice

For those of you interested in the class info: We reviewed/overviewed all types of avalanches, avalanche triggers, rescue procedures, beacons, equipment and risk management. The field day included opportunities to dig some snow pits to view and test the composition & layers of snow as well as a couple exercises using both probes and beacons to locate buried transmitters. While photography wasn't on the agenda for the day, I did manage to sneak in a few snapshots. There were a couple of awesome shots that I wish I had taken, but doing so would have interrupted the lesson in-progress. Going to head back some day to capture those missing images. My 4th new-to-me trail this month... So far, so good!

[dicey]

Might have skied past your group yesterday on our way to some powder runs in moonlight bowl on the other side of the ridge. We saw some folks digging out beacons in the snow before the lake.