Saturday promised to be a sunny day with recent fresh powder. Two nights before we had been to the memorial service of Monika Johnson, a strong avid skier and uber cheerful person. While we were in Revelstoke, Monika had had an accident while skiing Red Mountain in the Snoqualmie Pass area. Neither of us knew Monika well but her joy was infectious the few times we saw her and she was a local legend in the backcountry ski community. Plus she had given us some beta on the Rogers Pass area prior to our leaving for Revelstoke. Several of our friends had been close to her so we went to the memorial to pay our respects and support our friends.
One thing that Monika's brother shared at the memorial was that Monika became a fast skier "when it was fun". That statement was an important reminder to me of why I go out week after week in the cold, why I work so hard to learn to ski, why I exercise in the gym. Frankly I needed the reminder. Last year my attitude was sour for a number of reasons, including some health-related setbacks that have since been resolved. This year I get a fresh start. And I began the new year by skiing in the extreme cold (for this area) with my best partner Randy, and another reliable, fun friend Wade. Then I began taking a series of mid-week ski lessons with Ski Masters. What a hoot these lessons are! And I'm learning a lot too.
Being outdoors at any time of year is fun. There is pure joy in moving your own body in an efficient way and a sense of satisfaction when you master a skill, whether it's a kick turn or skiing through trees without damaging your person. That is why at 0530 on Saturday morning, after a long work week and strong desire to sleep more, we turned off the alarm and got up. That is why after driving all the way up to the pass and seeing low snow cover near the top that we kept going.
The temperature was colder on the east side of the pass and at the parking area there were a few cars ahead of us. A well-trod trail through the snow took us up Smith Brook Road then we found an old skin track through the trees toward Rainy Saddle. Eventually we ended up skiers right of the saddle but got a nice short downhill run on the way. After chatting with some split-boarders whose objective was Jove Peak, we continued north-ish on the ridge to Union Peak. We had considered Jove Peak but hadn't thought out the route down and out on the north side. With the sun on the open south face, we decided that a ski descent down that route would be difficult based on the snow quality on a similar aspect.
The ridge traverse from Rainy Saddle to Union takes a couple hours, especially when the snow slides out underneath because of the warm sun. The surface layer was only about 4 inches deep but the layer underneath was icy and I didn't have ski crampons with me. That short section went particularly slow. A few sections of the ridge are narrow. We were more conscious than ever about the possibility of collapsing cornices. And finally we made the long ascent to Union Peak and had a short lunch. Too cold to linger but fortunately we had been taking in the view of Rock Mountain and Mount Howard along the way. Glacier Peak is unobstructed from the summit of Union Peak. So much terrain to explore out yonder.
The powder down the north aspect of Union Peak was deep and light. And there were plenty of fresh lines. However, we had taken so much time touring that we didn't have time for another lap. Instead we had to worry about climbing back over the right saddle to make our exit as expiditious as possible. Going all the way down to the lake basin would've been fun but wrong turns could've been disastrous if we hadn't been paying attention.
We eventually came across an old skin track back up to the saddle and used it instead of breaking our own trail. Then we traversed along Union Peak in the trees to another saddle that we had forgotten about. The skins went back on the skis and up we went. All the basins and saddles look the same in that area. We had both skied more or less the same tour the year before and I remembered then being surprised that there were two saddles to climb. That final saddle is Union Gap. The descent comes out on the ski track on the road. Unfortunately the aspect was clearly sun impacted so turning was very difficult. We both made survival turns down to the road. And the road had been packed down by snowmobiles. We had thought that snowmobiles weren't allowed on that side but didn't see any signs forbidding them. We will call the forest service to find out for sure before we harass anyone.
The ski out the road back to the highway is not our favorite part but once a couple short pitches are gained, it's a slow downhill descent with a little poling for good measure. Skis are faster than snowshoes and it was satisfying to pass several parties on the way out. Our total time for the day was almost 8 hours. The elevation gain wasn't impressive, maybe around 3000 feet or so with all the ups and downs we skied but it felt like quite a long tour. Statistics are interesting to some but for us, the tour was just fun.
Here are the pictures.