great,
thanks for the info, snow at the second sibley crossing is plenty for me to go there and do the carry through the woods. the one blow down you mentioned being tough with skis is where i usually take the pack off and go under then lift the pack and skis over, no deterant.
i certainly wasn't expecting to be able to ski all the way to the trees this weekend, i just would have considered another option if there was a lot less snow than you described or it was already heavily suncupped and runneled.
thanks again for the info, Stalmon