alfalfa

In western MT the snow just keeps falling, to the point that I've been completely shut down getting to some ice routes in GNP and on the Divide that I'm working on. Snow level from Snotel sites and by personal observation is double that of last year. Avy danger has been high to severe since late December, and every time I think the pack is starting to consolidate, another storm comes through. We got another 4" in Missoula last night, and expect more on Tuesday. Epic lift-serve skiing, but the back country has been hands-off for those, like me, who shy away from avy danger. Mid-March looks like the earliest I'll be able to get back to the climbs. Those starved for snow should hop on I-90 and check out Snowbowl, Lost Trail, and Whitefish.

Good news: weather was sunny and springlike in Spokane on Wed. Bad news: same could be said for Strobach Mountain. All the ice was snow-cone or black streak. There was a visible rock gap at the top of the column on Watchtower. Sorry.

I drove all of Highway 17, WA 155, and Moses Coulee today (1/17) on my way across Eastern WA. I drove same 2 weeks previous and everything looked pretty good. Not today. No need for images--it's all gone. A party was rock climbing in the sun. It felt like it was 60deg.