Weekend conditions

[Winter]

Hey WA folks -

 

I'm headed up to Issaquah to spend TGiving with my sister. I wanna get out with my girlfried and check out either Ingalls or the Toof on Fri. or Sat. Any recent beta on snowpack etc? Saw the post from earlier this week but was wondering whether anyone's been up there since or into Ingalls.

 

Here's to TGiving, my favorite holiday of the year:

 

[layton]

Haven't been there, but my best guess is that you'll have no problem with snow on ingalls or the Toof. Most rock is dry right now, but cold. Ingalls would be a safer bet. Have fun.

[klenke]

Taint much snow up there. Taint much at all.

 

Was up on a Spark Plug Mountain (6,311') on Sunday. This is up near Stevens Pass. Snow started showing up around 4,400 ft. By 5,000 ft it was pretty constant but crusty stuff (maybe 1 foot deep). By 5,800 ft it was maybe 2 feet deep but still extremely crusty and hard to break through. At the 6,300-ft summit, we were actually sitting on dirt. Terrain looked like it would in September. NE and N facing slopes have a very light snow pack (e.g., you can still see the rocks of the NE and N facing talus fields). All other faces are 80% snow-free (shaded places typically contain snow though).

 

All in all, unless you'll be doing steep terrain, there is no need for crampons or ice-axe.

 

Good stuff. And the air quality will be so much better than the Puget Sound!

[Winter]

Thanks to you two and Plexus for the info. I'm looking forward to getting out this weekend after Turkey Day.