AlpineK Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Trip: Snoqualmie Pass - Kendall Circumnavigation Date: 1/28/2012 Trip Report: Friends and I have been talking about skiing on the north side of Kendall for some time. Maps and pictures make the skiing look good. Then again you have to spend a bit of time in upper Silver Creek, or the Kendall Peak avalanche firing line. We checked out an entry point one day, but thick clouds made visibility sketchy. Finally I saw a nice day with a lower avalanche potential. Cman and I decided to ski it on Saturday. Without fail NOAA forecasts started going downhill. When we left the parking lot we figured we could lap the south slopes if things got worse. Looking up at the Kendall Summit Ridgeline [img:center]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qUAdvGFIx9I/TyYlA7DobhI/AAAAAAAABls/zh7bAuH9YzY/s640/1_SEL2-2012-01-28-Kendall_P.png[/img] When we reached the ridgeline we could see clouds dropping and the wind picked up [img:center]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-fksDvn7nmIo/TyW0uHOmsLI/AAAAAAAABko/_UnL2QAQdEM/s1024/2_SEL3-2012-01-28_Kendall_N.png[/img] Our bad weather backup plan for skiing out Gold Creek generated some laughs. After a couple minutes talking about wind and clouds we decided to go for it. Cman and Silver Basin with Red Mountain in the Distance [img:center]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EIQWWzTCd7c/TyW0pb4eZ7I/AAAAAAAABkY/otZRvSIPwOM/s1440/3_SEL5-2012-01-28-Kendall_P.png[/img] Snow in Silver Creek basin was nice. A little wind packed but not bad. Entry Chute [img:center]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2pU2K9OJths/TyW0FdmiGBI/AAAAAAAABkQ/ZDAtv963e_M/s640/4_SEL6-2012-01-28_Kendall_N.png[/img] After a nice ski in Silver Basin we started climbing back towards Commonwealth Basin. There was no wind in Silver Creek Basin, but you could see it blowing on top of Kendall. Looking back. We skied a line to the right of the tallest rock spire [img:center]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SMefsqVLgAg/TyWz3S2UZlI/AAAAAAAABkI/36eqEzB6XMk/s912/6_SEL8-2012-01-28-Kendall_P.png[/img] Cornices on Kendall summit ridge [img:center]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-aL4pd69IDS0/TyWyezrXCcI/AAAAAAAABjw/zRp4SbBAQZs/s912/7_SEL9-2012-01-28_Kendall_N.png[/img] We made the ridgeline and looked at the top of Kendall. [img:center]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6FEmf4GW8lE/TyWybZqLknI/AAAAAAAABjo/Nyk8WyxNOBg/s912/8_SEL10-2012-01-28-Kendall_.png[/img] If it wasn't so windy summiting Kendall would be easy, but we figured it was time to get the hell out of Dodge. Mt Snoqualmie and Commonwealth Basin [img:center]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W6_hrfhAbaw/TyWzc7D5snI/AAAAAAAABkA/mhXRyqj_Dqg/s640/9_SEL11-2012-01-28-Kendall_.png[/img] The snow near the top of the ridge was nice, but it eventually turned to Cascade cement. Commonwealth with Summit West in the distance [img:center]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-oqzQkeBPsxw/TyWwa-CFGLI/AAAAAAAABjQ/6_j82Ffw034/s912/11_SEL13-2012-01-28_Kendall.png[/img] As always lot of folks on the trail lower down with the skiing version of the game Frogger. We timed things out nicely. It started raining after we were in the car. Fun stuff Here's a route map http://www.hillmap.com/m/agtzbG9wZW1hcHBlcnIQCxIIU2F2ZWRNYXAYiIUODA Approach Notes: Windblown powder and ice near ridgelines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybrnr Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Yeah, it was definitely time to gtfo when the snow started to turn heavy... saw you guys drop in right as we finished setting the track up to the notch and out of the basin; we were hoping you guys made good time getting out, as snow conditions were quickly trending from decent to sketchy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Don't know if it was yours, but seeing a beat in uptrack made us figure we could move faster than the next storm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanl Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I was wondering who that was! Nice one Kurt. We watched you ski it and was wondering where you might be headed. http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=23470.0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 You got an early start. We're such slackers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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