PLPP: One last ski tour!
Trip date: Thursday Apr 18, 2024
Submitted by MaSid
Particpants:
Discussion:
East elk pass to west elk pass traverse.
About -12 at 830 and -1 or 2 back at the car at 230. Good skier set track on fox creek over an icy base (it won’t last). Bit of a mish mash of skier set on elk pass trail, crusty and slightly rough in the usual sunny spots in the AM. Same on Patterson. Breakable sun crust in sun exposed Patterson meadows. Crusty slow tracks in places on tyrwhitt. Breakable crust again in the first meadows towards east elk pass, then powder the rest of the way, including the cutline ascent, fork scrape meadows, the cut block descent and west elk pass. Ankle deep trail breaking in the powder, over a solid crust (LT gear). Things clouded over in the afternoon with a cool wind to preserve the snow. A bit of crust in the lower 100 ft of the cut block. Grabby wobbly tracks back on elk pass, with no icing until almost at fox creek (much better). Given the cloud and temps today, the traverse should be mostly dry powder for one more day.
A great last day out. Didn’t see anybody else all day, not even in the parking lot.