Surprise Pass

Surprise pass needs some coverage like every where else. The nice part is access is easier because the exposure is less due to the lack of snow. The ski/boot pack up to the pass is quite hard packed./wind affected snow. We used the skin track but I think it would have been easier to boot pack in the very hard snow. Tracks showing people have done both methods. Once at the top it was apparent many people have been skiing there. The entrance has very poor coverage, loads of rocks exposed from lack of snow and side-slipping. Once past the rocks, the snow was wind affected and very hard. Not a break-thru crust, it's basically skiing ice. About halfway down the snow gradually improves to pow/crusty snow. The bottom 1/3 is the best snow but it's very tracked out.