Hemlock Butte

3 days at the Hemlock Butte Cabin during the first winter storm of the season. Arriving at the Three Lakes Sno-Park, there was about 30cm of new snow on the ground. Over the next 48 hours, there were virtually no breaks in the snowfall and we received upwards of 60cm of new snow at the hut. On Friday 12/1, the snowpack was still too thin to justify skiing due to snags and stumps in the forest. On Saturday 12/2, we toured 500’ up the ridge in strong winds and low visibility. Again, coverage was the primary concern. Deep snow on low angle terrain kept uphill and downhill movement slow. Later that afternoon, we were able to sneak in a couple of short and sweet lines off Hemlock Butte as the heavy snow had covered most of the major hazards. That evening touring around the hut, we experienced widespread whumpfing and shooting cracks in isolated locations. Late in the night on 12/2, the temps spiked dramatically and snow turned to rain. Virtually all the snow on the trees had fallen by morning and the snowpack was completely saturated. Large, widespread rain runnels made for a wet and treacherous jaunt back to the trailhead.

Quick report