Quick report
Rambled all over the pass -- pretty poor skiing in the backcountry, making it a fun day to prioritize going far and quickly over any pretension to ski-quality. Unexpected blue sky and sunshine 8-9am before clouds rolled over the Pass from the west and returned us to business as usual. No precipitation of any kind until at least 3pm. Clouds streamed with light/moderate winds over the pass all day. At most elevations in the forest, the upper snowpack did not refreeze overnight. Skintrack into Commonwealth was firm, polished, and surprisingly grippy, making it fun and fast. Tried to minimize overhead glide-hazard at the waterfall by moving quickly on the high/usual route, but found that the waterfall's creek has almost washed away the key snowbridge. I might go low if heading in there again before the snowpack refreezes. Snow was soft-enough in the trees to make trailbreaking straightforward, no ski-crampons required this morning. Ski quality off the south side of Kendall's west ridge was poor on skinny skis. Best skiing, to the extent it existed, was found in shady open glades. Too much clear-view-to-sky allowed for the formation of a trap-crust. Exiting down the Gold Creek trail had a refrozen chunky character to the track, though the margins were often soft. The Summit's nordic trails were in superb condition today -- firm base but soft surface made for super fun and efficient travel . Clouds were at treeline on the Snoqualmie peaks as I moved through Windy Pass, so few views were had. Great to see other folks on skimo skis taking advantage of the glide. If you lost a skimo skin, check with Summit's Nordic patrol.