Made it to the gate just before 8 am and there were only two other vehicles in the parking lot. The road was in average condition and on our way home we saw low clearance vehicles making it to the parking lot.
Just like previous trip reports, the road past the gate is clear for about a quarter of a mile before intermittent snow starts. We had trail running shoes on with plans to run as much as possible. After about a mile it is completely snow covered. We had micro spikes and gators in our packs, but never put them on. There were a couple of trees across the road to cross but nothing difficult. Snow in the morning was somewhat frozen and it was easy going. We took the Grindstone trail up which was easier than the road as it is more shaded and firmer. There is some fresh snow towards the top that is probably two days old. Got to the lake in just over an hour. The lake is still mostly frozen. I had an avalanche probe and measured snow depth around the campground and at the lake edge. Snow depths ranged from about 160 cm in the campground to over 250 cm by the cabin and in the parking lot. It looked like there would be some good turns to be had north of fay peak – an adventure for another day.
The trip down was smooth as well. We followed the road and skipped the upper section of the Grindstone trail but took the lower portion of the trail. We made it back to the car in under 3 hours. Tolmie peak would have been a fun addition with some extra time.
We saw no one else past the gate the entire trip. Not sure where everyone else is as it was a beautiful day and good snow conditions. Get out and get some.
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