Road to Artist Point narrowed considerably as we went to the summit. Temps were at or below freezing but fortunately with the snow machinery running there was no ice on the roads and I didn’t need to put chains on my 2WD Prius. Keep on eye on road conditions on WSDOT before climbing. Also be extremely cautious about going up this narrow, windy road with snow machinery. Snow banks are 8-10ft high and snow plows can come around the corner quickly. Almost saw someone speed into a snow removal vehicle (see picture attached) going around a narrow bend on Mt Baker Highway.
Arrived at 11am. Parking lot was completely full and staff had folks parking alongside the road outside of the parking lot. Tons of skiers on the chairs as well as back country skiers. Trail itself was pretty well packed down - would highly recommend snowshoes due to post holing on the way up. Micro spikes might work but you would need to stay on the trail. Very steep sections going up.
Moderate snowfall increased and visibility dropped significantly the higher up we went. Made it up to Artist Ridge nearby the parking lot but could only see 20ft in whiteout conditions. Went about half a mile towards Huntoon Point before calling it quits due to the weather and heading back down.
Saw a few small D0.5 avalanches triggered by back country skiers alongside the trail but visibility was very low and couldn’t see much further out towards avalanche prone areas like the south end of table mountain.
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