Conditions were perfect for showshoeing today.  No wind, 25-30 degrees and only saw about 10 people.  On weekends it can get pretty busy here.  

The snow conditions are great. The snow is over 10 feet deep so it covers most obstacles.  It is soft and dry but fairly well packed on the trails.  You could use microspikes but I think snowshoes are better in the upper valley and also allows for off trail adventure.

The snow fields in the upper valley were all covered in shimmering ice crystals.  It was a surprisingly beautiful sight.

We ended up doing a lollipop loop. You have to cross the creek twice on narrow snow bridges.  Not difficult but it would be messy if it gave way. 

3.7 mi and 670 ft

Snow!

Snowshoe!

XC ski!

Climb!

Took a group of 12 Boy Scouts into the meadow north of the upper Alpental lot.  They did well considering many of them had never donned shoes before.

Active avalanche control was going on in the hills above us so, if you venture into the snowy backcountry, please please please check conditions with NWAC.

Enjoy the snow while you can.

Skinned up Source Lake via the Alpental backcountry, similar to what I did with my class a couple weeks ago. Getting up wasn't easy due to the micro-terrain, but I managed.

I skinned up to the right of the downhill track, but to the left of the creek uphill track we took previously, in part because I didn't want to deal with crossing South Fork Snoqualmie River (the snow bridges looked a bit weak to me). I thought it was potentially a bit easier than fording the river was before, but I had to negotiate dealing with serious post holing someone did in the skin track on their way down in boots :(...

Once I got back to Source Lake, I skinned up a little ways and decided to nerd around in the snow. I thought, "eh, avalanche risk wasn't bad... why not?", so I dug a snow pit around 4k'.

What I discovered was an interesting set of weak layers/an interface that (when impacted) resulted in a diffuse sheer pattern. Given that I had done three over the shoulder compression hits, I wasn't super concerned, but also realized that the lower elevation snow wasn't likely representative of higher elevation concerns.

I transitioned and tried riding down, but I kept on eating it in the powder, so I transitioned back to split ski mode and rode out. It was a long trek with some risk, but there was definitely some larger (D2) wet avalanche evidence that I observed on my way out under the Great Scott Basin/Hemlock Peak.

The snow on the way out under the trees sucked. It was an icy, slippery mess.

We did what I consider the winter route to Source Lake out of the very end of the Alpental parking lot, out and back (see map).  We got a dry snowshoe in with sun breaks and snow on the way out.  It was stunning!  We were the first of the day, but were able to follow another snowshoe track the whole way under new fallen snow.  We enjoy this trail because the avalanche danger is pretty low (also no need for parking passes, even though we have them all).  We circled Source Lake and stats come to about 3 miles with 600 gain.  Snowshoes definitely needed and be careful around tree wells and water sources.  We had the trail to ourselves until near the very end.  Road to pass was fine, the parking lot had a few inches of snow but not a problem in our 4X4 (usually pretty well plowed).

Important: the path described follows a downhill track for skiers/snowboarders with some avalanche risks along the way; be aware of the avalanche risks and know how to read snowpack before heading up this path. Snowshoeing this path isn't advised, whereas skinning with skis/a splitboard is advised.

Went out with an AIARE 2 class, starting from the upper Alpental parking lot. Everyone else was skinning up with their skis/splitboards in tour mode, but I was snowshoeing (and I got my daily workout in 0-o...).

The day started off partly sunny (around 8:00), but progressively got more overcast as the day progressed. There was some light snowfall, but not a ton of snow to report (less than a fraction of an inch fell between 8:00 and 15:45).

We started off the trail heading out from the parking lot, past the water tower to some of the flat areas to the right of the the return path from the Alpental Back Bowls for some refresher drills. After doing the drills, we continued pushing up through the trees on the south side, avoiding the primary terrain trap (the South Fork Snoqualmie River).

We got to a rock face and pushed up to the north east, then continued traversing through the trees.

One thing to note is that both of my snowshoes linked up with a blowover tree (they got stuck under the tree branch and my flotation got sucked down the hole) and I got stuck on it. Fortunately, with the help of one of my classmates, I was able to get out. It could have been really hairy, had I been by myself, since the snow was largely unpacked, and dismounting my snowshoes might have resulted in serious injury or death, if I had fallen through/down towards the river from the east bank.

Danger: The path up to Source Lake, after a few tree wells tried sucking me in and the blowover tree was mostly ok, but I would probably be mindful of the terrain and steer clear for a while if you plan on snowshoeing, due to the incoherent, deep snowpack.

We pushed a little ways up, dug some pits, made some observations, and had some discussions.

Some snowshoers (6) pushed past us to Snow Lake divide via the winter trail (some with solid boards on their back), and some skiers skinned up the ridge in a bit more in exposed terrain.

We filled in our pits, wound around the east end of Source Lake to the downhill path, then proceeded down the path.

The way down was fairly uneventful, but we were mindful of potential avalanche conditions/risk as there is some exposed terrain below Hemlock Peak, the ridges were fairly steep, and there was a terrain trap to be mindful of (a large/deep creek).

The walk out wasn't bad, but... it really shouldn't be done in snowshoes (skis or a splitboard would be better). There're some dips between trees and turns that one needs to be mindful of, as well as terrain traps, so it might be better to ride a splitboard in ride mode, if the user is less comfortable with black/double black terrain through the trees.

It was a very fun, enlightening day :).