Spent my Sunday doing an AIARE clinic up at Alpental. Evidence of rollerballs and wet loose avalanche was seen on Denny Mountain as we drove up to the upper parking lot.

The morning was foggy but burned off around 10am. The rest of the day was sunny and cold. Lots of people out on the groomed trail. We only went in about a mile to practice our avalanche rescue techniques and were far enough away from any avalanche danger. The only issue we needed to be concerned about was the running creeks and a few snow bridges, but the temperature nor the sun caused any issues. ^_^

Many more pictures and information on my blog here

Enjoyed a lovely trip to Source Lake on New Year's Eve, an annual tradition. The snow and trail were in great condition, we stuck to the winter route in the valley to avoid avalanche terrain. When we reached Source Lake there were several debris paths from routes that slid the day before so we were extra cautious moving through the area. 

The parking lot was compact snow but we had no issues in our subaru forester. There were a few very minor creek crossings on the main route but they were easily navigable. Overall it was a very enjoyable route! 

Not the most useful trip report as snow is coming and conditions will change, but... here goes!

Please don' do this if avalanche danger is anything but low. There was all sorts of debris everywhere and even before the lake you cross some sketchy sections. Be safe!

Parked at one of the Alpental lots and followed back to the last parking lot, from which the trail leaves (it's wide and has lots of warnings about fast-moving backcountry skiiers). There were a lot of paths meandering by the creek or off the main trail, which are fun to romp around on, but can make the way slightly confusing. 

Once at the lake I marveled at the immense mountains and tiny dots of skiers making their slow way up - it was a perfect day. I put on spikes (never even used snow shoes in the melty snow) and followed footsteps up and over a big ridge next to a rocky outcropping with a waterfall to find myself a view of snow lake. The climb was steep and obnoxious and i kept questioning whether I was even close to the lookout point but if you head up and vaguely right towards the forest you should find it! There isn' a trail even on a GPS but you can get an idea of where you'e headed by looking at one.

As I said, I didn' use snowshoes, but I imagine that'll be quite different after all the snow this week. Beautiful day though !

It is a sunny sunny February day, took the day off to hike. Before leaving home, checked NWAC site https://www.nwac.us, avalanche risk is low.

the trail is covered with packed down snow from the beginning, either snowshoes or spikes would work, I personally prefer spikes since I can walk faster :). I also had a pole which I found later a pole is almost necessary to have to keep balance for stream crossing, there are three streams on the trail, the first I would say it is the hardest since it is on a steep slop (you would not want to fell when crossing), and there are snow/ice on rocks you would use as step stones.

there are quite a few snow field to cross, and a couple of previous avalanche debris reached to the trail.

it is very scenic throughout the trail. 

A beautiful day, a beautiful hike.

Beautiful blue sky day to snowshoe from the Alpental ski resort to the snowfield just past Source lake. 3 hrs round trip with leisurely photography stops. 

Even though the mileage is low, quite exhausting uphill section in the middle. Keep pushing yourself and bring lots of layers. The air temperature was in the high 20s but you'll sweat alot so it's a balance of staying warm and not letting your sweat get you cold. 

The path is fairly trodden, but there's a few sections that you have to think about. There was surprisingly not that many people that day I snowshoed. Few fallen trees but can carefully climb around, just a bit tricky with snowshoes on. 

Can't really tell there's a lake because covered by 6+ feet of snow and ice. There's a few hundred foot giant drop. Be careful near where the lake basin is.