Went to the summit of Massive Mountain with Laura Kos and Adam Campbell today.
The day started out with a whiteout storm on the way to the trailhead but as we started skinning up the forest we saw hints of blue sky! Once at low treeline the weather was pleasant and warm all the way to the summit ridge where we found some cold winds. We wandered around the summit ridge for a bit before heading back down the way we came. Both on the up and down we stayed in mostly dense trees except one section of steep glade like skiing just off the ridge.
The snow in the area is a mixed bag. Below 1800m there is very little snow and it’s basically iso at this point. Luckily we found an old skin track which we used up and down. Once above that and in the drainage, travel is pretty good for the most part (at very least in the acceptable range). The snowpack is thin in the area and mostly upside down. We stayed off open slopes except for crossing a few runouts and only skied a short section of steep glade like skiing in order to avoid a downhill bushwhack. There is a lot of facets, some crust on solar, some heavier snow over facets and even some knocked over surface hoar closer to the drainage.
Many of the avalanche paths seem to have run at some point this season. You could see debris in many of the paths about midway down. Some start zones were down to ground, others may be close but reloaded. Too far after the events to really know size or any details really.
I don’t recommend heading up this way due to access and the general snowpack, unless of course you are up for a little adventure…
