[pct-l] Skiing from Snoqualmie Pass SB to Whites Pass

[Eric Lee]

Atomic wrote:
>
Has anyone ever back-crountry skied the 100 miles from Snoqualmie pass, SB,
to Whites pass in Mid-March or late winter/early spring? I'm thinking of
trying next year but am curious if it's even possible.
>

Is it possible?  Probably.  However, as I always say to questions of this
sort: "possible" is a squishy sort of word.  What's possible for one person
may be impossible for many other people.  Anything is possible until you die
trying, then you know it was impossible - for you.  The right question to
ask is not "is it possible", it's "what are the odds of my surviving it".
For the trip you're asking about, I'd say that for *most normal people* the
odds of survival would be rather low.  I suppose there are some expert
mountaineers who could do it easily.

Here are the things you should consider:

Do you already have extensive experience with trips of this sort?  If not, I
highly recommend that this not be your first experiment.

Have you worked out your supply strategy?  Take the total mileage, divide by
the miles per day you can expect to get on skis in challenging backcountry
(hint: probably less than you think), figure out how many days of food you
can carry with you, figure out what kind of reserve you need (see below),
figure out resupply options (the Crystal Mountain ski area would be the only
one), and see if the math works out in your favor.

Do you have the gear and experience to ride out serious winter storms?
You'll probably be out long enough that you're not going to get an unbroken
streak of good weather.  Do you have sufficient reserves in your supplies to
be able to wait out multi-day storms?

Do you have extensive knowledge of avalanche hazards (how to detect them and
avoid them)?  Do you have sufficient reserve in your supplies to be able to
wait out multiple days of high avalanche danger mid-trip?

Eric