There was snow from the beginning of the trail at Alpental and no sign it was going to let up. Except, of course, where the creek had filled the trail/gully with rushing water. Ice axes caught on trees and I was either too hot in a coat or too cold in a t-shirt. I seriously need something in between the two.

We lost two of the six that started on time before we hit the waterfall. But we added a later arrival who caught up to us. Of course, he had heard from yet another hiker looking for a way to cross the river. It wasn't looking good.

However, we hooked around to the right into the valley between Snoqualmie Mountain and Cave Ridge and that was really neat. It reminded me of the toe of the Inter Glacier and felt really hard core. (Maybe I need reacquaint myself with the Inter...)

Up a short hill and we were on the ridge doing nothing but kicking into the clouds. I focused on my feet because whenever I looked up into the swirling mist I got a little dizzy.

We didn't spend long on the summit and even less time on the descent. Shorts? Cha! I'm glissading anyway. I don't really mind a lingering Winter if it means snow on Snoqualmie. It's a heck of a lot better than the loose rocks of summer.

Stats: 3.1 miles and 3,000 feet of gain.