 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
August 2009
Categories
|
environment: February 2009Probably no forecast is fraught with more peril than the dreaded lowland snow event. It's a four-letter word for most in these parts, and predicting where and how much snow will fall is a daunting task. I have an implicit understanding with a few of my non-hiking Seattle friends: I try not to proselytize about how they should enjoy the great outdoors more and they don't have to pretend to enjoy the great outdoors, but pity them if they ask how my hike went. That's when I enthusiastically put them to sleep with an involved narrative of my day. Everybody wins. So I was pleasantly surprised when my friend Eric said he wanted to take a hike with ... With Valentines in the air this weekend, I fell in love all over again. A long-overdue return trip to Whistler sent my heart and skis racing. It was as if someone implanted Colorado weather in the Northwest for a few days; bright sunshine and deep blue skies predominated. Immaculately groomed trails made for perfect "hero snow" conditions: It was easy to look like a pro on the smooth corduroy. Powderhounds were probably wishing for more fresh ... You don't judge a book by its cover, and you often can't tell the weather in the mountains by what it looks like in Seattle. With that in mind, I set out last Saturday for one of my favorite hikes: Granite Mountain, just off I-90 on the way to Snoqualmie Pass. Seattle was tucked in under its blanket of gray, but it was dry, so I hoped the mountains might stand above the lowland murk. Sure enough, the clouds parted near North Bend, and Mount Si... |
