XC Skiing, first day out 2024

 

 

The parking lot at Hyak, just east of Snoqualmie Pass summit

Not many cars at Hyak for our first day out XC skiing in 2024.  Maybe it was the 12º F (-11º C) temperature?  We did not go far.  There were strong gusts of wind making it even colder on the way out.  The wind chill factor blowing in our face was probably 0º F ( -17.7º C).  The wind at our back on the return trip was a lot easier to endure.  The snow was packed powder, and the grooming was in very good condition. The downside was that the cold, dry weather made it very slow, sticky, snow.  It is hard to explain, but it makes it impossible to glide very far or at all.  A lot of work to go a short distance. 

 

I was stuffed into multi-layers, and other than my hands, kept very warm and cozy, but if I had fallen, which I did not, I would have ended up like Charlie Brown in his snow suit and even Snoopy would not have been able to help me get up.  My hands typically get so cold for the first 1/2 hour that I do not want to remove gloves to take pictures while we are out skiing.  I have tried heating them up under the hot air blower in the restroom before starting out, but even that doesn't keep them warm enough.  This time Bob suggested we try switching gloves a couple of times since his hands stay warm.  His warm hands had heated his gloves up nicely.  My gloves are really too small for him, but they have a zipper that provides a little more room.  It goes the other way too, his gloves are really too big for me and make holding the poles a little difficult.  However, it was super nice to slip my icy hands into warm gloves.  Once he got my gloves heated, we switched back again.  By then we had been out long enough that my hands were warming up too.  Might not work for everyone, but it is something we will most likely do again.

This year the ski areas opened a bit later than other years.  Grooming for the XC trail at Hyak just began this past week.  The alpine ski areas opened and started running the chair lifts earlier.  Not all of those areas are open every day.  Bob gets a Sno-Park pass so we can park and XC ski as often as we like all season at several different XC areas instead of paying a daily fee each time we go.  This is a huge savings for us since we try to go once a week.  The fee pays for plowing the lot and the trail grooming. 

 

It might be a little hard to see, but the wind had made swirling patterns on this patch of snow. 

Even though it was so cold, we had a good outing.  The sun was shining, blue sky with a few clouds, and the trees were flocked with new snow. The Snoqualmie Nordic Club has built a warming hut about 1/3 of a mile ( 1/2 km) from the parking lot.  We saw it on the way out.  On the return trip Bob skied over to see what it was like, but he did not want to take off his skis and go in.  It was still too cold to remove gloves to take photos, so next time we go we may try out the hut and take a picture.  The pictures in this post were taken from inside a nice warm car.

Ski tracks on a small hill near the Summit

The view coming down from the summit

Note:  Today lots of new snow coming down and both Snoqualmie and Stevens Passes are at least partially closed as I am writing this.  Snoqualmie westbound is open, Stevens is closed both directions.

Grandma on downhill skis . . .

Stevens Pass middle lodge

As some of you know 3 plus years ago I took cross-country skiing lessons from the Mountaineers.  The first year the snow was not so good, the second year there was no snow for cross-country routes, last year was pretty good, and this winter has been excellent.  Bob has been skiing both alpine/downhill and cross-country for many years and this year he wanted me to take alpine lessons too so we could do both together.  In January he signed me up for a “learn in 3” ski package at Stevens Pass.  The package included all the rental gear, lift tickets, ski checking, equipment for practice days and a guarantee that I would be easy intermediate level by the end of the 3 lessons or they would give me more lessons at no extra charge until I was at that level.  A great deal.

We chose the 10 am lesson time even though it meant leaving the house a little before 7 am to get there, get checked in, pick up the rental gear and be ready by 10 am.  I was plenty nervous about the whole thing but feeling a lot more confident on skis in general since we have going out each week this year doing cross-country.

What are the differences?  Cross-country bindings leave the heel of the foot free so one can kick and glide or skate along.  The skis are narrower, longer and have fish scales on the bottoms so it is easier to walk up small hills, even fairly steep ones, by stomping down on the ski.  The scales sort of grab the hillside and do not slip back.  Cross-country skiing is basically a stride step or a skate.  The trails are groomed for striding with grooves for the skis and the center is open for the skating step.

Being fitted for downhill ski boots . . .

Downhill boots come up higher on the leg, are rigid and both toe and heel are firmly attached to the ski.  The tension on the binding can be adjusted for age, ability, and weight, so if one falls and twists the ski comes off.  Little levers pop down and act as brakes if the ski comes off to prevent it from scooting down the mountainside.  Downhill skis do not have fish scales, look like they are covered with Teflon, and are designed to be slippery on the snow.  If there is a small hill to climb it has to be done by a herringbone step or side stepping up, both a lot of work.  For the lesson and beginner area it is possible to ride on a magic carpet or go up even higher by using the chair lift.  

Magic carpets

Waiting in line to get on the carpet with plenty of small people.  Little kids are pretty random and unpredictable in what they do and when they do it.  My constant worry is running one of these tiny toads down.  I'd rather fall myself than hurt someone's grandchild.

 The skis get positioned at the foot of the carpet, it grabs the skis and way it goes sometimes stopping but starting up again . . .

Once off the carpet it is time to ski down . . .

Beginners start by using the magic carpet, a conveyor belt, which goes a short distance up and has a nice gentle slope down.  There is a second longer carpet that goes up higher with a longer route down but also a gentle slope.  After I had been on the carpet several times Bob took me up the beginner chair lift, called Daisy at Stevens Pass, and guided me down.  Yes, I am falling now and then.  Falling is to be expected and it is nice that there is plenty of snow this year to cushion the falls.  Despite detailed instructions from the lift operator, the first trip down from the top of the Daisy chair lift included a fall getting off the lift, apparently fairly common for beginners, and two other falls on the way down.  It seemed terrifyingly high on the mountainside and a long way down but it really isn’t that far down and I am hoping after several more runs I will get the balance, control and confidence necessary to feel safe, reduce the number of falls, and begin to relax and enjoy it.  The intermediate chair is about twice as high up.  Obviously not ready for that yet.

Three of us in the class this lesson and lots of deep, fluffy new powder snow!

For the third lesson I was the only ski student, the rest were snowboarders, so my lesson was a one on one--terrific for me.  My instructor was a young woman about 20 years old who worked with me to get the turns and stops under control.  I was much more relaxed with her than with some of the other instructors and it definitely helped that it was a one on one.  She let me take the skis off to get up after a fall.  Wonderful, so much easier for me than having someone try to pull me up by the arm or lift me up from behind!  My only fall that day was when I started sliding backward after stopping on the upside of the hill.  If I had just let the slide continue it would have stopped by itself but I panicked and leaned too far and did a face plant in the snow.  

Note:  did not graduate in three lessons.  The fourth lesson came and went a week later.  That week we had 6 inches of new powder snow and the class made first tracks.   I fell 5 or 6 times during the fourth lesson.  Not a good day.  Falling is tiring as well as frustrating.  That class had six students including two 13 year-old boys who were ready to pass and move up.  The other students were 20-somethings, could be grandchildren for me, who looked ready to graduate also.  The next two weeks I did not take lessons just practiced using the top magic carpet and the Daisy Chair.  Last week I was able to take the chair up three times and only fell once, that included safely disembarking the chair which for some reason is hard for me to do without falling.  Bob helped by holding my poles and telling me when to stand up.  I was not nervous with him to guide me down and hence did better than in the class.  There was lots of new snow and it was snowing with more accumulating all day long.  The fall was the result of heading into deep soft snow and getting stuck.  There were snow snakes (clumps of snow) on the bottom of my skis and we had to wax the skis.  I think I need at least one more practice before taking another lesson but it has been raining this week so we have postponed a ski day in hopes of better weather by the end of the week.  

 The small building is the disembark place for the Daisy chair lift

 Part way down Daisy

 Grandma on skis coming down from Daisy

Finally down far enough to see the lodge at the bottom

Big deals for me—I am no longer afraid of the chair lift.  For some reason the snow makes it easier to forget how high it is off the ground therefore vertigo doesn’t set in.  I have made it down from the top of Daisy twice without falls!  The turns and stops are starting to be under control.  There is one place toward the bottom that I can just schuss down full speed and not lose control or fall.  This year the hope was to be able to use the beginner chair and get myself down.  I cannot go down all the way in one continuous chain of turns but can do it in sections so the goal is almost met.  Bob says he will be satisfied this year if I can do just a little better—go further down before stopping and go some distance by myself without him shadowing me the entire way.  

Snow hat on the clock tower

Because we plan to keep this up we will buy gear, skis, helmet, boots, goggles etc. when things go on sale toward the end of the season.  If the snow stays good and the runs are open through April and maybe into May perhaps I will graduate this year after all.  The classes and instructors have been great and I really have been taught pretty much everything I need to graduate, I just need more practice.  Even though apprehensive to try downhill skiing it has turned out to be fun.  I thought I was probably the oldest person to take beginning lessons but one of the instructors told me he had taught a man about 10 years older.  Advice from a grandma—don’t be afraid to try something new!

XC skiing at Leavenworth

We have been talking about and wanting to cross-country ski at Leavenworth for awhile now but the weather and pass conditions did not provide an opportunity until last week.  It is a fairly long drive for us to get there from here so it meant an early start and a late return on whichever day we selected.  About a week earlier we had decided to try until the morning of our departure and a check of the weather report had Leavenworth at -5 F or -15 C.  Brrrr, too cold for us so we went to Hyak again instead where it was a balmy 14 F or -10 C.  Last week a check of the temperature in Leavenworth online showed it at 30 F and predicted to be cloudy with some new snow.  As it turned out it snowed more or less the entire time we were skiing but that was okay because there was little to no wind and the temperature was about 30 to 32 F all day.  

 Views from the car window of the snow covered trees and winding mountain road

I had never been there to ski and Bob had not been for several years.  The ski trail is located along Icicle Creek near the Fish Hatchery and the Sleeping Lady resort.  It is comprised of a couple loops each one 4 km or about 2.5 miles that wind in and out of an open pine forest, meadow and along Icicle Creek.  There are nice curves and several small hills that provide variety.  Most people we met the day we skied were doing the short route but we were still energetic at the turn around point and ready to try to try the full 8 km or 5 mile double loop.  The course layout is really nice and the grooming was excellent.  Another nice feature besides it being a one way track is in most places there are two sets of tracks allowing a couple to ski side by side.  We did not take many photos partly because my camera battery fails when it gets too cold.

Some views from the ski trail

 Two sets of tracks for side by side skiing

After assessing a rather large hill near this spot shown above we decided to detour around it.  Bob had to break trail for me through deep powdery snow.  All went well until we had nearly rejoined the groomed trail.  My left ski slipped out of the track he had made and dove under approximately 2 feet of soft snow.  My poles could not find solid ground and kept going down.  One of my legs was buried pretty much all the way up and the other leg was at a funny angle on top of the snow.  There was no way I could have gotten up without his help.  One option is to take the skis off to get up but I could not get at the buried release button.  This was the first fall for a long while and it was in soft snow, not ice, therefore not too bad.  Just a nuisance.  Bob said it really wasn't a complete fall since I didn't topple over, just a half-fall.  Nevertheless when we got to another place with no tracks, a curve, and a steep downhill I took off the skis and walked down not wishing to experience a true or full-fall.  The smaller hills are no longer a scary problem for me but prove delightful for coasting or schussing.

Views from the bridge near the junction between the two loops of the trail.  The long trail crosses the bridge over to an island and then along the side of the island before ending up back at the bridge where the return route diverts from the outward track.

Just across the street from the start of the XC trail is a small restaurant, O'Grady's, that proved to be a convenient place to enjoy a delicious, very hardy sandwich and salad after a delightful day of skiing.

The pictures below are of the town that were taken on an earlier day trip when we went over to see the Christmas decorations and do a little shopping. 

 Business signs similar to those we saw in Salzburg, Austria

 Tall decorated pole

 Many of the buildings in town have murals painted of them.  All the buildings have a Bavarian theme.

Bandstand or Gazebo in the center of the town where many folks were sledding

Leavenworth is a cute tourist village with lots of interesting shops and good places to eat as well as a wonderful nearby ski venue in the winter and hiking areas in the other seasons. 

XC Skiing, Lake Easton revisited

The beginning of the XC ski trail at Lake East State Park

We have gone cross-country skiing a couple of times already this winter.  Once at Hyak and most recently at Lake Easton State Park.  We had planned to do Hyak again but it was during the holidays and hordes of people had descended on Hyak mostly to let children play on the popular sledding hill.  There was a very long line to get into the parking lot.  We waited for a while and then Bob got out and walked up to see what the situation was like.  The lot was almost entirely full and we were in the middle of the long line of cars.  Even though we have a sno-park pass he didn't think there would be any spots left and the line of cars was not moving so we turned around and headed for Lake Easton hoping that would be less crowded.  It meant another 20 minutes or so of driving but that was better than just sitting in the car waiting for the same amount of time with no promise of a place to park.

Almost empty Lake Easton parking lot

 

There were very few people at Lake Easton when we arrived, one other couple with skis and two young women with snowshoes.  The trail had been recently groomed and it was quiet, calm, and peaceful.  By the end of the day we had encountered about 14 people and 5 dogs instead of probably about 200 people and who knows how many dogs at Hyak.  When we got back to the parking lot there were more cars but still plenty of spaces.  Most of the new arrivals were people with children looking for sledding places.  Unfortunately some of the kids had really trampled the ski tracks making it a little more difficult to ski but that was only in one small area near the lot.  

Beautiful tall trees with a frosting of snow and blue sky 

Views from the bridge of the stream and the lake 

 There was low lying ground fog on the snow covered lake. 

Mountain views along the way

Hyak is flat and the tracks go right along side the lake so the views are nice and I don't have to worry about falls or trying to stop on hills but there is only the one long trail.  There are heated restrooms and that is a big plus.  Lake Easton is a State Park so there is a very nice heated restroom there that has an extra room and benches so boots and clothes can be switched in warmth and comfort if desired.  

The good deed for the day--the restroom building had a big pile of plowed snow around it so we took our shovel and dug out a pathway to the doors

At Lake Easton there are lots of off shoot trails, some in the woods and some with lake views, most marked blue for easy but some moderate ones too.  There are separate trails for snowmobiles and snowshoe folks can go along side the cross-country tracks but are supposed to leave the tracks nice and clean for skiers.  The more difficult trails have steeper longer hills and more curves.  

The blue diamond shows the easy ski route the orange diamond indicates a snowmobile lane

We still choose the easy ones for now.  I was a bit apprehensive about the hills I remembered from last year when I had to take off skis and walk down but this year we found a way around the worst area and went down two smaller hills without super sharp curves.   I managed to schuss down, didn't fall, gained more confidence, and managed to do a modified snowplow--it may not seem like it but lifting one foot out of the track to make the plow while traveling downhill is not so easy to do and I often lose my balance.  I am ready to try hills again.  It felt like I was going really, really fast but Bob assured me I was not going more than 5 to 7 miles an hour.  Elation turned to a little bit of deflation with that news.  

Hands are still a bit cold

It was about 25 degrees F when we started out and my hands, as usual, were very cold and took a long time to warm up.  We have now purchased some hand warmers and will use them next time if necessary.  By the end of the day we were both very warm and I had to tie my ski hat up to cool down.  I use a baseball cap with a ski hat over it and sometimes even the hood of my jacket too.  The brim of the cap keeps the ski hat from slipping down and provides some shade for eyes as well.  My eyes are extremely sensitive to light so I either wear dark sunglasses or my regular glasses that turn dark in the bright light.  We wear lots of layers and take backpacks so we can take some layers off if we get too hot.  The net effect of the layering is that I look like Charlie Brown in his snowsuit but that is okay if I can stay comfortable.  With cold hands a factor I didn't want to remove gloves to take photos and my camera doesn't work as well in the cold so Bob took the pictures and slipped my camera in his inside pocket to keep it warm and ready to use.  

Caught tying up my ski hat

Lake Easton - XC skiing

Bob has anxiously been waiting for enough snow in the mountains to go skiing.  He went to Hyak to do downhill on Wednesday last week and announced that there was enough snow for us to do cross-country skiing on Friday.  Plans were made to try Lake Easton State Park, a mostly level easy cross-country area for beginners like me, located on the east side of Snoqualmie Pass.  Since it is a State Park it requires a Discover Pass and also a Sno-Park pass during skiing season.  Once off the freeway the drive through the woods was magical and gorgeous with a snow covered road and trees.

Last year we did not have enough snow for any of the cross-country ski trails to be open and groomed and there was barely enough for Bob to downhill ski a few times.  This year we have lovely snow already.  It was a clear, sunny, brisk 12 degrees F when we parked the car but after a couple of hours it was up to 20 degrees F.  My hands were so cold in the beginning that I did not want to take off gloves to use the camera which meant Bob had to take all the pictures.  Hands and feet warmed up quickly with the exercise and all was well.  

We had hiked here at the beginning of November when the lake was at low water level and there was no snow.  Now the water in the lake is frozen and covered with snow except for where the river enters. 

Along the trail there are signs and markers to identify the destinations and levels of difficulty.  

I am still a complete novice so we stuck to the blue (easy) trails and did approximately 3 miles round trip.  We had hoped to make it to the big bridge but met two men on snowshoes who said the bridge was closed and the grooming stopped just before the bridge.  We went to the end of the groomed trail then turned around and returned to the car.  Not too bad for a first time out.  No falls either much to my relief.  At one point when the return trail looked steep and had a curve at the bottom Bob suggested that I take off my skis and walk down to avoid a possible fall.   I was happy to follow his suggestion and ended the day with only the expected few achy stiff muscles and no bruises.

The groomed trails (with tracks for xc skis) follow along side the frozen snow covered lake and wind in and out amongst the trees.  Although there were lots of cars in the sno-park area most folks seemed to be using the snow play area for sledding and tubing.  There were a few people on snowshoes and a few xc skiers but it was not over crowded at all.  

There was even a group of people having a picnic in freezing weather!

The ride home on the freeway