So like it's been a really bad year for snow here in the Pacific Northwest.  For a lot of us this this has led to depressed mood, substance abuse, and getting stuff done around the house.  We decided to head out no matter what the conditions.  It was snowing heavily as we headed up to Snoqualmie Pass.  I got to play video games driving around the fleet of snowplow trucks.  We started skinning up Commonwealth Basin with Mt. Snoqualmie as our objective.  I didn't bring my camera.

Gradually the snow turned to rain and we started getting really wet.  Skiing down "Enigma Gully" on Snoqualmie was now definitely a bad idea.  As we approached the top of Cave Ridge we met two snowshoers.

We eventually got a view of Mt. Snoqualmie through the mist.  The steepness and lack of snow cover made reaching the top unlikely.  We decided to just ski something closer.  There was a gully which opened up into a broad area below.  Taking this route would mean not having to skin back up to the ridge to go back the way we came.  The catch was the top part was steep and narrow and probably a bad idea without ice axe and crampons.  It was still extremely tempting to try it.  Phil wanted to check it out with a belay using his avalanche rope.  Unfortunately just as he got to the crux he ran out of rope.  Phil resolved to get a longer rope.

We skinned back up to Cave Ridge and proceeded to ski down the gully we'd climbed.  Higher up the skiing was surprisingly good.  Lower down the rain had created a death crust that felt like it could rip your legs off if you went to fast.  We survived.