A necessary and sufficient condition for touring is snow. Or some approximation of snow, be it ice (the lower angle kind), a glacier’s dirty tongue, or just a skiff of fresh over anything approximating a firm substrate, which includes frozen soil, duff, or modest downfall. An imperative here is a glass half full. Low snow locally, and it does seem historically low, can be fun, or, at a minimum, a learning opportunity. Maybe it is time to experiment with an approach line to that sliver of north-facing snow in the alpine. Or, make a game of it, as we did about a month ago, and attempt to go top-to-bottom on the local backcountry spot without removing skis. It was doable, given the requirement that speeds be kept to a crawl in the denser hemlock forest; it’s easier to step and slide over downed logs that way.
But hear us out, there is no way we are closing out December, and an entire year, for that matter, with negative talk about what was and what could be. And with that, let’s jump into the snow water equivalent (SWE) from the 30,000-foot view.
