First ski tour of the season

Wow, December 1st already and I have yet to get out on skis. The 28" snowpack might have something to do with that. It's a bluebird day, and the winds have calmed down after yesterday's storm system moved through.

I went for a fishscale tour up Phillips Ridge to the crest at the antenna towers. Conditions were 1-2" of new snow on top of a firm base, except for the places where the base wasn't firm, like collapsing through tall bunches of grass or shrubs. There were a few other tracks; looking up higher on the Pass towards Glory Peak the mountain was practically skied out. Still lots of stumps and rocks poking up through the snow. In the picture, the tails of my skis are on the ground, so figure about 24" depth.