Backcountry Ski - Snoqualmie Summit Ski Areas (Hyak)

There is sufficient snow to get some fun turns in.  We skinned up the face and skied the back side.  The snow was surprisingly good, temps below freezing, no crusts, and the back side was light and fluffy. It is still early season up there and there were a number of creek holes still open on both the front and back sides but all had good crossing points that were skiable. One of the front side creek crossing was marked with a reflective pole that made it nice for skiing in the evening (we started up around 5 and it was dark by then and  bright headlamps were extremely helpful). There is also still a fair amount of shrubbery and tree tops exposed towards the edges of the runs but was manageable.  There was not enough coverage for us to ski in the deep trees yet where there are still a bunch of exposed downed trees and stumps to deal with. We only saw about 4-5 cars in the parking lot and crossed paths with one group skinning up the front side but didn't see anyone on the back side. The lower backside uphill route was not set so we broke trail and set it on the way out.   Overall it was a fun night with better than expected snow conditions but do remember that it is still early season so watch out for exposed trees and shrubbery, creek holes, and gully depressions.