Silver Star from Grouse Vista 2020/02/19
Posted: February 20th, 2020, 7:24 pm
Looking at the sunny weather forecast, I decided to take a personal day Wednesday and climb Silver Star. I drove up to the Grouse Vista trailhead about 8:15am. The snowline was right at the trailhead, and I was on snow all day. In the trees the trail was obvious and the snow was well compacted, I had no trouble with just boots. The first half mile or so was a bit icy but not worth putting on spikes.
In the more exposed areas snow was blown across the trail by the persistent east wind, which led to some postholing. It was mostly just shin deep and only for short stretches, although it got as bad as thigh deep in a couple spots. I stopped just below the summit to layer up before I got above the trees.
I had the summit to myself, but it was breezy so I only stayed long enough to snap a few photos.
On the way down I encountered a handful of other hikers, the first other people I'd seen all day. The warmer temps and calmer winds on the return also made for more photo breaks.
In the more exposed areas snow was blown across the trail by the persistent east wind, which led to some postholing. It was mostly just shin deep and only for short stretches, although it got as bad as thigh deep in a couple spots. I stopped just below the summit to layer up before I got above the trees.
I had the summit to myself, but it was breezy so I only stayed long enough to snap a few photos.
On the way down I encountered a handful of other hikers, the first other people I'd seen all day. The warmer temps and calmer winds on the return also made for more photo breaks.
