Benzene Alley – January 8, 2015

Found adequate snow cover and stability under Benzene Peak today. Bumpy hard with 4-8″ of nice powder. Brush was not an issue the way we went which was not on the “braap”  trail. We skinned twice back and forth up towards the rock bands, mooching powder runs between old, rugged avalanche debris fields. Nice hidden stash with some 35-45 degree runs. These slopes can provide some good skiing from the rock bands when stable, though as of today we tracked up the few ribbons of good stuff.  The summit NF line looks in  good shape, but you might want to take the main trail as a better approach than where we were

1-8-16A

Under Benzene Peak

1-8-16C

Ski-to-the-Sea