Muddling through fall

Winter is doing its fits and starts routine so far. One or two decent snow storms, then warm rain and flooding, and now wind/snow are on the way.

With the road to Rainier flooded out (supposed to open this weekend thankfully), I did a couple hikes last weekend: Kendall Katwalk on Saturday:

And McClellan Butte with a couple friends on Sunday, both in warm weather (50s).

The weekend before, Amy and I did a little skiing on Rainier, although the weather was a bit challenging: cold wind, snow and frozen mist, etc. The photo below is Amy and I eating lunch, taken by another party:

We later learned that we were only about 500 feet from breaking above the clouds and into the sun. Oh well.

After a wet, cold trip like this, the living room looks like this:

With the iffy weather, I've been doing quite a bit of work on gear. Waxing skis, modifying boot parts, etc. Three years in the making, I finally have my gear lineup exactly the way I want it. Behold the unparalled beauty:

From left to right, things progress from light, meadow-skipping, touring stuff to heavy, tank-grade mountain-destroying stuff. I can't wait for snow.