What a start to the season, lousy that is!  After a teaser in November that gave us a few good skis, it's been more like the Texas drought so far in December.  There's still some good snow and skiing if you get enough altitude and find the right places, but the forecast isn't great for new snow through Xmas.  We can only hope this is the January thaw we've seen the past two years, and we'll see a continuing dump once this stagnant high pressure ridge moves out again and the jet stream track starts bringing in the snow again. 

Until then I want to tell you that there's still some good skiing at and above Smith Butte Sno-Park on Mt Adams.  Usually the road isn't plowed that far any more, but this year they've been logging further up, so the road is open almost all the way to the Yakima Reservation boundary.  This opens some trails that are usually a long slog to get to, so get out and do some exploring while you can.  Just be sure to have your Sno-Park permit and a good idea of the roads and trails in the area because they're not well marked.

And get that snow dance going while you're at it... we want to ski some old haunts that are basically bare ground right now.