Took a break from XC skiing the trails to do an aerial trip. Trails nicely groomed the entire way to each hut.

We snowshoed up to Snow Bowl for an overnight stay. The road had considerable snow and ice coverage, but was manageable with my two wheeled drive vehicle with chains. The road was gated at the lower Sno-Park and the first .5 miles of the trail had limited snow cover and was basically an ice sheet, but soon it improved and the trail was in fine condition for snowshoes. We enjoyed the climb up with partial cloud coverage and we finally reached the top of the ridge and Snow Bowl Hut after about 4 hours with stops. The views were spectacular! We had looks at Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Rainier. We also were able to spot High Hut and High Rock Lookout along the horizon. There were a total of 10 people in the hut for the night with plenty of room to spread out and have some personal space in the sleeping area. The hut was fully stocked with cooking gear and entertainment options. The hut was heated to the point that I actually overheated in my 30 degree sleeping bag. After a decent nights sleep we woke up to a cloud covered Rainier and enjoyed a pancake breakfast courtesy of a past visitor's donation to the communal pantry. We packed up and started our speedy decent down with some small snow flurries along the way. We reached the lower Sno-Park after only about 1.5 hours and headed out from an all in all good trip!

Did some trail running with a friend and my dog on the MTTA trails to Snow Bowl. He couldn't believe we call this a hut, so I told him the nickname some of us patrollers have for it: Taj-mahut. A perfect inversion weather-day with warm temps. All three volcanoes glistening in the sun. A gift for this local-grown college kid now living in Nebraska.

Crystal clear views of Mt. Rainier, Adams, and St. Helens from just below Snow Bowl. The hut is clean and fully stocked for guests. Just bring food and sleeping bag. Wide trails (Forest Service roads) that are easy to hike or ski/snowshoe when there is snow. 3 - 4 m. round-trip from the snopark parking lots. Even though we don't currently have snow, you'll still need an annual Snopark permit (or a one day permit + Discover Pass for day hikers). Outstanding sunsets from Snow Bowl as well as nearby High Hut, yurt, and Copper Creek hut on the North side of Ashford. Check out their Facebook page at Mt. Tahoma Trails for photos and current posts. A great hike or overnight location!

We got to the trail as groomers finished their work - an all volunteer crew. The road in was mainly bare of snow and ice to the snow park. Snow Park & Discover Passes are required. You'll carry skis about a hundred yards to consistent snow. Melt/freeze crusts have been going on. Snow is thin to 3000 and tends to be hard and icy spots to 3500. Not much crust above 3500. Fresh snow would be great. The trail is a long climb, steep in places. It's definitely an aerobic work out. It's a challenging descent. The road is narrow if the snow is hard bumpy control can be tough. But it is beautiful and MTTA has done a great job on the trails and huts. If you're up to it it's classic. More info: http://www.skimtta.com/ Sorry, breathing too hard for photos.