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Winter Scramble - Pratt Mt

day scramble of Pratt Mt

Mark Scheffer Mark Scheffer
November 30, 2020
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • This was a backup for another trip that was likely to have high avy danger due to NOAA forecast.  The road was bare and wet to the trailhead.  

Due to a NOAA forecast that had high snow fall predictions we changed from surprise lake to Pratt mt.  The approach was pretty typical and we put on snowshoes at the Talapus Lake trail intersection.  

The approach to the Pratt ridge was moderately deep snow (2'+) and we were the first up with no trail broken in before us.   However, when we got to the rock outcropping that you pass on the right side, the snow was surprisingly shallow, with 6-9" max depth. As such it quickly became a slippery mess that had the person trying to break in a trail effectively hanging from tree to the next tree to not slide down the steep treed slope below.  

At this point I elected to call the trip and turn around as all agreed it was going to be pretty slippery and not safe to continue, much less descend on later.