Earlier I wrote about meeting Ray Willman. Over several years we had many adventures together, a lot of which occurred while skiing.

For whatever reason, Ray liked my company. Probably because I gave him a lot to laugh about and because I was always willing to follow him to places I may well not have tried without his lead. He usually chose to be away from the “maddening crowd” so we frequently skied where few, if anyone, was skiing. On Mt. Spokane that usually meant skiing on the south side of the mountain south of Chair 1, including out of bounds on the open south face down to the road. From there we had to ski and skate back to the campground area and back to the chairlift on the B-29 trail.

Early on one clear blue-sky morning, we decided to go up Chair 1, hike the short distance to the top of the south face, and ski that open slope before anyone else got there. When we looked down, we were surprised to see the entire slope was covered with one- to two-inch-tall ice crystals reflecting the morning sun. When we started down, our skis would break the crystals off and they sounded like wind chimes tinkling in the breeze. 

That was an amazing experience so we hurried back up the chair to try it again, but when we got there it was all over. The sun had melted the ice and we simply had smooth cruising in soft snow. 

That was the first and only time I have seen hoar frost. I’m really glad I followed Ray’s lead and had that extraordinary experience. 

Ken Kaiyala
5-6-2024