Just a quick report to save everyone a trip up. I was up the Ashlu Main on Sunday, January 11th to see what's up with the snowpack. The road was plowed to the power plant at the bottom of the mainline (about Mile 22). Skinned up from there on an inadequate base for skiing down. Quads had made it to the top of the hill above the canyon just beyond Cassetta Creek. After that it was just snowmobile tracks all the way to the head pond at Mile 26. Took just over an hour from the bottom. No trail breaking to that point. The snow was deep enough for the ski down from where the quads stopped. They'd really churned the snow up.

Broke trail to A620 Pokosha Creek road about 2 km beyond the head pond. Turned up the roadbed to the end, another 3 km. Snow depth actually decreased once off the mainline. It might have something to do with cold air drainage or perhaps the roadbed is not cleared as wide so the trees trap warmth better. I had to walk with the skis for at least 500 meters just beyond the 4x4 parking and then there was lots of running water to cross all the way to the end.

Once on the trail proper, in the trees the snow pretty much disappeared. It took me about 3.5 hours from the bottom to reach the trail. Snowpack is desperately thin all the way to the alpine. Called it a day.