Rated "advanced with high avalanche potential," Jove Peak is one of those coveted ski tours that you do only when the conditions are right. Several times I started for Jove Peak and had to settle for doing runs on the north slope of Rainy Pass, which is reached at the end of the Smith Brook Road.

Smith Brook is one of the first tours attempted by new backcountry skiers. It is easily accessed from Route 2, offers inspiring forest scenery and a rushing creek for a pleasant, sometimes thrilling, descent.

For all these reasons, Smith Brook Road quickly becomes tracked up and mundane. More adventurous skiers will bypass the picnickers and brave the avalanche crossing to reach Rainy Pass, also called Nason Saddle, 3.5 miles from the start of the road. The north-facing bowl offers easy to moderate runs in powdery snow through scrubby conifers.

Two miles to the northwest, Jove Peak gleams white and shining. I can't count the number of times I wish I'd gotten up early enough to make the trek over there.

Finally last February, my husband and I committed to an early Saturday morning to ski Jove Peak. The sun was out and a foot of snow had been dumped in the last week, but had been stable since. The avalanches, if they were coming, would have happened already. It seemed like good conditions for Jove Peak.

The ice-clad rocks and willow branches in Smith Brook shimmered in the morning silence as we huffed again to Rainy Pass. As we reached the Pass, the sun angled through the trees, but had not yet touched the north bowl. For this reason, the bowl is nearly always reliable for a Utah-like ski experience to the bottom. Today was no different. So far, so good.

We warmed up on a first run through fluffy powder that lasted less than five minutes. Then we put the skins back on to cross the valley and toward the south ramp of Jove.

It is one thing to look across the valley at a gleaming white peak and imagine that the slope you see is just as fluffy as the north-facing bowl you've just skied off Rainy Pass. However, the sunny weather and warmer-than-usual temperatures had wreaked havoc on the powder, alternately melting and hardening until every slope under the sun's gaze had become crust.

Breaking trail through crust made the approach to Jove Peak seem a lot longer than two miles. The summit approach took us up the south side, which was still gleaming, but with patches of ice. My skis slipped out to the sides and I had to plunk each ski purposefully for the skin to gain purchase on the icy surface. I slipped once, and slid a good 50 feet before I could punch my fists and knees through the crust and stop my fall.

Just when I thought my knees couldn't take any more shaky steps, we rounded onto the eastern ridge, which while exposed, offered terrific snow conditions. Impressive cornices extended off the ridge and we quickly made our way to the summit.

At 6,007 feet, Jove Peak was windswept and crusty. We huddled behind a clump of trees and enjoyed the view of Union Peak and Lichtenberg Mountain. I was not looking forward to the ride down. The gleaming slope I had admired from Rainy Pass had turned to pure ice under the sun's rays of the previous days. Fortunately I learned to ski in New Hampshire, where the runs typically feature black ice and rock.

The raspy sound of skis scraping on a hard surface was familiar to me, and I scrape-turned my way down Jove Peak with increasing confidence. For the first 500 feet the crust was solid and it seemed the descent would be salvaged after all.

Then SHREK! My skis punched through the crust and I was down. My elbows and knees left dents as I extricated myself. I reconsidered the remaining slope, which at a lower altitude had suffered more melting from the sun. Breakable crust the whole way; a Cascade specialty.

Lacking any grace or style whatsoever, I made my way back down to the valley floor. I was exhausted from the effort of scraping carefully on the surface to avoid breaking through, and from pulling myself out when I broke through anyway. My husband, who weighs 50 pounds more than me, had it worse. I don't think either of us made a complete turn on the lower half of Jove.

From here we decided to make a loop. Rather than heading south back to Rainy Pass, we skied west toward Union Gap. Like all "shortcuts," this route involved more elevation gain, about 600 feet to gain the ridge before heading down toward Smith Brook. The shortcut eliminates the upper section of Smith Brook Road, where the avalanches may be loosened by sun in the afternoon. The route drops you onto Smith Brook Road at the hairpin turn. From here it is a two-mile standing glide to the road end.

When the conditions are right this is a trip that I will definitely do again. I still want that gleaming, white south slope of Jove Peak.

— Patricia Hughes, Livin' the Life for MountainZone.com