A Redemption Summit on Snowking Mountain
In 2021, Alex and I set out to climb Snowking Mountain, a regal peak nestled in the depths of the North Cascades during an intense heat wave. We underestimated the amount of water sources along the route and ended up dangerously dehydrated on the most exposed section of the approach. By pure luck, we stumbled upon a tiny snow patch melting in the heat and were able to filter a couple liters of water that saved us. By the time we made it to camp at Cyclone Lake, we were exhausted, dehydrated, and mentally fried from the entire experience. Instead of attempting the summit the next morning, we packed up camp and headed back to the trailhead, tail between our legs. Once safely home, we wrote this one off for good.
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The Elusive Snowfield Peak
Over the Fourth of July weekend, my friend Kara and I climbed Snowfield Peak, a mountain that we have been wanting to climb since 2023. Each year, some weather-related event prevented us from even stepping foot on the trail. In 2023, just two days before our planned trip, the Pyramid Area wildfire sparked and the entire area was closed. We decided to find a different objective since we already had the time set aside and climbed Chiwawa Mountain in the Glacier Peak Wilderness instead. In 2024, the weekend we scheduled our Snowfield climb coincided with an oppressive heat wave that swept into the region and, not wanting to haul our overnight gear and glacier gear up in the heat, we pivoted to doing Sloan car to car instead. This year, we decided to plan the trip at the beginning of the season to try to avoid the wildfires and heat waves that can afflict the North Cascades later in the season. The strategy paid off. Finally we got our Snowfield summit!
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The Season Finale: Mt. Shasta via the Hotlum/Wintun Route
For the finale of our spring ski season, Alex and I had hoped to do something big, something that would be the culmination of six months’ worth of long days in the mountains and training, something that we couldn’t have done in January, before we logged all of the miles and vert on skis. Initially, we had our mind set on Rainier via the Emmons, but early June reports on the state of the upper Emmons steered us away. It seemed route-finding around crevasses and over snow bridges was extra tricky this year. But then we thought, what about a different 14,000’ Cascade volcano? What about Mt. Shasta? The ten hour drive intimidated us, as did the 7,200’ ascent and the 14,180’ high point, but the forecast for the weekend of June 6-8 looked ideal and recent trip reports were promising enough that we decided to make the long haul to California.
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A Paradise Classic: The Nisqually Chute
We try to plan a ski trip for every Memorial Day weekend since a long weekend at the end of May lends itself well to big spring ski tours. This year was no exception. We initially set the weekend aside as a potential Rainier summit attempt via the Emmons, but on Thursday the Rainier climbing rangers posted a blog post detailing how sketchy the route currently is. Recent snow created shallow snow bridges over big crevasses, and there were reports of highly capable parties taking their skis off and belaying each other down the most precarious sections. This did not sound like something we wanted to do, so we looked for other options. After quite a bit of waffling, we decided to keep it chill for the weekend and go on a couple of half day ski tours in Mt. Rainier National Park.
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Mt. Garibaldi via Brohm Ridge Attempt
This has been the spring of attempting ski tours that have been on my radar for awhile, but for whatever reason were pushed to the back burner while we prioritized other trips. Mt. Garibaldi, just outside of Squamish, was on that list. Its steep NE face is an alluring ski line and the surrounding Coast Mountains make it a beautiful tour.
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Sahale Spring Ski Tour
I’ve visited Sahale twice in the past, once in fall and once in summer and on both those trips I marveled at the views, but I also wondered what the area looks like blanketed in snow. I put the idea of a Sahale ski tour in the back of my mind and waited for the right conditions. Our friends Adam and Meredith own a property on Cascade River Road and Adam mentioned earlier this year that he really wanted to ski Sahale too, so we put it at the top of our list and waited for a good forecast. This past weekend was forecasted to be favorable, clear skies at night to ensure a solid refreeze and sunny during the day for (fingers crossed) good corn. After years of Sahale being an idea in the back of our minds, it was finally going to become a reality.
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Middle Sister Up and Over
This past weekend Alex and I made a bit of a last minute decision to drive all the way to Sisters, OR to climb and ski Middle Sister. We had this tour slated as a potential Memorial Day trip, but when all of Washington looked gloomy over the weekend, I searched for sunnier locations. There was always the option of staying home and having a chill weekend, especially after being in Alaska the previous two weekends, but spring ski season is short and if we could get out there, I wanted to get out there.
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Thompson Pass - Stairway Chutes
Our overall gloomy weather with brief windows in Thompson Pass continued on Friday, and our group decided to take advantage of it and head out on another bigger tour. This time we had our sights set on Stairway Chutes. Just 2,000' from Highway 4 lies a cirque encased in couloirs and chutes. To the east is the imposing Mt. Dimond, with steep couloirs pouring off its flanks and to the west is the area known as the Stairway Chutes. Much of the rock near Thompson Pass is tilted on an edge, creating stacked lines of perfect chutes of differing difficulties. Some are narrower, some are shorter, some are wider, some are STEEP.
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