March 12-14, 2004, Chiwaukum Mountains
3/12/04
2926
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My friends Garth and Will and I took advantage of a good forecast for Saturday to do some skiing and climbing in the Chiwaukum Mountains. On Friday we drove from the Stevens Pass highway two miles up the Whitepine Creek road to the Cascade Meadows church camp gate. From there we skied 1-1/2 miles to the road end. We found the Whitepine trail skiable with just a few short stream gaps to walk across. Travel was much more pleasant than when my brother and I traversed the Chiwaukums in April 1989:
http://www.alpenglow.org/themes/subalpine/cd-3025-003-carl-piolet-tree.html
As we skied up Wildhorse Creek, we consulted the map and altimeter frequently to locate the trail. Being on the trail saves a lot of energy. We camped in the basin just NW of Big Chiwaukum Mountain at about 5200 feet.
On Saturday we used crampons (both ski and boot) to cross the west flank of Big Chiwaukum and climb to Upper Grace Lake. We cramponed up the north shoulder of Snowgrass Mountain, where we had fine views of the Stuart Range, Mt Rainier, Mt Daniel, the Stevens Pass area, the Monte Cristo group and Glacier Peak. We tagged the summit of Snowgrass, then dropped our packs and skied its huge SE flank into the South Fork Chiwaukum Creek drainage. There was fine corn snow here, but we didn't go all the way to the valley bottom due to lack of time.
We skinned back up to our packs, then cramponed back down the north side of Snowgrass to Upper Grace Lake. This aspect didn't soften at all during the day. We put our skis back on and traversed toward Big Chiwaukum Mountain. We climbed the last few hundred feet with ice axe and crampons. The summit rock of Big Chiwaukum required delicate climbing in ski boots. We descended on foot and ski and returned to our camp at sunset.
The clouds increased Saturday night and some snow fell. The weather improved somewhat Sunday morning and we had a pleasant ski down the trail to Whitepine Creek. Continuous snow cover made our return to the road relatively easy and enjoyable. The trail will become patchy very soon. I think March is the best time to do this trip.
http://www.alpenglow.org/themes/subalpine/cd-3025-003-carl-piolet-tree.html
As we skied up Wildhorse Creek, we consulted the map and altimeter frequently to locate the trail. Being on the trail saves a lot of energy. We camped in the basin just NW of Big Chiwaukum Mountain at about 5200 feet.
On Saturday we used crampons (both ski and boot) to cross the west flank of Big Chiwaukum and climb to Upper Grace Lake. We cramponed up the north shoulder of Snowgrass Mountain, where we had fine views of the Stuart Range, Mt Rainier, Mt Daniel, the Stevens Pass area, the Monte Cristo group and Glacier Peak. We tagged the summit of Snowgrass, then dropped our packs and skied its huge SE flank into the South Fork Chiwaukum Creek drainage. There was fine corn snow here, but we didn't go all the way to the valley bottom due to lack of time.
We skinned back up to our packs, then cramponed back down the north side of Snowgrass to Upper Grace Lake. This aspect didn't soften at all during the day. We put our skis back on and traversed toward Big Chiwaukum Mountain. We climbed the last few hundred feet with ice axe and crampons. The summit rock of Big Chiwaukum required delicate climbing in ski boots. We descended on foot and ski and returned to our camp at sunset.
The clouds increased Saturday night and some snow fell. The weather improved somewhat Sunday morning and we had a pleasant ski down the trail to Whitepine Creek. Continuous snow cover made our return to the road relatively easy and enjoyable. The trail will become patchy very soon. I think March is the best time to do this trip.
Here's the view south from near the top of Snowgrass Mountain.
Nice photo, Lowell! I backpacked around that area one time and thought it seemed like an island of North Cascades in the middle of the Alpine Lakes, as in the big terrain in your photo
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