April 10-11, 2004, Snow King Mountain
4/10/04
2570
2
Minot Maser and I got a leisurely 7am start from Seattle. Our drive up road 1550 off the Cascade River Road was cut short by an enormous old-growth snag that had fallen across the road at 1500'. A chain saw wouldn't have gotten us too much further, as there is a complete washout only 30 feet beyond the log. This washout is approximately 2 miles and 900 vf below the "washout" described in the Burgdorfer guide. There is an additional smaller washout in between the new one and Burgdorfer's end of the road (2400').
The climber's trail starts directly from the end of the road, and like most Cascades climber's trails, it is steep. It appears to get very little traffic and is difficult to follow. We reached snow at approx. 3500', booted for 500' vf and then skinned up.
Burgdorfer's route description for the approach follows the crest of the ridge as it climbs and descends two 400-500' hills. We found that sticking to the crest is highly recommended. (If rain or snow are possibilities in the forecast, I recommend taking along some flagging to make the return trip easier) We camped on a knoll above Cyclone Lake at 5600' with a spectacular sunset.
Starting from the lake at 8am we skinned the long, sweeping ridge that forms the north and west cirque above Cyclone Lake. The snow was just starting to soften on the summit pyramid 2000' above the lake 1.25 hrs later. We enjoyed a nice long brunch on the top, soaking the views of the Ptarmigan Traverse peaks, Buckindy, Eldorado, the Pickets, and the increadible skiing terrain on nearby Munchler. (Has anybody out there ever skied Munchler?).
The firnspiegel had just softened up when we started our descent, providing us with some really pleasant corn skiing in one of the most spectacular settings I've skied in the North Cascades. Great snow and aspect, perfect weather, and some fine company made for a very memorable weekend.
The climber's trail starts directly from the end of the road, and like most Cascades climber's trails, it is steep. It appears to get very little traffic and is difficult to follow. We reached snow at approx. 3500', booted for 500' vf and then skinned up.
Burgdorfer's route description for the approach follows the crest of the ridge as it climbs and descends two 400-500' hills. We found that sticking to the crest is highly recommended. (If rain or snow are possibilities in the forecast, I recommend taking along some flagging to make the return trip easier) We camped on a knoll above Cyclone Lake at 5600' with a spectacular sunset.
Starting from the lake at 8am we skinned the long, sweeping ridge that forms the north and west cirque above Cyclone Lake. The snow was just starting to soften on the summit pyramid 2000' above the lake 1.25 hrs later. We enjoyed a nice long brunch on the top, soaking the views of the Ptarmigan Traverse peaks, Buckindy, Eldorado, the Pickets, and the increadible skiing terrain on nearby Munchler. (Has anybody out there ever skied Munchler?).
The firnspiegel had just softened up when we started our descent, providing us with some really pleasant corn skiing in one of the most spectacular settings I've skied in the North Cascades. Great snow and aspect, perfect weather, and some fine company made for a very memorable weekend.
Here're some pics from our trip, first one is skiing off the summit of Snowking with Mutchler in background and second is view looking back from approach, Mutchler on left, Snowking on right.
I think your last picture is the one that is suppose to accompany the route description by Burgdorfer. The picture in my edition was taken from Ruth Mountain.
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