May 8, 2004, Hawkins Mountain

Hawkins Mountain- Scott K, Brad T and I booted up the ridge just south of Cabin Creek. We used John Morrow's May 1, 2004 trip report as a guide and he's right- this is a great approach. The first mile or so is rather steep, but it required very little in the way of bushwhacking. The ridge opens up at about 4200 feet and the top of Hawkins comes into view, up and to the left.

We booted up the entire way as the snow was quite firm. High cloud cover with an occasional sun break made for perfect hiking temps. We made the top and viewed fast approaching weather (snow high, rain lower). Stopped for pictures and a drink, then prepared to ski.

From about 200 vf below the top, we skied off the north-east side instead of the south side as the bowl looked to be in good shape. This bowl fell steeply away maybe 1500 to 2000 feet or so, and as temping as it looked, we skied only to a prominent col separating this north-facing bowl from an east-facing bowl. So we skied down, tending skier's right, to the col and then into the east-facing bowl (many old snowmobile tracks, but not an issue). Overall, the snow was mostly firm down to about 5000 feet. We then traversed up/back over the ridge and skied a couple shoots to catch the decent route. Very nice, very scenic and not too committing. If the weather stays cool, this tour should hold for another week or two.