2/20 Sauk Mtn
2/20/10
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
1538
0
A buddy and I headed up to Sauk early Saturday. We expected a lower snowline but you can drive to just past the gravel pit and skin from there. New to the mountain, we bushwhacked up the main avalanche path that crosses the road. (Not recommended, the trees were brutal.) Starting at 8 am, we booted halfway up the southwest snowfield where the summer trail goes, waited about 45 minutes or so at 9:30 am for the face to warm up a bit more, then scaled the final steep pitch with ice axes to the summit ridge. We skied a run down the northeast side of the ridge toward Sauk Lake. The snow was wind blown, a little baked, but really carvable and stable. Plenty of coverage out there. After killing sufficient time soaking in the views waiting for the sun to soften the west side a little more, we dropped back down our ascent route. The snow on the west face had turned to some great corn for the descent to the truck. It felt like February on the east side of Sauk and May on the west. The ride down was steep and slushy and fun. We picked a route below the summer parking area through patches of dirt and grass and hit the road below the last switchback. We let gravity do the work until the snow ran out, then walked the last quarter mile to the car about 3:30 pm. A nice blend of winter and spring skiing.
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