November 23, 2010, Hidden Lake Peak

Still trying to take advantage of early season access we drove up the Cascade River Road to the winter gate at MP 20 hoping of doing Sahale. It was windy in the valley and there were big snow plumes flowing off the peaks so we retreated to Hidden Lake Peak. We drove its access road to 3,000 ft elevation and skinned from there to the trailhead, maybe a mile or so further. It was quite cold (negative 4 F was the lowest we saw for the day), but sheltered from the NE wind. The trail through the old clear cut and forested section was not really ski-able (half covered slide alder and lots of windfall trees). We booted, crawled, and survival skied here. Once in the alpine, the going was easier, but there were near surface facets forming in most areas. We turned around at 6,300 ft where we encountered some serious wind slab. The snow on our ski down was amazing blower, but still quite shallow (2-3 ft).

This was a fun day in place I would normally not get to in winter conditions.