November 20, 2004, Rainy/Heather Pass, N. Cascades
11/20/04
WA Cascades East Slopes North
3623
7
Skip and i left Seattle Friday evening at 9pm and drove to WA Pass. there was about 5-7" of new snow on the Blue Lake parking lot (~5400) when we arrived. we camped out of the truck and woke up at 7:30am, and after coffee and breakfast, we decided to drive back down to Rainy Pass for some skiing. although there was plenty of snow to ski at WA pass, we decided to ski someplace new to both of us. at Rainy Pass (4855 ft.), we donned skis and followed the Lake Ann trail to Heather Pass (~5900 ft.). as we climbed from Rainy Pass, the depth of new snow gradually increased from 5-7" to about 12" at Heather Pass. the layer beneath the fluffy powder was consolidated snow with a hard crust from the previous month/weeks. interestingly, on the east slopes below Point 6870 we found significant wind effects. in fact, we found windslabs 8-10" thick that were easy to move and decided to turn around half-way up to Point 6870 from Heather Pass. the ski down to Heather Pass from our turn-around point was enjoyable as Skip demonstrates:
at Heather Pass, we decided to drop down the north side into a drainage below Black Peak, then follow the creek back down to the road. the snow on the north side was fantastic, between 12-18" of unconsolidated and stable powder! half way down, however, we found ourselves above a rather large cliff band with no easy access to the creek below. after an hour of traversing right, then far left, we decided to march back up to Heather Pass and descend via the Lake Ann trail. a wonderful day, overall.
click here for a view of Heather Pass and Black Peak
-kam
at Heather Pass, we decided to drop down the north side into a drainage below Black Peak, then follow the creek back down to the road. the snow on the north side was fantastic, between 12-18" of unconsolidated and stable powder! half way down, however, we found ourselves above a rather large cliff band with no easy access to the creek below. after an hour of traversing right, then far left, we decided to march back up to Heather Pass and descend via the Lake Ann trail. a wonderful day, overall.
click here for a view of Heather Pass and Black Peak
-kam
Wow nice lookin day! 8)
Niiiice.
Looks like the Skipper got a new pack.
Looks like the Skipper got a new pack.
Ron, you've a keen eye. It's the newest member to my Osprey family.
A few more pics for interested parties:
http://community.webshots.com/slideshow?ID=220306813&key=imAGyr&pos=0
A few more pics for interested parties:
http://community.webshots.com/slideshow?ID=220306813&key=imAGyr&pos=0
I've had the same thought about dropping off the other side of Heather Pass. It always looks so much more inviting than the normal luge track heading downhill to the highway...but I figured there might be some reason why the route into Black Peak doesn't ascend that valley directly. Maybe your cliff is the reason.
Sounds like you scored this weekend. Good call.
Sounds like you scored this weekend. Good call.
Wow, I'm jealous! Neat photos (both of you)
Mark,
Glancing at the map, it looks as though a person could work his or her way down to the valley floor in one particular section--the trouble was we couldn't find it. My thought afterward was we didn't head far enough northeast (the thought at the time being that we were already too far northeast). If I'm right, it would have required our getting across a sketchy chute and would have been a steep run [read: downclimb] through thick, thick trees. I could be completely wrong, however.
The other possibility for getting into that valley may be down a gully closer to the cirque. When we reached that drainage Kam poked his nose over the side of the cliff to see if the gully went, but he couldn't tell. As we saw later in the truck, Burgdorfer has it labeled in his book but doesn't speak to it as a possibility. It, too, remains a mystery.
All this said, however, it probably was best that we came back up; the valley was littered with only partially covered boulders and going through the trees on the traverse back to the road would have proved interesting...
Glancing at the map, it looks as though a person could work his or her way down to the valley floor in one particular section--the trouble was we couldn't find it. My thought afterward was we didn't head far enough northeast (the thought at the time being that we were already too far northeast). If I'm right, it would have required our getting across a sketchy chute and would have been a steep run [read: downclimb] through thick, thick trees. I could be completely wrong, however.
The other possibility for getting into that valley may be down a gully closer to the cirque. When we reached that drainage Kam poked his nose over the side of the cliff to see if the gully went, but he couldn't tell. As we saw later in the truck, Burgdorfer has it labeled in his book but doesn't speak to it as a possibility. It, too, remains a mystery.
All this said, however, it probably was best that we came back up; the valley was littered with only partially covered boulders and going through the trees on the traverse back to the road would have proved interesting...
Nice location for a trip! I would like to try the ridge on the other side of the Lake Ann before 20 closes this year... Last spring when skiing Black peak, we had scoped out those valleys as alternate routes to avoid the avalanche prone traverse from heather pass to lewis lake, and to possibly shorten the trip.
From arial photos, it actually looked like the valley draining Wing Lake rather than the one draining Lewis Lake had more potential for a ski descent (one valley to the north) - Less cliff bands on the descent and more consistent old growth instead of brush for heading back to the road. We didnt actually take the route, due to limited visibility in the morning and a low snowpack in the forest.
- Kevin
From arial photos, it actually looked like the valley draining Wing Lake rather than the one draining Lewis Lake had more potential for a ski descent (one valley to the north) - Less cliff bands on the descent and more consistent old growth instead of brush for heading back to the road. We didnt actually take the route, due to limited visibility in the morning and a low snowpack in the forest.
- Kevin
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