June25, 2016, Grindstone Mtn

6-25-2016. Kyle Davis suggested a tour at the south end of the Chiwakum Traverse, which I have not done, and it sounded unlikely, but I was interested in the area so I happily tagged along. It turned out to be a great tour, with skinning in both directions and good skiing on north and east aspects. The steepest skiing was on the east shoulder of Grindstone Mtn in the early afternoon on return from the Cape Horn tour. We had both soft snow, and no sluffing. It was perfect. The approach is a maintained trail, in better condition than the Colchuck trail, about 4 miles, dry sneaker walking. Once we reached Icicle Ridge, we put on skis and didn't take them off exept for transitions, one 20 foot boulder crossing, and the final boot up the east ridge of Grindstone. This is a great area for skiing, and I suspect it gets little day traffic. There are probably periodic skiers headed through on the Chiwakum Traverse, but there should/could be lots of day skiers just enjoying the easy access skiing. We also had great views south to Cashmere, Stuart, and a few peaks I couldn't name.

Here is short video of the skiing on Saturday:


Next to/above Kyle's helmet is the slope we chose to ski off the Cape Horn ridge. We pieced it together and skied all the way back to Grindstone. Snowgrass Mtn in the far-ground.


Skiing from Cape Horn:


First tracks of the day beyond from Icicle Ridge headed north. North side of Cashmere in the background.


**edited to fix pictures**