Home > Trip Reports > Feb 25, 2006, Red Mountain (Cle Elum Valley)

Feb 25, 2006, Red Mountain (Cle Elum Valley)

2/25/06
WA Snoqualmie Pass
4688
8
Posted by John Morrow on 2/26/06 2:31am
This is a great little known trip that can see more use. Honest, 3000 vertical feet of turns with a short approach to a beautiful view summit.  If you are after steep, though, this is almost consistently 28 to 32 degrees.  There is much steeper up there and warrants exploration.  The steeps are shorter shots though. It is in a voluntary non-motorized closure and seems to be respected.
The approach:
Erik S. and I skied up the Cooper River Road ( a left turn just before the Salmon-La-Sac Snopark) 1/2 mile on the groomed surface. Crossing the first significant creek we headed left and up into the woods.  In 1/4 mile we popped out into a clear cut and skinned up to the highest road of the unit.  Turn right on the road and go 1/4 mile to just before another creek crossing.  Head direct left and up into the largest and most beautiful of the subalpine basins between the many Red Mountain Peaks.  At 4500 feet we traversed right across the basin heading for the long NE ridge of the highest peak of Red Mountain 5890+ feet. This ridge/slope leads right to the summit.
The descent:
We skied lightly warmed dense powder (from warm aloft west winds) off the summit for 1500 vertical along the open slopes of the NE Ridge.  It is broad and could absorb alot of skiers fresh tracks.  Then we turned back across the basin holding altitude to two great north facing glades between 4600 and 4000 feet.  Temps were colder and snow was light cold powder here.  250' vertical of open tree skiing put us back on the road.  Following our up track on the road we traversed back into the big clearcut.  6 inches of powder on the firm crust from last week gave us a nice 1000' more vertical in the cut unit from 3800 to 2800 feet. Towards the bottom we were dodging huge rain runnels in the old crust.  Then it was a short ugly frozen ski through the trees to the Cooper River Road and out. It was a great day of surprisingly good snow.  Did see a skin track headed for Point 5722' when we re-entered the clearcut, and snowshoe tracks from yesterday heading into the second basin.  Glad to see others getting out into this pretty place.
Of note: there were 4 or 5 natural slides on SE slopes of greater than 35 degrees.  They slid on a thin layer of different density snow, 12" down, we think sometime during the storm cycle (there as a couple inches of new on the debris).  Several had hang fires of greater than 150 feet across.  Our rutschblock went test went on a four on this layer with a rough shear.  Hence we skied gentler terrain on different aspects.  There was a thick crust 28 to 30 inches down that would not go with many jumps.  
Nice to know of another tour in that general area. Thanks for sharing.

 At 4500 feet we traversed right across the basin heading for the long NE ridge of the highest peak of Red Mountain 5890+ feet.  


John, sure wish I had the strength to do that trip, but still felt kind'a beat up from the midweek skicamping.

I wondered about the elevation you used for the high point. At first I thought it may have been a typo, but then I thought maybe you did it just to see if anyone would notice, a la Roper and Howbert.  :) E.g. High Esmeralda.

There are two summits on the ridge, both 5880'+ from the 7.5 minute topos. The north summit, the one you ski however is significantly higher, so maybe you used 5890+ to indicate that! Last fall while taking pics for a panorama from the south summit (because trees obscure part of the west view at the north summit) I tried to estimate the height difference, but I'd need to do it more carefully to have any faith in the number.

Larry

John, thanks for sharing your info on this trip.  I've hiked up there and would really like to do it on skis, especially if there are no sno-mos.  After looking at the map, I'm confused about where you skied and how you got there.  

The map shows three major basins between Red's summits.  As I was following your description - "1/2 mile up road, then 1/4 mile up the second road, then up into the largest basin" - I placed you in the southernmost basin.  Then, presto, your description has you on the long NE ridge of the 5890 ft. summit, followed by skiing down on that ridge.  That's where I got confused.  For that to happen, one would either need to go about 2 miles up the Cooper River Rd. before heading up into the northermost of the three basins.  Or head up earlier, hit the second logging road at about 3600 ft. and follow that about a mile into the northernmost basin, which is the same one the trail goes up.

I'm wondering if you'd be willing to clarify, if not on this forum, then PM-ing me.  Thanks in advance.    

 

Alpine Rose, I was optimistic about the road distances.  The 1/4 mile reference on the upper road should be more like 1/2 mile.  You are correct, it is the northernmost basin you are aiming for, with the summer trail.  In the clearcut we diagonal toward the right edge of the unit (when looking up).  This puts one above a steep clearcut draw that is easiest to get across by using the upper road.  This draw drains the middle basin.  With cold temps and cloud cover the SE facing slopes in this basin are appealing also.
At the beginning, just remember to cross a stream before you leave the Cooper River Road.  It is more like 3/4 of a mile.  This is the creek draining the southernmost basin.  I enter the forest here because it is difficult to cross this creek furthur up in the unit.  There is a new spur road that once crossed this creek higher up but the culvert has majorly blown out and doesn't snow bridge over in most years.

I am sometimes conflicted about details but there is alot of space up there.  I also believe that only with continued regular visits by skiers and snowshoers will it stay non-motorized.  All three basins are quite pretty and subalpine in nature, though Plum Creek partially cut the southernmost one.  Still, it just feels like a place that should remain quiet, and with a bit of opportunity for solitude.  Especially with the physical challenge it poses.  I am amazed at the strength of many TaY'ers.   For my partners and I this is a one run trip.  With the satisfaction of a good push when there is some depth to the trailbreaking.  Lastly, Salmon La Sac is known for its' crud zone often between 2400 and 4000 feet.  We try to time our trips when new snow falls to 3000 feet elevation or less.  Even still the snow above is usually worth it.
Happy trails,
John

Thanks so much, John.  Since none of the other tours in the area are all that heavily visited by skiers, I don't think you need fear this area will get overrun, except perhaps by snowmobilers.  And yep, I'm quite familiar with the wonderful Cle Elum Crust.

A photo going up, with Sasse Mountain in the background:


A photo going down, with Hawkins Mountain in the distant background:
http://web3.foxinternet.net/lrobinson/pics/Red1.jpg


My cave brain is attempting to learn this computer stuff.

Hey John,

 Eric, Stephanie and I checked out this Red Mtn/Cooper R. Road spot today.  We skiied up the road about 1/2 mile, followed some tracks up left into the woods after the first real drainage to cross the road.  1/4 mile we hit the huge clearcut.  I'd say that the clearcut is approaching 1500ft of vertical.  We skinned up to the top. Instead of veering off with the road at the top of the clearcut(it looks like the road is downhill to climbers right), we continued up the same ridge.  It kept going and going.  The terrain up there was awesome, I'm definitely going back later.  We made it up to about 5400ft before turning around in the wind.  Great slopes on both sides of the ridge, and nice runs through the trees.  This place would be great on a powder day,all 3,000 ft of it.

It took about 1 hr 45 min from Mercer Island P&R to the Cooper R. Rd.  I think if you start early, you probably won't see any snowmobiles on the short way in.  We only saw 3 on the 1/2 mi to the cutoff.  (Nice having a map at the roadhead).  Snowmobiles were pretty audible until we got up around 4500 ft or so, and then drowned out by the wind.

We had bulletproof crud down in the trees and about 1/2 of the clearcut.  It was lightly snowing all day.  Upper half of the clearcut had 2 to 4 in of fresh on top today.   Dug a couple of shovel pits on a N face slope on the side of the clearcut.  4 inches of fluff on top of a 1 in thick ice layer.  The real shear came once the ice layer was broken.  Then there were a couple of layers about 8 in apart below the ice layer that broke pretty easily as well.  We tried to stay more on the East facing and on the ridge.  
Up high over 4,000 ft, there were some awesome east facing slopes, too wide to call a glade but not shaped like a bowl.   The N to NW side had some nice steep powdery runs and one huge terrain trap.  We only touched the edge of the slope on the top of the ridge, but it sure looked like fun.  Running down the ridge, we hunted out the powder deposits(up to a foot in spots), and tried to avoid the breakable crust that the wind had formed.
Down in the clearcut, the top was better than expected, middle was breakable and the bottom was nice consistent hard ice that we could at least turn in.
Really liked going as far up as we wanted and then skiing all the way back.

I am not a big fan of snowmobiles, but I am definitely going back on a good snow day.  There is so much terrain up there.  


Sorry to ramble so much, wasn't expecting much from the snow but ended up having a great day.  Thanks for sharing.



John and Gusk - thanks for sharing your trips. I have looked at Red on the map a number of times but never gotten organized to go there, but your reports and photos are a good motivation. And as John has pointed out, in a largely motorized area it may be "use it or lose it" for the designated non-motorized areas. I will definitely be making a point of letting the ranger know whenever I have enjoyed a non-motorized outing in the Cle Elum valley.

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feb-25-2006-red-mountain-cle-elum-valley
John Morrow
2006-02-26 10:31:56