April 17, 2008, Colchuck Peak
4/17/08
WA Cascades East Slopes Central
3007
1
Tyler, Terry and I took advantage of the nice weather window and headed off to do Colchuk Peak today. Easy to get an early start without the painful early departure from Seattle as we crashed at Ty's place... a whopping 50m off the Icicle Creek Road!
The gate is still closed at the turn-off from Icicle Creek Road. This makes the total ascent about 6650 feet for the day. We left at 6:15AM and covered the 3.9 miles to the trailhead in 1.25 hours. Snow coverage started about half way up the road but we didn't bother putting on skis as the walking was pretty easy in approach shoes. From the Mountaineers Creek TH to Colchuk lake took 2 hours. No problem finding the way as a ski/boot track is well laid in. The trail is icy in spots on the way up to the lake as there has not been much recent snow. We put on our ski boots about 1/3 of the way up to the lake from the junction with the Stuart Lake trail and finally put on skis just before arriving at the lake.
Easy skinning across the lake. The ski up to Colchuck saddles proved to be a bit of work as the sun had not really warmed the slopes and air temps stayed low, leaving the slope pretty firm in spots with crust in others. We managed to keep the skis on all the way to the saddle except for one short section 2/3 of the way up that got a bit too firm for our tastes. After that section, we skinned the rest of the way as the sun was finally hitting the upper part of the glacier. We made it to the saddle by 11:30AM and enjoyed a nice break in the sun. Given that the three of us had each just finished working a block of night shifts at our various jobs, it was a miracle we didnt' just doze off in the warm sunshine and bail on the summit. Foregoing the nap, we booted up to the summit with skis on the back. There's a well-worn boot path... a bit firm and icy in spots but overall not too bad to follow. Great views of Stuart, Sherpa and Argonaut from the top.
The initial ski down was nice as the sun had warmed the southeast facing slopes off the summit. The lower portion of the descent to the saddle may not be skiable much longer as the rocks are showing a lot and we found one narrow chute through there. By the time we got back to the saddle, the sun had hit the entire Colchuck glacier. Unfortunately, it did nothing to warm/soften it up as we found hardpack and or a skiable crust almost the entire way down. About the last 100 feet down to the lake was nice corn.
From there it was out across the lake and down to the trail. A not so pleasant ski on the trail out to the TH as it was still pretty icy but eventually we hit the road, skiing/skating the 2 miles until we hit bare road, walking the rest and arriving back at the cars at 5:30 PM and at Heidelberger's for some major gut bombs by 6.
The gate is still closed at the turn-off from Icicle Creek Road. This makes the total ascent about 6650 feet for the day. We left at 6:15AM and covered the 3.9 miles to the trailhead in 1.25 hours. Snow coverage started about half way up the road but we didn't bother putting on skis as the walking was pretty easy in approach shoes. From the Mountaineers Creek TH to Colchuk lake took 2 hours. No problem finding the way as a ski/boot track is well laid in. The trail is icy in spots on the way up to the lake as there has not been much recent snow. We put on our ski boots about 1/3 of the way up to the lake from the junction with the Stuart Lake trail and finally put on skis just before arriving at the lake.
Easy skinning across the lake. The ski up to Colchuck saddles proved to be a bit of work as the sun had not really warmed the slopes and air temps stayed low, leaving the slope pretty firm in spots with crust in others. We managed to keep the skis on all the way to the saddle except for one short section 2/3 of the way up that got a bit too firm for our tastes. After that section, we skinned the rest of the way as the sun was finally hitting the upper part of the glacier. We made it to the saddle by 11:30AM and enjoyed a nice break in the sun. Given that the three of us had each just finished working a block of night shifts at our various jobs, it was a miracle we didnt' just doze off in the warm sunshine and bail on the summit. Foregoing the nap, we booted up to the summit with skis on the back. There's a well-worn boot path... a bit firm and icy in spots but overall not too bad to follow. Great views of Stuart, Sherpa and Argonaut from the top.
The initial ski down was nice as the sun had warmed the southeast facing slopes off the summit. The lower portion of the descent to the saddle may not be skiable much longer as the rocks are showing a lot and we found one narrow chute through there. By the time we got back to the saddle, the sun had hit the entire Colchuck glacier. Unfortunately, it did nothing to warm/soften it up as we found hardpack and or a skiable crust almost the entire way down. About the last 100 feet down to the lake was nice corn.
From there it was out across the lake and down to the trail. A not so pleasant ski on the trail out to the TH as it was still pretty icy but eventually we hit the road, skiing/skating the 2 miles until we hit bare road, walking the rest and arriving back at the cars at 5:30 PM and at Heidelberger's for some major gut bombs by 6.
You guys were moving on the way up. Sounds like a beautiful day. Interesting that the recent snow on the west side hasn't made it over that far.
Scott
Scott
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