Hwy 20- Gate-to-Gate Tour?

I really loved this show when I was a kid.

<br><br>At the risk of more thread drift, here's a thread about the other program we did with Exploration Northwest, in 1980: <br><br> www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat...1/an/0/page/0#416261

After the skiing program, they asked Gordy to come up with something more adventurous. He suggested a climb of the NE arete of Golden Horn. (Gordy made the first ascent with Jim Walseth the previous summer.)

Some day I should write up a little story about these trips on my website ...

Could there be a early season window of opportunity where there isn't enough snow to 'bile on but enough to ski?

Could there be a early season window of opportunity where there isn't enough snow to 'bile on but enough to ski?

<br><br>I'm afraid you don't need much to snowmobile on... a few inches will do.<br>(if anything ,you might have enough snow to sled, but not to ski).<br>I think the area around Canyon creek is usually very thin (the low point of the road, at around 1700ft).<br><br>Your best bet might be to wait for an avalanche to cover the highway at Ross Lake... (of course, I'm thinking west-side approach here... I'm sure the Mazama side is always full of sled heads).  I've seen a 30ft high wall of debris from Ruby Mtn... a few hard-cores get their sleds through, but I bet it keeps out most - until the DOT plows through it (which they will do, even before they start opening the highway).<br>Wait for a bunch of snow followed by a big pineapple express

Your best bet might be to wait for an avalanche to cover the highway at Ross Lake...

<br><br>Although it's no good for a gate-to-gate trip, another approach is to bicycle up the highway during the couple of weeks in spring when the road crew is clearing it. Once the crews clear some pavement beyond the gates, they shut out the snowmobiles, providing a short window of muscle-power-only access. Here's a picture from a trip a few years ago.<br><br>Unfortunately, many of the good destinations are rather far from the gates, but it's cool to get back in there when you have to really work for it.

Some more ski-biking pics:<br><br> Ruby Mtn avalanche cut and bike <br><br> A long way back home... <br><br>The downhill from Rainy Pass to Canyon Creek is SWEET when there are no cars... 12 miles of smooth pavement. (I mean, I don't really like road biking, and even I thought it was fun...)

Heh. For you that haven't seen it, click through the whole sequence of pictures from the Subalpine Themes gallery that Lowell shares one picture from in this thread. If THAT doesn't get you stoked for Cascade ski touring, nothing will!