March 3, 2006, Silver Peak via Rockdale Lake
3/3/06
WA Snoqualmie Pass
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This winter I've been working for a client on Snoqualmie Ridge. It's a crummy commute - crawling through downtown Seattle and over the I-90 bridge every day. But a few times, I've been able to slip away to Snoqualmie Pass after work - only 30 minutes away. When you've got family and other time constraints, that's a real boon. (Maybe that's why some of us were grumpy last winter, when skiing at the Summit wasn't an option.)
I hit a breakpoint a work today and left around lunch time. I drove to Summit Central (Ski Acres) and parked in the ski patrol lot. Since the Patrol Race tour last weekend, I've been thinking about the Rockdale Lake Nordic trail system as an alternative approach to Silver Peak. In the past, I've always reached Silver Peak via Cold Creek, but it's not a very inspiring route. Approaching Windy Pass from the north is a lot more scenic.
From the ski patrol lot, I skinned up the Silver Nugget ski run to the Nordic gate at the top of the Silver Fir chairlift. I think they call this Tanner Pass, after Ski Acres founder Ray Tanner. De-skinning at the pass, I had a fast, fun glide down the Silver Streak and Ripsaw XC trails past "Grand Junction" to the low point in the road west of Rockdale Lake. I donned thin skins here and cruised up the road to Windy Pass. With our deep snowpack this year, the Windy Pass clearcut is a passable immitation of an alpine meadow. It was quite pretty up there, and my alternative approach had been worthwhile both for the views and the fun gliding parts.
I followed the groomed road above Windy Pass to the edge of the woods north of Silver Peak. Switching to fat skins, I followed a nice skin track left by a pair of telemarkers. Where they stopped just below the final slope to the north ridge, I put on ski crampons and climbed wind-scoured crust to the ridge.
The west flank of the ridge was bulletproof crust at first. This fooled me into switching to boot crampons and packing my skis. Before long, I found softer snow and my crampons started balling up terribly, but I persisted on foot to the summit. There was low avalanche danger on this flank, with only a few inches of soft snow on a firm base. The slopes between the summit and Lake Annette looked really nice to ski. The view was great too - I did a slow pan from Mount Rainier to Lake Keechelus, Mount Stuart to Chimney Rock, the Snoqualmie Pass peaks, Granite Mountain, Mount Si, Puget Sound and the Olympics.
Skiing off the summit was fun and a quick return to the north ridge. The fresh snow in the basin was nice and light (about 6 inches deep) but there was some tendency to break through to a lower layer at the end of each turn. Fatter skis probably would have prevented this.
Back on the road, I quickly glided north from Windy Pass, then climbed on thin skins again to Tanner Pass. This left me a final downhill run through the ski area back to the ski patrol lot. My conclusion is that this approach is a much more aesthetic way to reach Silver Peak. It was also faster, for me at least. I trimmed a half-hour off my last trip, in 2004, via Cold Creek.
I hit a breakpoint a work today and left around lunch time. I drove to Summit Central (Ski Acres) and parked in the ski patrol lot. Since the Patrol Race tour last weekend, I've been thinking about the Rockdale Lake Nordic trail system as an alternative approach to Silver Peak. In the past, I've always reached Silver Peak via Cold Creek, but it's not a very inspiring route. Approaching Windy Pass from the north is a lot more scenic.
From the ski patrol lot, I skinned up the Silver Nugget ski run to the Nordic gate at the top of the Silver Fir chairlift. I think they call this Tanner Pass, after Ski Acres founder Ray Tanner. De-skinning at the pass, I had a fast, fun glide down the Silver Streak and Ripsaw XC trails past "Grand Junction" to the low point in the road west of Rockdale Lake. I donned thin skins here and cruised up the road to Windy Pass. With our deep snowpack this year, the Windy Pass clearcut is a passable immitation of an alpine meadow. It was quite pretty up there, and my alternative approach had been worthwhile both for the views and the fun gliding parts.
I followed the groomed road above Windy Pass to the edge of the woods north of Silver Peak. Switching to fat skins, I followed a nice skin track left by a pair of telemarkers. Where they stopped just below the final slope to the north ridge, I put on ski crampons and climbed wind-scoured crust to the ridge.
The west flank of the ridge was bulletproof crust at first. This fooled me into switching to boot crampons and packing my skis. Before long, I found softer snow and my crampons started balling up terribly, but I persisted on foot to the summit. There was low avalanche danger on this flank, with only a few inches of soft snow on a firm base. The slopes between the summit and Lake Annette looked really nice to ski. The view was great too - I did a slow pan from Mount Rainier to Lake Keechelus, Mount Stuart to Chimney Rock, the Snoqualmie Pass peaks, Granite Mountain, Mount Si, Puget Sound and the Olympics.
Skiing off the summit was fun and a quick return to the north ridge. The fresh snow in the basin was nice and light (about 6 inches deep) but there was some tendency to break through to a lower layer at the end of each turn. Fatter skis probably would have prevented this.
Back on the road, I quickly glided north from Windy Pass, then climbed on thin skins again to Tanner Pass. This left me a final downhill run through the ski area back to the ski patrol lot. My conclusion is that this approach is a much more aesthetic way to reach Silver Peak. It was also faster, for me at least. I trimmed a half-hour off my last trip, in 2004, via Cold Creek.
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