Noah's Adventures

It was a warm spring morning when Taylor and I loaded up the Subaru and drove up Snoqualmie Pass. I’d put together a plan to ski the North-facing, tree-spotted slopes of Mt. Catherine, given that the avalanche forecast called for a rating of 3.

Our route consisted of an 8 mile ski, with nearly 3,000 vertical feet of climbing (and descent!), all in warm, springlike snow. We pulled into the Hyak parking lot after 8 am and booted up, beginning our trek around 8:30. Getting an early start would be important, I knew, since the snow would heat up as the day wore on.

We began winding up the wooded slopes of Hyak (Summit East) ski resort on a wide, mellow cat track. Eyeing the moguls, we fantasized about the spring glory that would await us in a number of hours. After a couple of long switchbacks, we neared the peak of Summit East, but instead of summiting, we curved around the backside, linking up to a nordic trail.

We had a blast “tele-skiing” down the mellow slopes of the cross-country track, a truly odd yet exciting experience. Then came our first introduction to the backcountry. We split off from the nordic path and into the woods. The trees transitioned from sparse to thick as the terrain steepened. With me in the lead, a questionable path was set, with plenty of bushwhacking and awkward maneuvers. Luckily, we soon came upon the more spacious terrain of old-growth forest about a quarter-mile in.

At one point, a river crossing was required. I spotted a massive, snow-laden felled tree, and began crossing. Unfortunately, the tree turned out to be a better photo-op than a bridge, but still cool nonetheless.

At about 4,000 feet up on Mt. Catherine, we encountered our first obstacle–an imposing, 200 ft tall rock face. Easy! We’d make light work of a good ol’ circumnavigation. We set off on a traverse that lasted about half a mile, scouting potential lines through the rocky slope. “Dude, I’d totally ski that one, just not today or whatever.” Excuses.

“Dude, I’d totally ski that one, just not today or whatever.”

-Probably me

Reaching the end of the traverse, the map led us up a steep pitch that required some hiking, sans skis. Luckily it was only about 10:30 am, so the snow was mostly firm and didn’t break through too much. Scaling the steep terrain with skis strapped to my pack, I felt like a total bada** mountaineer.

We clicked back into our matching Duke-PT AT bindings, and continued up a more moderate slope. Only 800 feet of climbing stood between us and the summit! The final push consisted of steep switchbacks, which meant lots of kick turns. We crushed those kick turns though.

Approaching the summit ridge, the trees thinned, and finally we stood atop a razor like edge between the western and eastern cascades. A final quarter mile later, and we stood atop a sun-pocked, snowy Ridgeline with panoramic views of the cascades. The neighboring peaks, Lake Keechelus, and nearby Silver Peak lay at our feet. In the distance, Mount Rainier dominated the landscape. In short, it was freaking beautiful.

We paused for a good half-hour on the summit, but time was of the essence. I had a zoom call in less than thirty minutes, so I planned to ski down, then take it on the skin track back up to Hyak. We geared up, ripped off the skins, and set off into soft, perfect corn snow on the wooded mountainside of Catherine.

I made sure to avoid running us off a cliff, carefully picking lines across the mountain and through the trees. Snow sprayed off our skis, rolling lazily into clumps down the hill. Towards the end of our descent, Taylor chose to ski directly into a creek hole, what a great time that was.

Luckily, we reached the nordic uptrack just in time for my call–and with a perfect signal. Taylor and I strapped on our skins, and slowly crept back up towards Hyak. A cool breeze wafted through the afternoon sun as we came upon the familiar groomed runs of the resort.

The final portion of our descent was a pure mogul-fest. Warm, corn-like snow, and exhilarating bumps. It was one for the books.