There are multiple ways to get to Nordic Pass. Today, Bill and I started from the Silver Fir parking lot. We have been told by the FS that the SE section of the lot is on Forest Service land. The ski area was running today but the lot was pretty empty.

The snowshoe trip itself is pretty moderate statistically - 7 miles and 1300 gain. The route is much like a scavenger hunt since one must find trail markers along the way if the route is not punched in. From the parking lot, the markers are either round yellow signs with a snowshoe logo on them or ribbons of various colors. Basically go straight up hill from the parking lot and go left onto the road/ski run until just after the road crosses the creek. We had to really look for the ribbons and markers near the road after crossing the creek but the track was pretty obvious once we got onto it.

I am not sure why the track has so much side hill with a steep run off down to the creek but we went where the track was. You may see some blue diamonds along part of this section which have been there for decades for XC skiers - just follow the yellow circles until the road under the power lines. From that point onward, it is much better to follow the blue diamonds but there are parts where there will be a real scavenger hunt. Right now, look high, perhaps 10 to 20 feet up due to the low snow coverage.

Near the upper XC ski roads and tracks, finding blue diamonds is really important. Just following the terrain features will backfire big time - how do I know this? Sometimes this section is brushy; has lots of blow downs; and some unpleasant side hilling traverses. Near Nordic Pass, things are pretty straight forward following the blue diamonds but there are some important turns to watch for.

We enjoyed a nice lunch at the pass where there was even sunshine. It was still cold.

Snow conditions were marginal today; crunchy and icy most of the time; powdery occasionally. With new snow and more snow depth, this will be a nice trip.

Another very cold day spent with good company

http://alpinelakesaficionad[…]e-and-mount-hyak-11111.html

The snowshoe or ski trip to Nordic Pass involves some "local" knowledge at the start and then it is very much like a fun scavenger hunt to find the route.
We parked in the Hyak ski lot at the northern most end of the lot. The local knowledge bit is as follows. Start the road walk up Snoqualmie Drive through the neighborhood. In a short distance this road makes a hairpin turn and one should hear the sound of the creek. Look up and see the first blue diamond at the end of the hairpin turn. Many times it is difficult to scale the snowbank as well as cross the creek. Today the only problem was a delicate walk down into , across, and out of the creek. Now the scavenger hunt begins. One would think that I could remember where to go after doing this trip for 20 years or so, but nooooo. One problem right now is the low snow cover which means the blue diamonds are way up in the air. After crossing one of the Ski Acres ski runs(that should tell you my age if I still refer to it as Ski Acres) there are blue diamonds and round yellow snowshoe signs. The tromped path and shorter path follows the yellow signs which eventually re-connect with the blue diamonds. Soon a road is reached under the high tension power lines. More blue diamonds are hidden on the uphill side of the road which climbs somewhat steeply to another road and one of the XC ski trails. From here on out, it is really important to keep track of those silly little blue diamond because there are ski roads and trails that go everywhere. Bill and I lost the diamonds several times and elected to back track to a known point versus blindly banging away and hoping to find the correct route. Once we got to the point above Frog Lakes, the trees were more open and the blue diamond easier to spot. Our lunch spot was a wind protected hole at Nordic Pass. This is another area that has low avalanche issues as long as one follows the blue diamonds and stays away from the steep slopes of Mt Catherine. It is also an area with little traffic. We saw one other snowshoer near Hyak Lake; 2 ski patrol guys as we crossed the downhill ski run; and a couple of XC skiiers as we crossed the XC ski trails. Past the XC ski area, we saw nobody. Much of this trip was a nice wilderness experience tucked in the middle of the busy ski areas.

Distance: 8 to 9 miles depending on the amount of backtracking to find those silly blue diamonds.

Elevation: 1500 ft.

The Nordic Pass Trail is a gentle snowshoe or ski route with minimal avalanche danger. It is not well known and should be. It begins up a road from Hyak near Snoqualmie Pass. I have an earlier report with directions to the trail and along it. There are blue diamonds all the way to Nordic Pass and on to Windy Pass.

http://www.kuresman.com/[…]/Report_Nordic_Pass.html

Now on to the trip report:

After nearly a month with no new snow the mountains were unusually bare and icy. This week we had 16" of snow at Snoqualmie Pass. Not a lot but at least enough to cover some of the ice. A number of folks expressed interest in a snowshoe trip but by Saturday night only four of us were in. Barry, Suzanne, and I met in North Seattle and we picked up Carla on the way. Avalanche danger was moderate but we wanted to be safe and chose Nordic Pass with a try for Mt. Catherine if snow and avalanche conditions allowed. We were parked and on our way by around 9:00 am.

The usual snowbank where we left the road was almost non existent. Only a few feet tall. Although the snow was pretty well consolidated we donned our snowshoes immediately. The snow bridge over the creek was thin but hard packed and icy. It easily held our weight. The route goes away from the creek but there was not a track to be seen that way. There was a track that paralleled the creek. It crossed the old railroad grade then came to the main crossover ski track from Summit Central to Hyak. Since Hyak is closed for the season this road was not groomed.

Our track continued right heading up the ski route. We were able to guesstimate the place where the Nordic Pass Trail crosses the road and we headed straight uphill. By the time we reached the meadow we were back on the blue diamond Nordic Pass Trail. It was clear on our drive up but cloudy as we reached Snoqualmie Pass. At Hyak Lake we were in the clouds. I could barely see across the lake.

We headed on and crossed one set of groomed cross country ski tracks and reached the big power line corridor. This is where the route crossed groomed tracks several times and can be hard to follow. All of us had done the route a number of times and had little trouble finding the diamonds once across the tracks. From here up we were on fresh snow. It was not deep but not crusty either. The diamonds were nearly ten feet above eye level. Hard to believe how little snow there is so far this year. We contoured around Frog Lake and managed to follow the diamonds all the way to Nordic Pass.

At the pass I could just touch the Nordic Pass sign with my pole fully extended. I'd say it's about 12 feet above the current snow level. It was still a fairly balmy 32 degrees and there was almost no wind. We had a short food break and decided to head on to Mt. Catherine. The snow was deeper above the pass but not too bad for climbing. I forgot my MSR extensions so I had the most weight and short 22" snowshoes. I was still sinking even when fourth in line. We stayed right on or very near the crest most all the way up. There were some "whoomp" sounds but no signs of sloughing. As was mentioned early on in the trip the ridge seems to go on forever.

We reached Nordic Pass in 1:50 and it took us over an hour to do the much shorter climb to the summit. It does gain another 1000'. The crux of the climb is the summit block. The first time Suzanne and I were stopped by thin rotten snow just below the top. On my second attempt we cut across the left side all the way to the far ridge and had an easy walk up from there. On my third attempt we cut left then steeply up to the ridge and along it to the summit. This one was much like number three. The snow was too soft to make an ice axe useful. We slipped and slid and climbed the last 75 or so fee to the ridge top. Barry went up the narrow ridge and Suzanne and Carla cut across the face then up. I tried the lower route but the slope broke away. I went up the ridge.

We had some views towards Silver peak and across to Granite Mountain while ascending but the views from the summit were minimal. We stayed long enough for a few photos and then headed down. That first 75' was the tricky part then it was easy. After dropping 150' we stopped for lunch. Thankfully the wind was still light. The slog down the ridge went much faster. Soon we were back at Nordic Pass. Coming down from the pass I had a few twinges of cramps and had to slow down. I finished off my water and took smaller steps and the twinges did not get worse.

Back at the groomed tracks we met two Nordic track skiers who though Gus's bark was a wolf coming after them. After apologies we continued down. Those two skiers were the only people we saw all day. Almost total solitude a few miles from a major interstate highway and surrounded by ski areas. I was very happy to make it down without the cramping becoming a serious problem. I only had that problem once last year in 90+ days out and it too was on a steep snowshoe trip. We were back in time to hear the Seahawks lose yet again. The Gold Creek sno-park was a zoo. Cars were parked all the way across the interchange to Hyak. Dozens of them parked right next to the "no parking" signs. We had light snow coming down and it turned to rain as we crossed the pass. It turned out to be a fun day with far more solitude than expected.

Photos have been posted at: http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to "Trips-2010" on the left margin.