Artist Point Snowshoe, Artist Ridge - Huntoon Point — Thursday, Mar. 7, 2024

Bottom Line:

What an incredible snowshoeing area, with amazing views, wide-open terrain, and dramatic pillowy mountains in every direction! Recommend that one avoid this area if avalanche conditions are "considerable" or greater. Breaking trail would have been very difficult given the deep snow conditions (would not have made it ~6 miles without relying on a broken trail given that I did not bring my snowshoe extenders). Even then, there was evident of post-holing in spots up to waist deep (snowshoes or skis were a must). Track your progress using GPS (foggy white-out conditions could easily get one lost) and pay attention to avalanche terrain (the trail does *not* follow the summer road directly, a road with some significant avalanche exposure on a couple corners, and sunny southern exposures became wet in spots in the afternoon). This decidedly feels more "intimate", despite the endless views, than snowshoeing out of Paradise at Rainier. Outstanding!

Stats:

• Distance: 5-3/4 miles
• Vertical: 1390 ft
• Duration: 3 hours, 40 min
• Road/Parking: Beautiful drive in on the Mt Baker Hwy with snow-covered trees beginning at a fairly low elevation (a winter wonderland!!), but starting to melt out on the return for the first time this week; periodic snow and ice on the road, with trees bombs on the afternoon descent; followed the Mt Baker Hwy to the very end of the (winter) road by the Mt Baker Ski School (keep right the whole way up); large parking lot was about 1/3rd full, mainly with backcountry and resort skiers; no parking fee; the (side) road down to Nooksack Falls on the return was snow/ice covered, with some large potholes; appropriate snow traction required; Mt Baker Highway requires that drivers carry chains from Nov 1st to April 1st each year. Returning on Hwy 9, there was a large elk herd north of Sedro Woolley, and green Skagit fields were peppered with white snow geese and swans - how do they stay so clean hanging out all day in the mud?!
• Weather: A mix of sun and cloud, 20Fs, no wind; mid-level fog layer shrouding the highest peaks at times, especially the southern aspects (e.g. the view of stunning glacier-cut Mt Shuksan from Huntoon Point); the cloud did create dramatic shadows on the surround mountains, so in many ways more interesting than a blue-bird day; conditions were clearest early, which is common on our PNW volcanoes; there is possible lower elevation rain in the forecast for Friday unfortunately
• Avalanche Danger: Moderate; risk of wet slides with solar warning esp. on sunny south-facing slopes (although there was probably more cloud than expected by that forecast); risk subsided from early in the week; the snow is very deep, and I mainly stuck to ribbons of backcountry skier packed snow on the ascent; high-elevation risk increased to "considerable" in the 6pm PST Northwest Avalanche Forecast Thursday.
• Trail: I am familiar with this area in the summer, but winter is a totally different ballgame. I was happy to have some backcountry skier tracks to follow, due to my lack of familiarity, the difficulty of breaking trail in deep snow conditions, and the need to navigate through some avalanche prone terrain. Regardless, route-finding skills are needed. The trail follows the ski area boundary, from a distance for the first 1/2 mile, then directly next to the roped boundary for the next 1/2 mile. The "steep hill" noted in route reviews comes at about 3/4 mile and is still directly next to the boundary rope. After that hill, you leave the ski area boundary, and there is maybe one other steep hill with some elevated risk. I checked my GPS frequently as there were many backcountry skier cutout points so one cannot blindly follow existing tracks. About 3/4 of the way to Artist Point, you can see the long hairpin corner of the summer road - the trail cuts across that avoiding some avy risk on the tight corner. Beyond that, there is a short section traversing the base of a cliff area with some exposure and signs of old avalanche activity - we moved quickly through this area. At Artist Point, we climbed the first part of Panorama Trail, but the southern sunny slopes suddenly became wet and risky. Otherwise, the hike up to Huntoon Point is via a ridge where the main avalanche risk would come from getting too close to either side of the ridge, in sections dropping via very steep terrain. The trail was fairly quiet - many saw backcountry skiers, and just a few other snowshoeing groups. Having now done this trail by navigating existing tracks, it would be much easier to break trail myself :)
• Takeaway: I guess I had not been paying attention as I did not expect the snow conditions to be as amazing as they were with deep low-density snow; as amazing as the snowshoeing was, I admit I was itching for my skis! This area is often ranked as one of the best snowshoeing areas in the state, something I cannot disagree with when considering the effort vs. reward profile! Avalanche and white-out conditions are real though - be prepared and pay attention to forecasts. But also prepare yourself for stunning terrain and views that don't stop! Breathtaking!

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More Information on this Trip Report

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