A beautiful day made for an excellent early season climb of Mt. Ellinor. With the road to the lower trailhead still partly snow covered, we decided to start at Big Creek Campground, hitting the trail at 8:15 AM. The campground is littered with tree brush, but the Big Creek Loop Trail has been cleared (thanks trail crew!). We took the clockwise loop from the campground and the Connector Trail to the Mt. Ellinor Trail, adding about 3 miles compared to starting at the Lower Trailhead. There were a couple of easily bypassed downed trees on the Connector Trail and Mt. Ellinor Trail. We encountered intermittent consolidated snow on the trail at about 3,500 feet. Microspikes would have been helpful here, but we decided to wait until the chute to put on crampons.

The snow on the chute was consolidated and frozen nearly solid, making it difficult to kick in steps. Traction was an issue, even with crampons. I'd say crampons and an ice axe are mandatory through this section, although a few climbers managed to make it up in microspikes.

The views from the summit were spectacular, with five volcanoes (Baker, Glacier Peak, Rainier, Adams and St. Helens), Mt. Olympus and the interior Olympic Range on full display. I felt fortunate for the view, because even nearby Mt. Washington has been difficult to see on previous climbs.

Descending the chute at around 1:00 PM, the snow was softer but still too firm to glissade from the top. My initial intent was to down-climb the entire chute but due to poor traction, I eventually slipped into an unintentional glissade, using the ice axe for speed control and keeping my crampon-laden boots up to avoid snagging them in the snow. Not the best glissade form, but this time it worked (pro tip: don't glissade while wearing crampons!). We made quick time after that and arrived back at Big Creek Campground by 4 PM.

With the weather rolling in over the weekend, new snowfall will surely bring deteriorating road and trail conditions.

Stats: 12.8 miles, 5,010 ft gain

Equipment: crampons, ice axe, helmet

Trail well maintained. Winter damage has been dealt with, enough to make this trail a very nice hike. Did the upper loop in 2 hours with three kids and 2 dogs. Some snow patches at the top of the upper loop… a bit slippery at times.

Lovely loop in the cedar and ferns. Took us about 2 hours. Work parties have been there recently clearing a ton of downed trees. You have to park outside the campground gate.

The Big Creek trail is now clear of trees and debris for its whole length.  The Mount Rose Trail Crew finished clearing the trail today, though there will need to be additional work when the trail is clear of snow. Snow is patchy and is mostly near and above the Skinwood Creek Bridge. 

To echo the January 27th report, there is still a great deal of clearing needed beyond the approximate mile already cleared - many thanks to the Mount Rose Trail Crew for their hard work!

I did a solo scout trip counter-clockwise and despite all the down trees and debris on the trail, it was an interesting and enjoyable hike.  Most of the obstacles were easy to get around or cross, and micro-spikes were helpful in places.  The biggest problem was just after the Skinwood Creek bridge.  This is where the trail was partially washed out and narrow with a skinny packed snow layer a few inches thick.  After pushing through down tree limbs, there was a fairly large washout that took out the trail for several yards, as well as a large tree.  You can get around the rootball pretty easily with poles for stability.

After that stretch it was bare trail on and off, eventually becoming all snow.  The track was clear and packed all the way to the SW side where I continued the loop.  It wasn't long before the snow was mostly gone, then returned as I got closer to the campground.  A whole lot of work remains for the trail crew though.  Overall, a beautiful not-too-cold day on this pretty forest trail!