There just aren't many good snowshoe or cross country ski trails near Seattle which have little avalanche danger. There is one little known jewel that provides moderately gentle terrain, deep forest, lakes, and a pass on the crest of the Cascade Mountains. My friend Gary had a hand in building this trail. It has been around for more than 15 years and I never tried it until this weekend. Gary had a work party scheduled to replace blue diamond markers all along the route. We had a busy day filling in gaps where diamonds are missing or covered by tree growth. I made it much of the way up and Gary and others made it all the way up to Nordic and down to Windy Pass. I will describe the section I snowshoed and leave the latter part to Gary. First a little history is in order. Not all that many years ago much of the area around Hyak (Summit East) was open for backcountry skiing. The earlier ski area concentrated on downhill and skinny skiers had forest and roads to explore. Now there is a large groomed cross country area and crossover trails between the ski areas. Gary and friends convinced the Forest Service that backcountry skiers still should be able to use the area south of Snoqualmie Pass. Thus the Nordic Pass Trail was conceived and built to serve backcountry skiers. Today there are numerous groomed cross country areas along I-90 but not much undeveloped forest. Especially not much with little avalanche danger. The Nordic Pass Trail is ideal for skiers who would like to venture off groomed roads and try untracked skiing. It's also great for those with the skill to ski rapidly down through the trees. That would not be me. Today there are many snowshoers and it is a great trail for all levels of skill and fitness. There are blue diamonds from the start all the way to Nordic Pass and down to Windy Pass. If you can't see one ahead stop and scout around. It is possible to make it all the way up just following the diamonds. When the trees are snow plastered some diamonds are hidden by white but keep looking and you can find your way. The trail begins off a street of cabins just above Hyak. Take Exit 54 (Hyak) off I-90 and turn left. Parking is at the Gold Creek Sno-Park. Permits are required. Walk under the highway and into the Summit East (Hyak) lot. A short way in is a stop sign. Turn to the right here and walk up the road. Quickly the road splits. Take another right. A little farther the main road heads uphill to the left. Go left. The road then makes a sharp turn to the left. The trail begins at this switchback. This weekend the snow was 8 feet high and we had to dig a break in the wall to climb up. It only took a few minutes. The property owner at the top of the switchback does not want people on his property so climb up in the middle of the road corner. Once on top of the wall we quickly reached the creek. With all the snow this year it required dropping about 6 feet to a snow covered logjam then climbing back up. On the other side is a big tree with a ""Nordic Pass Trail"" sign. You should not have to go far to see the next diamond. The trail heads away from the road gaining elevation very gently. The sharpest turns have large blue diamonds with a turn arrow. Two horizontal diamonds also represent a turn. The route heads northwest and intersects the old cross pass railroad grade. Look for a diamond on the left which shows where to exit the grade. The route switches back and forth rather than going straight up the fall line. Very easy on snowshoes and sometimes requiring climbing skins for skiers. The route generally follows close by Hyak Creek. A number times it almost reaches the creek and switchbacks away one again. There are several groomed cross country road/trails to cross. In each case you come out of the forest and head right back into it again. Look carefully to find a diamond on the other side. They are not always directly across but in no case do you proceed up or down the groomed roads any distance. The most difficult crossing is at the biggest crossover trail linking Summit Central and Summit East. There are wooden power poles along this trail which looks like a road. The route crosses and angles off to the right before entering the forest again. Be sure to look well off to the right uphill to see the next diamond. Once across this trail near 3400' more switchbacks lead up to a meadow. Continue to your right along the meadow and soon reach Hyak Lake. The trail leaves the initial road switchback at about 2760' and the lake is at 3525'. I was surprised to see a group of snowshoers on the other side of the snow covered lake. The terrain now becomes very gentle. We soon intersected the upper groomed cross country ski area. The trail crosses the groomed route with diamonds visible on both sides. About the trickiest section to follow is near the metal-tower power line corridor. You can't miss the lines or likely miss the buzzing. In this corridor all the trees were cut down. Smaller trees have grown up but they are thick with downward sloping branches. There is no place to place diamonds on the trunks. Through here we hung diamonds from branches with wire. Keep an eye out for them. It was clear enough here to see Mt. Catherine with Nordic Pass on its lower northwest ridge and Silver Peak behind the pass. After a long morning and early afternoon of work Suzanne and I had to head back at this point. Now I'll let Gary describe the route from here. After crossing underneath the power lines the trail crosses a groomed trail and heads back for a short distance through smaller trees until it reaches a fork in the groomed trail network. It was at this point that Jim and Suzanne headed back. It was 1:15 pm and I badly wanted to reach Windy Pass to put up the last Nordic Pass Trail sign. So at this point Ron, Andrejs and I stopped replacing diamonds and took off for the pass. Two of the groomed forks head down. Go down along the right fork and look for diamonds on the trees to the left. Make a left turn towards the diamonds and continue past a large tree with a diamond. Shortly after this tree the trail turns right and switchbacks up the hill. The trail gets close to a groomed trail and then turns left where you will see a tree with a Nordic Pass Trail sign. At this tree turn right and follow the trail through a blowdown area. Past the blowdown area the trail heads west along a steep hillside. Outside of one notable dip, the trail generally heads up and climbing skins are helpful here. At about 3700 ft the trail heads south and the grade decreases. Shortly before a pleasant meadow area with widely spaced trees we lost the diamonds. Either a few diamonds were missing or they were covered with snow. The trail heads through the middle of this area and crosses Dick’s Creek on a snow bridge. We picked up the diamonds at Dick’s Creek and had a short snack break. From Dick’s Creek we followed the trail south until we were just short of the slopes of Mt. Catherine and reached 3900 ft elevation. At this point the trail turned west and reached Nordic Pass at just over 4000 ft elevation. The Nordic Pass sign is on a small tree to the north of the low point of the pass. At this point I should explain that there are three passes with small bumps in-between. The Nordic Pass Trail goes through the southern-most pass. This pass has pleasant slopes to the west with widely spaced trees and plenty of sun on sunny days. There are views through the trees towards Silver and Tinkham. The middle pass is the lowest pass and thus the real pass. It is cold and dark with no views. An old abandoned ski trail heads from this pass down towards Olallie Meadow. At Nordic Pass, Ron who had skied the day before decided to take a much deserved break while Andrejs and I headed to Windy Pass to put up the Nordic Pass Trail sign. From Nordic Pass the trail dropped down to the snow gauge and then headed up a short slope before the steep descent to Windy Pass. The blue diamonds head straight down the slope. It is up to the skier to pick out his own switchbacks. Under icy conditions typically half or more of a skiing party will remove their skis and walk. But today we had nice soft snow so we skied down the hill. Andrejs expertly descended the slope staying close to the fall line. I had left my skins on since we were about to turn around and head back up to Nordic Pass. I still managed to fall a couple times as I descended the hill. Near Windy Pass the trail enters an old clearcut. On the last big tree before the clearcut I put up the Nordic Pass Trail sign. This tree is visible from the Windy Pass area and you should be able to see the sign if you look for it. After installing the sign we returned to Nordic Pass where Ron was patiently waiting and freezing. It was 3:15 and time to head out. We had a fun and quick run down the gentler grades of the upper half of the trail. On the lower half we got in several telemark turns and in my case telemark falls. By the time we walked back to the Gold Creek Sno-Park lot it was almost 5:30. A couple final warnings: The blue diamond trail markers can be totally hidden by snow plastered on the trees. As the trees grow larger the diamonds eventually pop off and a few of the trees with diamonds have fallen over. So if you totally lose the trail and cannot find any more blue diamonds it is probably best to turn around. Although in my non-expert opinion there is no avalanche danger along the Nordic Pass Trail, if you wander off the trail towards Mt. Catherine or Nordic Knob (aka Radio Mt.) you can find avalanche slopes. For more information on the Nordic Pass Trail, to get a topo map with GPS waypoints (about 1 MB) or to volunteer for future work parties send an email to: nordicpasstrail@yahoo.com. I have posted 25 photos with visual information on following the trail at: http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to ""Trips-2006"" on the left margin.

This was an excellent day to do the Mt. Catherine Loop on cross country skis. We were expecting cloudy skies and frozen crud for snow, but instead we had a beautiful sunny day and snow that was somewhat soft for the top inch or two. It was also a good opportunity to check out the Nordic Pass Trail and see how many of the blue diamond markers need replacement during the maintenance trip in a couple of weeks. The Nordic Pass Trail is a good route for backcountry skiers (climbing skins recommended) and snowshoers. The trail heads up through lovely forest and there are no snowmobiles to be seen, heard or to pollute the air. According to my non-expert opinion, the entire route has minimal avalanche danger. And no trail fee is required. We started our loop trip by walking from the Gold Creek Sno-Park lot to the Nordic Pass Trailhead. To get to the trailhead, you first walk under I90 to the Hyak/Summit East entrance. After entering Summit East we took the first road to the right, another quick right, bore left at a fork in the road and continued to a road switchback. At the end of the switchback we left the road and continued straight to a creek crossing where we could see a Nordic Pass Trail sign on the far side. We had two challenges here. The first is to climb the six foot snow bank out of the plowed road canyon. The second is to cross the creek. We cut a few steps to get up the snow bank and found a snow bridge to cross the creek. When climbing out of the road stay away from the driveway to the left. The owner is a little sensitive about skiers near his property. Now it was just a matter of following the blue diamonds. But since many of the diamonds are missing, it is best to have someone familiar with the route lead the way. The first part of the route headed up a triangular shaped section of forest with Hyak Creek on the right and the wooden pole power line corridor on the left. With climbing skins we made good time skiing up to the crossing of the power line corridor which is also used as a downhill connector trail from Summit Central to Summit East. On the upper side of the corridor we reentered the forest and skied up to a lovely meadow near Hyak Lake. We had a nice break in the meadow enjoying the sunshine. We then followed the trail along Hyak Lake and up to the crossing of the road from Grand Junction which is groomed for cross country skiers. On the other side of the road we went through a short section of forest and then entered the large clear-cut area surrounding the metal tower power line corridor. The metal tower power lines marked the end of the lower half of the Nordic Pass Trail. On the other side of the power line corridor we picked up the trail again and continued to Nordic Pass. The second half of the Nordic Pass Trail is more heavily used since a number of people who ski the groomed trail network will take the trail over Nordic Pass. We continued up the Nordic Pass Trail and reached Nordic Pass at about half past noon making the pass an excellent lunch stop. We found a nice sunny spot with no wind for lunch. If I start eating my sandwich before I put on extra clothing the trip passes my good weather test. I definitely reached for my sandwich first on this trip! Nordic Pass is forested, but there are some views towards Silver Peak and Tinkham through the trees. From the pass we dropped the steep 200-ft slope to the Windy Pass Road. On this day the slope had icy snow here and there and was not much fun. Two members of our party took off their skis and walked. They beat the skiers down. From Windy Pass we had a fun time skiing down the Windy Pass Road. The road is groomed, but this section of the road is part of the Common Corridor and backcountry skiers can ski it without having to buy a trail pass. The Common Corridor ends a short ways beyond the little “stairway” building where the short Connector Trail leads to the Iron Horse Trail. The snow on the Connector Trail was lousy so most of us took off our skis and walked. Once at the Iron Horse Trail it is a level half mile back to the Hyak Sno-Park. From the Sno-Park we continued to the railroad tunnel where we climbed out of the grade to the Summit East entrance. For a map of the trail which includes GPS waypoints, or for any questions, send an email to nordicpasstrail@yahoo.com.

We were looking for a different snowshoe destination (not the usual Commonwealth Basin, etc) at Snoqualmie Pass, and remembered the route to Nordic Pass, at one time developed by the local Sierra Club and the Mountaineers as a no-fee way to access the higher country around Mt Catherine. I had done this trip maybe four years ago, and was running on low memory... We started at the Silver Fir chair, and followed the cat track that heads up and south from there, till after crossing a creek, then uphill. In the old days, there were frequent blue diamonds on trees, now there are these yellow snowshoe route signs. Anyways, up along creek till we came to the ""Intersummit 90"" downhill route, crossing that, up and around till coming out on the the XC ski trails. Not seeing any signs for a while, we just followed our noses, eventually till Frog Lake. From there, the route becomes less clear, with ski tracks going this way and that, blue diamonds here and there. We get to a meadow/marsh area, watch a water dipper fishing for a while, then decide to turn back, shy of the destination. As we go down, we see some fresh ski tracks, going more westerly, and follow these (and other blue diamonds) actually up to Nordic Pass! Limited views due to the clouds, but great to reach the destination! Coming down, we follow these fresh ski tracks, going down a different direction, only eventually getting back to the XC ski trails. Then, eventually, back to our old route up, back to the car after dark, after the Silver Fir lodge closed. My question for you all is: who knows more of the Beta on this route? Who can I talk to about putting more blue diamonds up? It's a great route, but gets very obscure often... It would be great to change this!

Well, there was new snow yesterday and overnight so it seemed like a reasonable idea to get out in it somewhere, somehow. We thought about yo-yo-ing at the Silver Fir chair at Summit Central but as we headed up, we reconsidered the idea. While on ""rock"" skis, it was the rock up the rear that was less appealing so we just headed up and to the left onto some of the backroads and found ourselves at Grand Junction - the nordic warming hut (closed) located up and behind the Snoqualmie skis areas. We broke track to there, headed off on another untracked route to a high point with very limited, fog enclosed views. Back to Grand Junction were we met two lightly equipped ""track"" skiers. They provided directions toward Nordic Pass. Let me say that Nordic Pass is not quite advisable YET. We followed up a runneled road with a creek and rocky trench for about 5 switchbacks and decided we had it on that route. It was quite interesting coming back down on 1 to 2 inches of snow and icy lumps where the water has obviously gouged its route a few weeks ago. Speaking of creeks, we crossed a good number of them going up but none insurmountable if you were willing to step across or wade a bit while on skis! One more loop and back to Grand Junction and then down to the Silver Fir chair. We managed a few turns over the vegetation and it appears that none of the rocks did any deep damage to the rock skis. Ah, yes, as we were parking security advised us that we might run into grooming equipment as they were thinking of opening tomorrow - Monday. I mumbled as we crossed water flow number 20 that it was unlikely. We met other security back at the end - that plan has been abandoned - still not enough snow at West or Central. It was fun in a sense but desperation does that. MORE SNOW!!!!!!! Oh, yes, mostly cloudy and foggy with an occasional hint of blue sky but no sunshine. PS - I hesitate to check ""Snow on Trail"" as it is fairly debateable! But there was ""Water on trail.""

Amazing - from skiing Greenlake (Seattle) in near powder snow to fog crusted, frozen snow in less than a week. Yes, that's what the Nordic Center up behind the Snoqualmie ski areas offered today. As I referred to it - Crud-country skiing. We had a good time nonetheless. Took the lift up and skied a few of the upper loops which were pretty crusty - that even grooming could not overcome. Then we skied to Hidden Valley which offers a very steep drop back to east of the ""Hyak"" ski area and the road to Windy Pass and the Mt Catherine Loop. While friends walked the trail I took to the heavy stuff in the trees and just found reasonable descent paths along side the road. A few kick-turns and a bit of dense uphill wedels allowed me to parallel the road and drop more gently past the steepest section. Two of us then went up the Mt Catherine road to get some more distance and climbing in. Lots of people out on the system, particularly, the lower, level sections. Now we need more snow - UP THERE!

What a shame that the cross country season often ends just as the corn snow begins to form and the days become sunny, long, and filled with views in all directions. Took the day off to hike up the ski slope under the Silver Fir chair lift, and traversed up to Grand Junction (probalby the shortest route up to the groomed trails above Hyak-- took us only 25 minutes. Snow was firm and nearly perfect for climbing, and then there was even some fresh snow up on top on the edges of the groomed trails. Sunday we think was the last day the upper trails will be groomed, but they were still in very good shape on Monday. Saw several skaters, 2 with ecstatic dogs jogging along. The day was cloudless, views of Rampart Ridge particularly handsome. Even though the day was pretty warm and sunny, the skating held good-- and the snow stayed corny, not sticky, all day long. If the temperatures stay in this range, we should be able to find a bit more skating terrain up on these trails, or on the Iron Horse, which looked like it still holds about a 3-4 foot pack. Nordic skiiers need to get together to advocate for a longer grooming season to enjoy these great ski trails.