Cutthroat Pass via the Pacific Crest Trail — Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025

This beautiful snowshoe felt like a special opportunity with the road still open. I got to the trailhead at 9:30 and parked on the highway, as the road up to the trailhead from the highway was snow covered. There were a few other cars, but their drivers must have been heading to different destinations, as I saw no one on the trail all day. Folks had clearly previously broken trail, presumably over the weekend, so that made for easy snowshoeing as I started off at 9:45. I wore snowshoes the whole time, which was entertaining in early season conditions- there were plenty of areas lower down where the trail was bare and I walked on snow alongside it or sometimes on the wet trail, and I crossed quite a few streams via rocks while wearing my snowshoes. The snow started off hard and got softer as I reached sunny slopes, so I was happy to have snowshoes with fairly solid traction on them for the day. At 6150' the broken trail left the actual trail and started straight up without switchbacks. Enjoying not breaking trail, I followed the steeper route straight up to the top. The larches are all past prime, but it was beautiful to see snowy peaks all around on a clear day. After enjoying some food and the views, I headed back down, reaching the car at 3:45. I'd recommend doing an avy risk assessment and being prepared before heading out given the slopes above the trail.