Aasgard Pass, Colchuck Lake, Snow Lakes & Lake Stuart — Monday, Oct. 24, 2011

Central Cascades > Leavenworth Area

We departed mid day on monday morning from Stuart Lake TH. The first night we camped at Colchuck Lake. Estimate it got down to the 20's at colchuck. It was a clear night and the small lake to the right of Colchuck (when looking at Asgard Pass) wasn't frozen when we went to bed but had a complete layer of ice over it when we woke up. On day 2 we climbed Asgard Pass. There was virtually no snow on the pass. However once you pass the stand of trees about half way up you start to encounter ice. The last 300 ft or so was pretty bad. You will need crampons or at the least microspikes. For less experienced persons I highly recommend possibly using a rope for safety. As soon as you get over the pass the enchantment basin is filled with snow. It is a hard crusty snow probably 1-2 ft deep. We climbed Little Annapurna and had amazing views of Rainier, Mt Adams all of WA and probably parts of Idaho. Visibility was unlimited. That night we camped near the first privy as you head down the basin. It was a perfectly clear night but very cold. Probably in the teens. Water froze within minutes unless it was with you in your sleeping bag. There are some areas of running water but they probably wont be around much longer. You should bring ice axes. On day 3 we set our alarms and awoke to an amazing sunrise. Another 100% clear day the larches were beautiful. Just past there peak but still 75% of the needles on the trees. We spent day 3 hiking down the basin to Upper Snow Lake. We used traction devices for the majority of the hike. Some of the rock faces had ice. I expect the ice to only get worse so recommend you definitely carry rope. The basin was gorgeous. The temperature steadily increased as we dropped in elevation. At snow lake it was probably just at or above freezing. On day 4 we hikes out to the Snow Lake TH. Once you reach Snow lake there are some muddy sections of the trail. We had a perfect weather window for this hike.