Nordic Pass - Hyak — Saturday, Feb. 24, 2007

Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass

Winter had returned to the mountains with lots of new snow and avalanche danger. Mark and I wanted a backcountry skiing adventure away from avalanche danger so we chose our old standby, Nordic Pass. Mark and I had a great cross country ski trip up the Nordic Pass Trail. There were gobs of fresh snow and the trees looked beautiful flocked in white. Many of the tree trunks were plastered with snow covering up the blue diamonds that mark the trail. Mark and I have skied the route several times before so the missing diamonds did not present a problem. Right at the start of the trip we had to figure out how to cross the creek. The creek itself is small and no big deal to step on a couple of rocks to get across, but getting down to it is another matter. I managed to kick steps down the steep snow bank to the creek and then up the other side. Once we crossed the creek, Tom and Jasper showed up. Tom had snowshoes and Jasper had four limb drive. Tom and Jasper took off breaking the trail while Mark and I took advantage of their tracks at least where they weren't too steep for our skis. We stopped at a pretty meadow near Hyak Lake where Mark changed the wax on his skis. We then skied past Hyak Lake, crossed a groomed track and entered the metal tower powerline corridor. This is a stretch where the blue diamonds are usually missing. Knowledge of the route, a map and compass and/or a GPS receiver are needed to pick up the trail again as it leaves the powerline corridor and web of groomed ski trails. Leaving the corridor we found where Tom and Jasper had turned around. From there on there were no tracks and it was up to us to break trail. It was pushing 1:00 so we stopped for a quick lunch break. We then resumed our trek to the pass. We reached the pass at 2:45 just when it started to snow. On a nice day there are views of Silver Peak from the pass. Some snowshoers and skiers continue up Mt. Catherine from Nordic Pass. There are avalanche slopes on Mt. Catherine, so caution is needed. After a short break at the pass we started a fun return trip down the trail. In most places we could ski straight down the fall line without picking up much speed. We got a few telemark turns in, but most attempts turned out to be short telem-arcs that ended when we ran out of speed. This is not a trip for the casual skier or snowshoer that sticks to groomed roads. But for a person with route finding skills and confidence traveling cross country, the Nordic Pass Trail can be a fun adventure. For a map of the trail including GPS waypoints, send an email to nordicpasstrail@yahoo.com.