Nordic Pass - Hyak, Windy Pass - Mount Catherine Snowshoe — Friday, Feb. 15, 2008

Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass

A motley crew set out for a rematch with Silver Peak via Ollalie meadows. Unfortunately our plans were denied when we pulled off exit 47 to find the bridge to the trailhead blocked by a 10 foot wall of firmly plowed snow. We crossed the highway to park at the Granite trailhead to find the driveway unplowed! We were baffled since the DOT parks their plows down this road and always plows it. So rather than risk a ticket and tow we drove on for another attempt at Mt. Catherine. The Hyak ski lot was thankfully plowed. While the rest of us geared up JimK gained 30 ft on the rest of us by summiting Parking-Lot Peak. We marveled at the huge snow banks as we headed up to the trailhead. Luckily there were easy steps up the bank and the easiest crossing I've ever done of the creek. We trucked our way up the snow watching for the blue diamonds. Last time we were here they were about 8 ft up the trees. With this year's snow they are anywhere from shoulder to ankle level above the snow! Part way up we found a broken trail which greatly sped our progress. We zoomed along to Hyak Lake and soon the ridge. From here we briefly lost the route but picked it up again after some wandering. It was then a slower walk to Nordic Pass when our broken trail fizzled out. Nearly there Emma the dog had some stomach issues and Joanna nearly had to turn back. But Emma's a tough old dog and pulled through the rest of the way on. At the pass we took a brief break. At least we assume it was the pass - we couldn't find any sign of the Nordic Pass sign. Now it was just a long ridge climb to the top. The snow was perfect for us - a little fluffy but easily packed into firm steps. We made good time and were encouraged by the sun popping in and out of the clouds. About a tenth of a mile from the summit Bruce had a catastrophic failure of his snowshoe. He opted to drop back and posthole on in our packed trail the rest of the way. Soon we were at the point where both Jim and I turned back on separate trips a few years back. Steep slopes on both sides of the narrow ridge with a large rock and tree blocking the middle. After some back and forth, literally, we came to the sensible solution of everyone doing something different. Bob went to the right. I followed, ditching my snowshoes below. Everyone else went to the left and had an easier, less steep, trip. But we all made it! This was my fourth try at this peak and now I was on top! We traversed along the dull knife-edge ridge of Mt. Catherine to the summit. The ridge had a huge cornice so we hung back a bit for lunch imagining the other peaks we should be seeing according to the weather forecast. We spat a few invectives at Jeff Renner and then started back down. This time we all took the same route. I quickly fell behind when my legs started to cramp from the Tubbs snowshoes I've been having trouble with. Back at Nordic Pass Bruce made an impressive repair of his snowshoe with a backpack strap. The rest of our trip down went well, we even managed to stay on route with all the blue diamonds. We managed the entire trip, including summit and lunch, in less time than it took to simply reach Nordic Pass just last month. Very satisfying to get that peak monkey off my back finally! On the return we made a quick swing by Exit 47 to find it still unplowed both to Annette and the Granite lot. Trip photos: http://www.pbase.com/billcat/catherine4/