My brother and I were long overdue for a backpacking trip, and we both wanted to try out snowshoeing so we opted for this gorgeous spot. Artist point is renowned for its views and I'd been there twice this summer, but the snow makes it that much greater. We hiked up there on Friday and were the only ones staying the night on our side of the ridge (though there may have been a family up on Huntoon Point). It was the coldest I've ever been while backpacking, nearly reaching 0 degrees both nights with a negative wind chill. We were sleeping in a double-wall four-season tent and we were still freezing (though 30 and 20 degree sleeping bags may have contributed to it) and the outer wall of the tent froze solid. Fortunately, the morning and evening alpenglows did not disappoint, especially from Huntoon Point. We originally planned on traversing over to the Ptarmigan Ridge/Chain Lakes junction and my MSR snowshoes were fine, but the narrow, slanted trail was too much for my brother's Yukon Charlie snowshoes, which were sliding all over the place with their lack of traction. Half a dozen other camps were set up by the time the sun set on Saturday night, most of whom had built up snow walls around their tents which we had forgotten to do, but we had learned our lesson the first night and bundled up in everything we'd brought with us, making for a somewhat less cold night. If you plan on camping up there bring plenty of layers and a shovel (or snowshoe) to build a snow wall for your tent.

Hiked up to Artist's Point last night in my Sorels. Followed the well worn boot path to the top and caught some nice alpen glow along Shuksan and Table Mountain. Tried out my new 900 lumen headlamp on the way down and it really lights up the path. This is a spectacular hike and highly recommended.

This is easily one of the most breathtaking snowshoes in the area, especially on a bluebird sky day. We started in Lynnwood at 6:30AM, and were at the parking lot for Heather Meadows ski area by 9:30AM. The way to Artist Point is well-traveled, so there was no difficulty navigating past the ski area and up onto the ridge leading to Huntoon Point. Since it was a beautiful day, there were many different tracks that trailed away from the main path, but they all met up at Artist Point. Please use common sense when following some of these, as there is a moderate avalanche risk in the area and some folks made questionable choices. The snow was loose and powdery, so it did not hurt too badly for a novice snowshoer (me) to fall into, and it was excellent to slide down some of the steeper sections on the way back to the parking lot. Overall, a wonderful day at one of the most scenic and easy to get to spots in our lovely PNW.

Highway 542 is in good condition all the way up to the lower parking lot. There is a lane closed shortly after the intersection with Highway 9, though I experienced no delays early in the morning or when descending shortly after lunch. As most everyone knows, Heather Meadows is one of the most dramatically beautiful areas of WA (or anywhere, for that matter). The snowshoe route(s) start from the bustling lower parking lot and shares space with other winter recreation activities. I arrived shortly after 8am and there was probably 20-30 cars already in the lot. I passed a few snowshoers right away but there were a few groups that were pretty far ahead of me. By the time I arrived at the main Artist Point area, I was alone for 15-20 minutes and able to enjoy the dramatic views of Shuksan and Baker. This is a very popular route - if you're anything like me, starting around 8-830am is the absolute latest I would consider. As I was heading down Hwy 542 shortly after noon, there was a long line of cars heading up and presumably waiting for parking to free up. Much of this is ski traffic, but seriously, who is just heading up there at 12:30pm? The scenery is as good as it gets, and the snowshoe route is rather easy. I ascended along the road (no real avalanche concerns on this day), but descended through the valley back to the parking lot.

A beautiful sunny day to #OptOutside! We left Everett around 6:45am and got to the Mt. Baker Ski Area at 9:10am. The roads to the pass was clear and well maintained. Thought we were going to be the early birds, but there were a lot of people there as we arrived. Artist Point TH starts from the LAST parking lot of the ski resort and you start from the left side of the bathroom facility. If you start on the right side, you'll be going the wrong way. The resort didn't look like it had any fresh powder in the last couple of days so the trail was well compact from previous snowshoers. This was our first time to Artist Point so we didn't really know where to go and had to ask people as we go. There were no marked signs indicating Artist Point. The trail had a gradual climb to it. Steep at certain areas, but doable for beginners. Once we got to Artist Point, there was a lot of explore. We ventured off and did some exploring to the right side of Artist Point and had lunch on a ledge looking out to Mt. Shuksan. A beautiful day to spend in God's country.