A Mile Above the Methow

After an adventurous low tide tour out of the Twisp River Sno-Park, I looked to the Upper Methow for a better snowpack. I knew that the upper elevations of the Methow were having a record year – Harts Pass briefly broke its all time Snow Water Equivalent record for the day, and Washington Pass was already deeper than the deepest point last winter. However, the challenge was getting to the upper elevations. With the Silver Star Sno-Park still closed, there were no plowed access locations above 2500 ft. Sure, there were plenty of snowmobile roads to access the mid elevations, but most of these were long and flat – unreasonable without a sled. What I needed was a sled road that climbed reasonably quickly, and the Yellowjack Sno-Park provided exactly that.

Kelly dropped me off around 10 AM, before returning to Mazama to skate ski for the day. From the car at 2400 ft, there was already a much better snowpack than in the Twisp the day before. I could easily skin off the road, but the road was packed down by snowmobiles and plenty fast to cruise up.

The recent atmospheric rivers have taken a toll on the approach road. There were many sections with open water flowing through. Most of the sledders seemed to just send it through the muck, but eventually I encountered a section so bad that some had simply left the sleds and continued on skis. I had to take off my skis and jump across the mud.

Sticking mostly to the road, but following sledders by cutting some strategic switchbacks, I reached the 5,000 ft saddle after nearly two hours of skinning. Although there is certainly plentiful opportunity for low angle tree skiing below, this is where the good terrain begins. I ascended north through wonderful 30-35 degree glades. Despite the southerly aspect, the snow was still mostly dry powder after many days of sunshine.

I ran into a four other skiers on the way up, one of whom had a familiar voice. It turned out to be my friend and fellow advocate, Tom, CEO of the Mountaineers!

From the flat knoll around 6500 ft, I took a nice run down through the southerly glades I just ascended, before climbing back up, all the way to the ridge around 7000 ft. From here, I had a wonderful view of the valley, a full mile above the Methow. The Gardeners, Silver Star, and Robinson towered across the valley. Looking north, I could catch a glimpse or remote, inaccessible Pasayten Peaks.

It was an extremely pleasant day up high, with warm temps and hardly a breeze. After hopping down the ridge and making my way through some tight trees, I found some absolutely west facing dazzling glades in the afternoon sunshine. The skiing was perfect flow state, hopping off bumps in the snow, floating through great powder.

I took one last skin back up, admiring the golden light and beautifully spaced trees.

With about 30 minutes of light left, I began my final descent to the southwest, aiming to intersect the approach road down around 4k. I got pushed a little too far right but then corrected towards the SW ridge, skiing through magical open glades in the fading light.

Once I hit the sled road, it was a pretty quick, but bumpy trip out. I returned right around sunset, where Kelly was waiting for me.

This day exceeded my expectations! There are few things more relaxing than simply surfing through glades of powder. I loved the vibe of this area, with towering pines and distant views of the Methow Valley. While it is a bit of an approach without a sled, it was well worth it!

Notes:

• It was about 2600 ft gain and 4 miles to where the real backcountry skiing began. However, there were lower options for chill backcountry skiing, even right above the sno-park. The tree spacing is quite good across most of the area.
• Most of the high terrain is relatively south facing, so sun effect is a concern. However, the snow was still mostly dry for me even after a few sunny days where NWAC reported sun crusts in the area. I think the mixed tree cover helped reduce the sun crusts.
• The nearby peaks looked similarly excellent for nice glade skiing!
• At this point, the NWAC weather station in Mazama read about 12 inches of snow depth. This was very sufficient! Granted, this year we have seen a huge disparity between low and upper elevation snowpacks.