I took advantage of the “Juneuary” weather this weekend to ski a loop in the Alpental valley backcountry and do some long overdue scouting. The weather forecast was 41 degrees and sunny all day at the pass so I opted to get out there (relatively) early to avoid both the crowds and the warming snow later in the day. I parked and departed the car around 7:15am, beginning my trek up through the Phantom Trees in the Alpental valley opposite the ski area.
The snow in the trees was quite firm, which led to some tough skinning at times. I resorted to booting straight up on a couple of occasions; ski crampons would have been helpful. I’m sure there are easier ways up as well if you know what you’re doing!
I had hoped to capture some nice sunrise photos but I was climbing through the trees for most of the morning golden light. I did manage to snag a couple of nice shots of the opposite side of the valley, though.
I emerged from the thick trees and reached the Western ridge of Snoqualmie mountain by 9:45am (2.5 hours to here). The sun was beating down on these south-facing slopes at this point, the roller-balls and pinwheels from days prior a reminder that I needed to keep moving.
My plan from here was to traverse this ridge NW past the cliffs and descend to West to the small plateau. I opted to attempt a descending traverse in downhill mode, which was a mistake - I was quickly cliffed out. Unsure if I would be able to make the traverse and if the North end of the ridge would go, I opted to ski back south and loop around the bottom of the cliffs. I transitioned here and began my ascent to the eastern end of the ridge separating Snow lake and Alpental valley. Looking back I saw the cliffs and end of the ridge I intended to descend. Next time!
I reached the top of the next ridge at 10:45 (3.5 hours to here) and found no easy descent options. Walking back and forth for a bit I spied a route through the steep trees that I thought would go - one way to find out! 50 feet of side-stepping and tree-hugging later I was able to enter a nice chute and take my best turns of the day descending to the unnamed lakes below Avalanche mountain.
I enjoyed a quick snack by the lake and began traversing West to the Snow lake divide. The difference in the snow on these protected North-facing aspects was remarkable. 4 inches of light fluffy unconsolidated powder was a welcome change after the mushy and crusty snow on the South-facing or treed slopes.
I reached the Snow lake divide by noon (5 hours to here), rejoining the many skiers and snowshoers venturing out to or back from Snow Lake. The quick descent to Source lake and the traverse along the danger trail had me back at the car by 12:45.
While I didn’t ski any big lines or really have any long descents, this was a fantastic loop to explore the Snoqualmie backcountry and become more familiar with the terrain. You can look at a map and read other trip reports to try and plan a ski outing, but nothing really beats getting out there and looking at the lines yourself. I’ll certainly be back soon with friends and a bigger objective!