Mount Catherine and Rockdale Ridge via Hyak
Ben and I parked in the Hyak parking lot and skinned up Mount Hyak
underneath the south lift. We descended to the clear-cut basin to the
west, and entered the old-growth forest on the other side. When we
made it to the 4,000'+ pass between Mount Catherine and Rockdale Ridge
(point 4,440'+), we headed south then east following the ridge to the
summit of Mount Catherine.
The summit is clear of trees and has 360 degree views, with good
close-up views of Silver Peak and Tinkham Peak, and nice views of many
Snoqualmie Pass peaks like Red Mountain (Snoqualmie Pass quad), Lundin
Peak, Rampart Ridge, Guye Peak, Granite Mountain (Snoqualmie Pass
quad), Snoqualmie Mountain, etc. In the distance we could see Mount
Stuart and Big Snow Mountain.
From the summit we headed back west down the ridge, we overshot and
ended up in Olallie Meadow. From Olallie Meadow we skied up the
south side of Rockdale Ridge. There are some tight trees here, this
side of the ridge wouldn't be good to ski down.
We descended the north side of the ridge, which provided good skiing.
Soon we caught a maintenance road which I assume leads to the radio
tower on the north side of the ridge. We followed the maze of roads
through the nordic ski area back to Hyak.
Elevation gain:
3,285 feet
Trip type:
backcountry ski
USGS quads:
Snoqualmie Pass, Lost Lake
Car-to-car:
7 hours 28 minutes
-
3 hours 38 minutes
ascending
from
Hyak parking lot
to
summit of Mount Catherine
-
44 minutes
descending
from
summit of Mount Catherine
to
Olallie Meadow
-
1 hour 4 minutes
ascending
from
Olallie Meadow
to
top of Rockdale Ridge
-
1 hour 6 minutes
descending
from
top of Rockdale Ridge
to
on logging roads
-
12 minutes
descending
from
on logging roads
to
side of Hyak Mountain
-
9 minutes
descending
from
side of Hyak Mountain
to
Hyak parking lot
References
-
Trip reports:
I-90 winter climbs
-
Winter guide book:
Winter Climbs: One Day Ascents (out of print)