Stampede Pass point 4,400+

Yana and I parked at the Crystal Springs Sno-park next to a truck full of sled dogs.

We skied Road 54 to Road 5484. At the double hairpin-turns at 3,680 on Road 5484 we checked out the avalanche slope the road crossed and decided to leave the road and ascend the moderate treed slopes to the east. We reached the ridge at the little 4,080+ pass. Just as we reached the pass three teams of sled dogs crossed the road, that was a great contrast to all the snowmobiles buzzing around.

From the pass we headed SW up to point 4,400+ (NW of Stampede Pass). A fighter jet buzzed us as we had lunch up there. There were nice views from our lunch spot! We admired peaks like Snoqualmie Mountain, Mount Thompson, Lemah Peak, Mount Margaret, Tinkham Peak, and Mount Catherine. We also eyed many moderate ski slopes and wished we had the time to ski them.

From point 4,400+ we headed south down the ridge that curves east and ends at point 3,838 above Stampede Pass. We followed it all the way to the pass. The ridge wasn't that great to ski, it was treed all the way. The trees weren't super tight, maybe if the snow hadn't been so crusty under the trees it would have been OK.

From Stampede Pass we followed the Road 54 (which is groomed) all the way back to the car. The road is steep enough to glide and turn almost the whole way.

Did I mention Crystal Springs Sno-park and Stampede Pass are snowmobile central? This would be much better as a weekday destination.

Date:

2008/01/13

Elevation gain:

2,105 feet

Trip type:

backcountry ski

USGS quad:

Stampede Pass

In:

Yakima Valley

Car-to-car:

7 hours 55 minutes

1 hour 16 minutes driving there from 65th St Park and Ride to Crystal Springs Sno-Park
4 hours 18 minutes ascending from Crystal Springs Sno-Park to highpoint
2 hours 30 minutes descending from highpoint to Crystal Springs Sno-Park

Skiing the south slope of Stampede Pass point 4,400+

Navigating a tree corridor near Stampede Pass

‹ › ×