Trip Date: April 17, 2004

Big Lou Mountain Snowshoe Climb

Chatter Creek
Frigid Basin
Lake Ida
Big Lou Mountain (7763 ft)

Trip Report Summary

Region: Central Washington Cascades

Sub-Region: Chiwaukum Mountains

Area: Alpine Lakes Wilderness

Starting & Ending Point: Chatter Creek Trailhead on Icicle Creek Road (Elev. 2600 feet)

Way Points: Chatter Creek & East Fork Chatter Creek / Frigid Creek & Frigid Basin & Lake Ida Saddle & Lake Ida & Big Lou Mountain summit (trail hike & snowshoe climb & snow climb)

Summit: Big Lou Mountain (snow climb via Southwest Slope)

Approximate Stats: 10 miles traveled; 5900 feet gained & lost; 5.0 hours up; 2.8 hours down.

Related Post

>>> Frigid Mountain snowshoe climb via Chatter Creek–Frigid Creek – April 17, 2005

Full Trip Report

As the highest point on Icicle Ridge, Big Lou Mountain hovers 5200 feet above the upper Icicle Creek Road.  In springtime, it is strikingly visible from the road as a broad, white triangle.  To my eye, this visage is somewhat reminiscent of Eldorado Peak from Cascade Pass.

I headed east on Saturday morning in hopes of escaping the west-side drizzle and climbing Big Lou.  Right on cue, the skies completely turned blue as I passed through Easton.  Over in Leavenworth, though, a few towering cumulus announced unsettled weather.

The Icicle Creek Road was snow-free all the way to Chatter Creek, and probably well beyond.  Just before reaching the guard station, I was surprised to find a brand new parking lot for the Chatter Creek trailhead.  A new 1-mile cutoff trail angles from here over to meet the original trail.  This arrangement is a big improvement over the old one.

I started up the well-graded cutoff trail under a hot sun, crossing Chatter Creek on a sturdy new bridge.  Once on the original trail, I huffed another mile up the steep switchbacks, re-crossed Chatter Creek (both branches) on rocks, and then continued up the trail for several more minutes until reaching a small side stream (“Frigid Creek”) at 4500 feet.

My plan was to access Lake Ida by paralleling this side stream in either brush or thick forest, whichever seemed least uninviting.  However, I was delighted to see a continuous ribbon of snow extending upward along the right side of the stream.  I donned snowshoes and climbed this ribbon as it gradually broadened into a bouldery couloir.  Several rock “ducks” could be seen along the way, probably marking a fisherman’s path to Lake Ida.

At about 6300 feet, the couloir flattened into a scenic little basin.  The map showed a slight saddle at 7080+ feet between here and Lake Ida, so I aimed for it.  In fact, this saddle is so very slight that I completely missed it and ended up at a more pronounced 7000-foot saddle to the northwest!  I had to contour 1/3 mile southeast to reach the correct saddle, costing me only a bit of time and effort.  Snowshoes became a liability on the steep, crusty side hills, so I strapped them on my pack.

From the correct saddle, I looked down to frozen Lake Ida and back up to Big Lou’s summit, which was still more than 1 mile away as the crow flies.  Fortunately, time was not an issue.  I dropped 300 feet to the lake outlet, then began the final 1000-foot ascent.  The featureless expanse of snow slopes skirting the summit knob made it difficult to gauge progress; much of the time, I felt like I was merely walking in place.  Shades of Eldorado!

At 3:15pm, I stepped onto the tiny cluster of summit rocks, just as a light snow started to fall.  It had been a typical April day in the Cascades, with the weather changing moods every 10 minutes.  Visibility remained pretty good, allowing views of Cannon Mountain, The Cradle, Big Chiwaukum Peak, and Clark Mountain.

Of course, Mt. Cashmere hogged the local scenery.  Big Lou is certainly a “gawker’s” mountain—better to look from than to look at.  The summit register, which had been placed by Johnnie Jeans in 2002, indicated about 12 visitors per year.  All of them had come in late summer or fall, when Lake Ida must be beautiful.

I poured some of Laura’s ashes atop the summit cairn, from which she would have a sweeping view of the Chiwaukum Mountains and Stuart Range.  These areas had been the scene of so many memorable climbs and long hikes during her past 5 years.  She will undoubtedly be pleased to revisit them on the wake of a mountain breeze.  While eating a summit snack, I had time to recollect some of our local adventures.

Soon it was time to head home, and I enjoyed 1000 feet of perfect heel-plunging snow conditions down to the lake.  The 300-foot climb back over the saddle felt like 600 feet, but this was quickly followed by another 1000 feet of perfect snow through the basin and down the couloir.

Around 5500 feet, I started to periodically punch through (between boulders) up to my waist, which became very nerve-wracking.  I donned snowshoes in an attempt to prevent the punch-throughs, but this was only partially effective.  Eventually, I forsook the snow descent in favor of boulder hopping.  Much better!  I intersected the Chatter Creek trail at 4500 feet and was back at my vehicle an hour later.

Route Comments

Big Lou is a dandy spring climb, with healthy elevation gain, great views, and no technical difficulties.  I was particularly pleased to have a brush-free route to the lake.  Even after the lower snow ribbon melts out (probably in several weeks), one could stay mostly on boulders until reaching the upper snowline.  Snowshoes were useful more for traction than flotation, owing to the nicely consolidating snowpack.  By May, I wouldn’t bother taking them.

Equipment Comments

For more information regarding the various equipment that I used for this particular trip and that I typically use for this type of trip, see my gear reviews on the following pages:

>>> Trail & Mountain Snowshoes

>>> Backcountry Ski & Snowshoe Packs

>>> Wintertime Comfort Accessories

Photo Gallery

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