Trip Date: March 2, 2013

Butcher Creek Knoll Ski Tour

Nason Ridge
Butcher Creek Knoll (5240+ ft)

Trip Report Summary

Region: North-Central Washington Cascades

Sub-Region: Upper Wenatchee Mountains

Area: Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest

Starting & Ending Point: Butcher Creek Road #6910 snow blockage (Elev. 2200 feet)

Way Points: Round Mountain Trailhead & Nason Ridge crest & Butcher Creek Knoll (ski tour)

Approximate Stats: 9 miles traveled; 3200 feet gained & lost; 3.9 hours up; 1.8 hours down.

Full Trip Report

On Saturday, Todd and Sara joined me for a backcountry ski tour up Nason Ridge near Round Mountain.  We parked under the powerlines on Road #6910 (it is plowed to here, at 2200 feet) and then skinned several miles up the road to the Round Mtn Trailhead at 4000 feet.  This road sees a moderate level of snowmobile traffic throughout the winter, so the snow gets well-consolidated and more melt-resistant.

From the trailhead, we cruised up pine forest several hundred feet until bursting onto the wide-open slopes of the old Round Mtn burn.  These slopes, with their picturesque silver snags, are a skier’s paradise.  We continued up mellow slopes to a gentle 5240-foot knoll (3.9 hours from car) immediately east of Round Mountain.

The summit had been our goal for the day, but we’d been experiencing frequent collapse of the snowpack (“whoomphing”) while ascending the burn slopes, and we could see an ominous avalanche scarp cutting across the upper face of the peak.  Those two factors prompted us to call the knoll our turnaround point.  Besides, there does not appear to be any good skiing beyond this knoll.

I dug a test pit and discovered the likely cause of both the collapsing snowpack and the higher avalanche scarp:  there was a buried hoar layer about 20 inches below the surface.  This layer will no doubt remain problematic on steeper slopes for at least several more weeks.  Incidentally, my avalanche probe revealed the snowpack to be a healthy 9 feet deep here.

After lunch, we enjoyed some very good ski conditions heading down through the burn, with 6 inches of new snow over a firm base.  Not exactly powder, but not quite cement either.  After 1200 vertical feet of telemarking, we hit Road #6910 and zoomed back to the car (1.6 hours down) to end a fun day.

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:

>>> Backcountry Telemark Ski Touring Gear

>>> Backcountry Ski & Snowshoe Packs

>>> Wintertime Comfort Accessories

Photo Gallery

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