Trip Date: April 26, 2008
Jim Hill Ridge & Henry Creek Bowl Ski Tour
Henry Creek Bowl
Jim Hill Ridge
Trip Report Summary
Region: Central Washington Cascades
Sub-Region: Upper Icicle Mountains
Area: Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest
Starting & Ending Point: Cascade Tunnel East Portal maintenance access road on Highway 2 (Elev. 2950 feet)
Way Points: Lower Henry Creek Roadhead (road walk via Highway 2); Henry Creek & Upper Henry Creek Road & Lower Henry Creek Basin & Henry Creek Bowl & Jim Hill Ridge (ski tour)
Ski Run: Henry Creek Bowl (2500-foot ski descent from ridge)
Approximate Stats: 5 miles traveled; 3800 feet gained & lost; 4.1 hours up; 1.6 hours down.
Related Posts
>>> Jim Hill Mountain via Lanham Lake—North Ridge—West Arete – May 2020
>>> Jim Hill Mountain via Lanham Lake—North Ridge—East Arete – April 1999
Full Trip Report
Mark and I took advantage of Saturday’s great weather by heading up Jim Hill Mountain, just east of Stevens Pass. Our goal was to ski the classic Henry Creek Bowl on the northeast side of the mountain. This bowl is legendary among local backcountry skiers, but I’d been stymied on my prior attempts. Mark had previously survived an epic mid-winter ski attempt on the bowl and was eager to try it again under springtime conditions.
We parked on a dirt road located 200 yards west of the railroad tunnel portal. This road provides access to the portal and to a WSDOT avalanche gun, and it has room for at least a half-dozen skier/snowshoer vehicles. From there, it was a short walk down the highway to the Henry Creek Roadhead. Although the pullout just east of the portal is even closer, there are foreboding tow-away signs posted there.
- Mark Walking Along Highway 2
We skied up the Henry Creek logging road about 3/4 mile, crossing Henry Creek along the way, then cut up through steep but open forest on crusty snow. Several hundred feet uphill, we intersected the road near its terminus. (It probably would have been faster to simply stay on the road the whole way.) A dicey ski traverse on more steep, rock-hard snow led us down to a level part of the creek (at 3800 feet)—and an encounter with a dozen other skiers and snowshoers. We continued upward en masse for about 2500 vertical feet, first through sparse forest then up open slopes, to the scenic north ridge of Jim Hill Mountain.
- Traversing Toward Jim Hill Mountain
Our uptrack stayed right of a large avalanche that spanned the entire upper north face of the false (NE) summit. We inferred that the avy probably occurred just a day before!
- Avalanche On Jim Hill Mountain
Ski conditions looked marginal above the ridge crest, so we didn’t bother going up to the false summit (let alone to the true summit, which is a pretty exposed climb).
- Jim Hill Mtn Summit From Ridge Crest
- Glacier Peak & Rock Mountain From Ridge
Conditions did look pretty good on the big north slopes: 8 inches of fresh (albeit heavy) snow over a firm base. However, we quickly discovered that conditions were in fact EXCELLENT.
- Mark Starting Descent
What ensued was 2500 feet of the best skiing I’ve had all year!
- Jim Skiing Below Summit (photo by Mark)
- Mark skiing upper slope
- Jim skiing middle slope (photo by Mark)
- Mark Skiing Middle Slope
We were sad to reach the creek at 3800 feet. We were even sadder about having to screetch from there down through icy, lumpy snow in dense forest. Eventually, we popped out at the logging road and had an easy glide back to the highway.
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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