Trip Date: April 15, 2017
Updated: January 2024
Mt. Catherine Snowshoe Climb
Hyak Lake
Hyak Flats
Nordic Pass
Mount Catherine (5052 ft)
Trip Report Summary
Region: Central Washington Cascades
Sub-Region: Iron Horse Mountains
Area: Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest
Starting & Ending Point: Snoqualmie Drive / Hyak Drive intersection off Interstate-90 at Exit 54 (Elev. 2640 feet)
Way Points: Snoqualmie Drive / Cascade Place intersection & Nordic Pass Trailhead (road walk); Little Hyak Creek & Hyak Creek & Lower Crossover Ski Trail & InterSummit-90 Ski Trail & Hyak Lake & Hyak Flats & Mill Creek Basin & Nordic Pass (snowshoe hike via Nordic Pass Trail)
Summit: Mt. Catherine (snowshoe climb via West Ridge)
Approximate Stats: 10 miles traveled; 2750 feet gained and lost; 4.7 hours up; 3.6 hours down.
Related Posts
>>> Mt Catherine Snowshoe Climb via West Ridge – March 12, 2016
>>> Nordic Pass Snowshoe Trek & Ski Loop – detailed route description
Information Sources
The following links provide helpful information for planning this snowshoe trek. Even these information sources, however, should not be taken as a substitute for having the fitness, knowledge, equipment, and clothing required for snowshoe trekking.
>>> WSDOT road reports for Interstate-90 and Snoqualmie Pass
>>> National Weather Service weather forecast for Snoqualmie Pass area
>>> Northwest Avalanche Center avalanche forecast for Snoqualmie Pass area
>>> Other easy to intermediate snowshoe treks in the I-90 / Snoqualmie Pass corridor
Full Trip Report
On a mild, sunny spring morning, Eileen and I pulled into the overflow parking lot at Hyak Ski Area, with a goal of climbing Mt. Catherine. We walked up Snoqualmie Drive to the first hairpin corner, donned snowshoes, and started up the Nordic Pass Trail (NPT). Following blue diamonds up past Hyak Lake and through Hyak Flats, then around the head of Mill Creek, we arrived at Nordic Pass in late morning (3.2 hours + 1450 feet from car). The snow surface was very crusty, which made for fairly easy travel to this point.
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From Nordic Pass, we snowshoed southeastward up steep slopes toward the west ridge of Mt. Catherine. A layer of fresh snow ranging up to 8 inches thick covered the crust, so we had to break trail and carefully pick our route. We eventually worked onto the summit ridge and easily ran the narrow crest eastward over to the high point (4.7 hours + 2600 feet from car).
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For our descent, we headed westward along the ridge crest and continued in that direction down a moderately steep slope, then turned right (north) and traversed back over to Nordic Pass (1.1 hours from summit). This route took a little longer but avoided the steep slopes that we had ascended earlier. From the pass, we simply followed our tracks back to the parking lot (3.6 hours + 100 feet from summit).
Equipment Comments
Due to the steep terrain encountered on the upper part of this route, I feel that a mountain snowshoe rather than a trail snowshoe is needed. Trekking poles and an ice axe are also highly recommended. 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 discussions and reviews on the following pages:
>>> Trail & Mountain Snowshoes
>>> Backcountry Ski & Snowshoe Packs
>>> Wintertime Comfort Accessories
Route Map
Click here for a high-rez printable PDF version of the schematic route map shown below.
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Photo Gallery
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