Trip Date: April 19, 2008
Silver King Peak Ski Ascent & Ski Descent
Silver Basin
Silver Saddle
Silver King Peak (6998′)
Trip Report Summary
Region: Southern Washington Cascades
Sub-Region: Chinook Mountains
Area: Mt. Baker – Snoqualmie National Forest
Starting & Ending Point: Crystal Mountain Ski Area base lodge (Elev. 4400 feet)
Way Points: Miners Lakes & Silver Basin & Silver Saddle & Silver King Peak summit (ski tour)
Summit: Silver King Peak (ski ascent & ski descent via South Ridge)
Approximate Stats: 5 miles traveled; 3800 feet gained & lost; 4.1 hours up; 1.6 hours down.
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Full Trip Report
Saturday provided a freak reprise of Winter Blast 2008. Fay, Beth, Eileen, and I took advantage of winter’s probable “last gasp” by skiing up Silver King Peak in the Crystal Mtn area. Because the ski area is now closed for the season, this was a great place to find backcountry ski conditions.
- Silver King Peak From Lodge
We skinned up to Silver Basin…
- Skiing Into Silver Basin
… then booted straight uphill to Silver Saddle in the corniced ridge crest connecting Silver King Peak with Threeway Peak.
- Booting Up To Silver Saddle
- Skiing Up Ridge Crest
It was remarkably cold, and fresh powder was prevalent: 5 inches at the parking lot, and 14 inches at the summit! Despite the rapid snow accumulation atop old crust, stability was surprisingly good; there were several point-release avalanches in the basin but no slab releases. However, there will undoubtedly be considerable avalanche activity when the weather warms up.
- Skiing To Summit
- Fay, Eileen, and Beth On Summit
We had lunch on the frigid summit, then skied back down our up-route. It was quite a treat to cut telemark tracks through near-virgin snow below the lift line.
- Eileen Telemarking Downslope
- Trio Telemarking Down Liftline
Photo Gallery
Click to enlarge…
