Trip Date: May 15, 2020
Silver Peak Day Climb & Nordic Pass Loop: Hyak Flats to Cold Creek
Hyak Flats
Nordic Pass
Windy Pass
Silver Peak (5605′)
Cold Creek Valley
Trip Report Summary
Region: Central Washington Cascades
Sub-Region: Iron Horse Mountains
Areas: Okanogan – Wenatchee National Forest & Mt. Baker – Snoqualmie National Forest
Starting & Ending Point: Summit East (Hyak) Ski Area off Interstate-90 at Exit 54 (Elev. 2600 feet)
Loop Way Points: Lower Cold Creek Road crossing & Union Station & Hyak Flats & Nordic Pass & Windy Pass / Upper Cold Creek Road & Mill Creek Vehicle Bridge & Hyak Drive junction & Summit East Ski Area (off-trail hike & snow hike & road walk)
Loop High Point: Nordic Pass (Elev. 4000 feet)
Sidetrip: Windy Acres & North Silver Saddle (snow hike & snow climb)
Summit: Silver Peak (snow climb & rock scramble via Northwest Ridge—Upper West Face)
Approximate Stats: 13 miles traveled; 3550 feet gained & lost; 6.6 hours up; 3.7 hours down.
Related Posts
Abiel Peak via East Ridge + Cold Creek Trail Loop – September 2021
Tinkham Peak Summit Loop: Mirror Lake to Windy Pass – September 2021
Silver Peak via Annette Lake—West Slope—South Ridge – June 2009
Full Trip Report
On what was shaping up to be the only dry day during a long rainy stretch, Eileen and I took the opportunity to climb Silver Peak near Snoqualmie Pass. Silver Peak is the highest summit in the “Iron Horse Mountains,” which encompass the elongated sub-range located between the South Fork Snoqualmie River (Interstate-90) and the Cedar River. Judging by the numerous boot prints, ski tracks, and other climbers we saw on this prominent peak, I would say that it is also the most popular mountaineering objective in the Iron Horse Mountains.
The abundant supply of winter and spring trip reports indicates that Silver Peak is typically approached either from the Annette Lake Trail (on the west), from Olallie Creek (on the north), or from Cold Creek Road (on the east). Instead, I had been wanting to make a springtime approach via Hyak Flats and Nordic Pass (on the northeast) using the Nordic Pass Trail (NPT). This route is not necessarily quick or efficient, but it does avoid steep slopes and avalanche-prone terrain. Moreover, given my fondness for the NPT, it holds a greater esthetic appeal than other approach routes.
The NPT formally begins at the first switchback on Snoqualmie Drive, adjacent to Little Hyak Creek. However, because the lower part of the NPT tends to melt out and get brushy by April or May, we employed the “late spring variation.” For this, we started at Summit East (Hyak) Ski Area base lodge and wandered up the barren ski runs. Patchy snow became continuous after about 500 vertical feet, as we worked our way past Union Station on a confusing maze of snow-covered roads. Upon reaching Hyak Flats (under the high-tension powerlines), our route intersected the NPT coming in from Hyak Lake. We then followed blue diamonds through dense forest for 1.5 miles to 4000-foot Nordic Pass (3.2 hours + 1550 feet from car).
From Nordic Pass, we descended 200 feet to Windy Pass and then began a gentle westerly traverse through Windy Acres. The snowpack was very well consolidated at all elevations, so snowshoes were not really needed during our approach hike.
After traversing westward for 1 mile, we rounded the nose of a ridge and turned southward into an open snow valley crisscrossed by ski tracks. This inviting valley led us to an obvious snow saddle with a close-up view of Silver Basin and Silver Peak’s steep north face.
A pair of climbers approaching from the Annette Lake Trail arrived at the north saddle minutes behind us, and we ended up leap-frogging with them during the summit climb. Our composite route angled up to the northwest ridge, ran along the crest for a short distance, and then finished on the upper west face.
We reached the summit rocks in mid-afternoon (6.6 hours + 3400 feet from car). The day had begun with dark clouds and rain sprinkles, but it was now clearing up nicely and revealing more surrounding peaks.
In chatting with the other pair of climbers, Eileen and I learned that their approach from the mid-point of the Annette Lake Trail had been pretty gnarly, so they were looking for an alternative descent route. We encouraged them to descend more directly toward Annette Lake (based on our personal experience) instead of going back over the north saddle. They heeded our advice.
Eileen and I left the summit shortly after 3:00pm and readily followed our up-route back to Windy Pass (1.4 hours from summit). Rather than retracing our steps over Nordic Pass, though, we elected to follow Cold Creek Road around the southern side of Mt. Catherine. It was efficient if not esthetic. This road is a popular access route for backcountry skiers, but because it was now about 50-percent snow-free in a patchwork fashion, there would have been no time advantage for us to use skis here.
A seemingly long 5 miles of road walking brought us back to Summit East Ski Area, where we closed our loop at 7:00pm (3.7 hours + 150 feet from summit). We concluded that Nordic Pass does indeed provide an interesting and satisfying approach route to Silver Peak—a route highly recommended for anyone who wants a big serving of convoluted adventure to accompany the very tasty summit entrée.
Route Maps
>>> Click here for a high-rez printable PDF version of the map shown below: NordicPassTrailMap2010
Photo Gallery
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