Mt Catherine – 5,052 ft
Eric and Greg
Jan 8, 2017
We drove just past Snoqualmie Pass on Sunday morning, and started skinning up the Mt Hyak ski slopes around 8am. The lifts weren’t running yet, so we had no problem with downhill skiers. We eventually crested a plateau, and skied along some groomed cross-country ski trails until we were close to the base of Mt Catherine. After crossing a small stream, we left the trail, following ski tracks through the woods.
The route soon became very steep, with tough switchbacks through the dense trees. At one point it was steep enough that we took off the skis and kicked steps up a slope for about 40ft. Soon after we crested the summit ridge, and followed the narrow crest to the top.
With skis on the summit, we descended the way we came, only removing the skis briefly to downclimb a steep, icy 20ft chute. We finished earlier than expected, so had time to skin up and tag the summit of Mt Hyak too, before skiing down the resort slopes back to the car.
© 2018, egilbert@alum.mit.edu. All rights reserved.
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