Fun day trip up to Keep Kool Butte via Welcome Pass.
Started late at 9 AM from the bottom of Forest Road 3060.
Forest Road 3060 to Welcome Pass TH was completely blocked by multiple blowdowns. Parked our cars on the right shoulder of the forest road and walked up to the TH approximately 0.7 mi one way, less than 500 ft elevation gain.
High Divide Trail was completely snow free until we hit more consistent snow above 4,400ft. Snow was hard packed with visible bootpack. We put on spikes at that point and kept them on until we got to the pass. Transitioned to snowshoes at the pass as snow conditions were mixed and we started to posthole here and there.
After Pt 5743 / Sadie's Point, we dropped down to the saddle, took our snowshoes off and went up the section of the ridge that was mostly snow free. After that section, we put them back on, only to find out that we had to go around and below an outcropping, so there's a sidehilling on a short stretch of steep slope that was tricky to be done in snowshoes. Some of us kept our snowshoes on, and some of us decided to use spikes and ice axes and took our time on this section. The rest of the trip was very straightforward and non-technical.
Stunning view of Mount Baker area peaks in full winter coat, such as Larrabee, Goat, Winchester, Tomyhoi, ABP, etc.
After a lunch break, we headed back to the pass and decided that it was too late to go up to Welcome Butte. If we started at 7 AM, we would've had enough time to do both peaks and be back at the car before it got dark.
Next time we will be back to do the Welcome butte and do the traverse to Excelsior Pass!
Beautiful day regardless, and we had the whole area to ourselves!
Stats: 8.9 mi RT, a little over 8 hours, around 4,000ft gain total with a leisurely pace and a lot of short breaks for snacks, gear changes and photos :)
Comments