|
Welcome Pass & Peak 5850 (USGS Mt. Shuksan) 2/15/04 Party: Mountaineers Winter Scramble: Matt Burton, Lynn Graf, Richard Burt, Mary Aulet, Jennifer Janousek, Ike Eichenberger, Bill Fortney
Highlights: This trip was yet another Barometer substitute, a few miles east of the previous trip to Excelsior. The route was a steep but steady hike and snowshoe up the trail to Welcome Pass, then a quick run west through deeper snow on the ridge to Point 5850. Clouds and light snowfall prevented any distant views, but the snowy forest and open ridge crest made for nice travel along the way. Bill Fortney carried his yellow umbrella the entire distance. Details: Two weeks earlier, I signed up for a winter scramble to Barometer Mtn, near Mt. Baker, but the trip was diverted to Excelsior Peak because of avalanche hazard. So I offered to lead Barometer on this weekend, and most of the same people signed up. Then the weather turned snowy, the avalanche hazard went up again, some people understandably cancelled, and this trip also had to be diverted. So we decided to head up Excelsior’s next-door-neighbor, the trail to Welcome Pass. |
||
|
The trail turned out to well-graded but steep, just as it looked on the map. We started from the Mt. Baker Highway at 2000 feet and followed Road 3060 to the summer trailhead at 2400 feet. The trail followed the abandoned road further to about 2900 feet. Then the trail left the road and switchbacked steeply directly up the hillside all the way to Welcome Pass. The trail became snow-covered circa 3500 feet, and we lost the trail in deeper snow circa 4700, but simply continued switchbacking uphill and arrived just east of the Welcome Pass without any trouble. |
|
|
|
From the pass, there were all kinds of options for further destinations, with closed contours to our east (toward Yellow Aster Butte), to the west (toward Excelsior), and some even higher points on ridges leading north from the western ridge. |
||
|
I wanted to try for Point 5850 to the west, since it was the highest nearby point, and I figured I could call it “Welcome Peak.” The party size diminished progressively as we headed west, with three people stopping at a 5500 bump, two more stopping after crossing a 5700 foot crest, and just Richard and I obstinately pushing to get one bump further to 5850. Then we retraced our steps to Welcome Pass, re-accumulated the group, and headed back down. |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Statistics: The round trip was 10 miles, 6:45 hours, 4070 feet cumulative elevation gain. Drive time was 2:20 from Lynnwood to Road 3060. Other Route Info: Road 3060 is just west of milepost 46 on Highway 542. There is a plowed-out parking area on the opposite (south) side of the highway, with space for about five cars. The trail is in mature forest and safe from avalanche hazard all the way except for one brief spot where the trail crosses a creek at about 2800 feet. The ridge has a wide clearly defined crest for traveling east or west. The lee slopes on the north side had accumulated a lot of loose snow.
Related Trips: Excelsior Peak, 2/1/04 - the next destination west on the ridge. Yellow Aster Butte, 9/29/02 - the next destination east on the ridge. |
||
Pictures & Maps:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
