An outing I don’t mind repeating because the views are sooo good.

A nice walk essentially tracing the first bit of the Ptarmigan Traverse and looping around Hurry-Up Peak. This was my first time skiing at Cascade River Road not doing Eldorado and boy were the views mindblowing. I definitely need to make it out here more often!

Just scoping out the Park and Coleman Glacier headwalls. I knew the latter wasn’t going to go, but the entire upper mountain was a bit rimier than I expected - I suppose I was too optimistic about the half inch of precipitation.

A scenic loop to see soak in the fall colors and perhaps the impetus/rebirth of this very website!

I’ve done Ruth Mountain previously in the summer and I thought it had some of the best views in the North Cascades for the relatively easy level of effort. I couldn’t say no to the same views with even more snow, tagging Icy Peak this time around, and skiing back down the enticing slopes of Ruth.

As straightforward of an up and down on Mount Baker as you can get. Great to revisit this route, but man is it kind of a boring slog in the sense that the views don’t change that much. The conditions this weekend were a little uncertain to go for anything bigger and I certainly needed the confidence booster after last week’s debacle.

I’ve always wondered what kind of outing I’d be capable of off the couch, and on this day I really paid for it trying to attempt two classic steep ski lines on Mount Baker.

A Fifty Classic Ski Descent of North America that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. This one was especially special since Chris and I crossed paths interning at some random company back in my hometown on the east coast many lifetimes ago.

A warmup and scope out of the snow conditions around the Mount Baker Ski Area. Chris is so speedy!

Up Sahale via the Quien Sabe Glacier route. Waffled a bit due to the forecast but glad I made it out (although I regrettably stubbed my toe on a rock and broke it).

I was originally going to note how unremarkable Sourdough Mountain is except for the fact that it casually rises almost 5000 feet from Diablo Lake below. I guess I do take some of the easy peaks for granted sometimes - but I still think the views from the road are unimpressive compared to other national parks.

My first foray into the elusive Picket Range and perhaps one of the few peaks day-trippable in the area for my humble aerobic ambitions.

Tried to milk out the last of a weekend in the North Cascades after an exhausting day yesterday. A top 5 “gotta bring my mom” type hike for sure though - probably the best view of the southern pickets.

A fun scramble route on one of Washington’s most iconic mountains. Although I think of Mount Shuksan as more of a skier’s mountain, I’ll happily settle for scrambling on it when it’s bone dry.

Awesome ridge linkup starting at Excelsior Peak and ending with a fun scramble on Tomyhoi.

Sometimes I feel like the Twin Sisters Range next to Mount Baker is often forgotten about. The red tape with the logging company land ownership adds a bit to the weirdness and mystery. Armed with mountain bikes, this turned into a great multi-sport adventure traversing from South Twin to North Twin.

The Ptarmigan Traverse is an ultra-classic mountaineering route that cuts through the heart of the Northern Cascades. Four days of miles and miles of glacier travel, rugged terrain, and never-ending views.

Ruth Mountain may have the best scenery-to-effort ratio in the North Cascades. A smooth gravel road to Hannegan Pass Trailhead, followed by a nicely maintained trail, easy snow travel, and no crevasse shenanigans (season dependent obviously) - highly recommend as a type 1 kind of day.

Eldorado Peak is one of the “Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America” that shouldn’t be. The quality of skiing itself was mediocre but the views more than made up for it. We were debating turning around with the grim visibility on the way up, but we pressed on and were instead rewarded with brief yet stunning views near the summit.

There is nothing notable about Ruby Mountain in the North Cascades, but its view of Ross Lake and the surrounding peaks is pretty cool. We missed the powder window in favor of mashed potatoes so I definitely need to come back early on a cold bluebird day!