The whole south side of Silver Basin in Crystal Mountain is stacked with great runs. From 3 Way Peak to Pickhandle Basin the ridge can get you into some fun areas so people of all abilities. In the middle of all of this is Gunbarrel and Dogleg Peak with an endless amount of options. With an easy access skin it is one of the easiest places you can get out to. With my time limited to one tour before going to Japan Ben and I wanted to make the most of it. We would head out towards Gunbarrel and put in a solid skin track for multiple laps. With snow so good in the Cascades I wondered why I was heading to Japan.

There is something beautiful about the first turns of the season. The first stretch of the legs, the first time in the snowy mountains and most of all the first fresh turns of the season. The Cascades can go from no snow pack to a 4 foot deep base in one storm and in the December of 2015 we were fortunate to get one of those storms.

Skinning up Silver Basin Towards Gunbarrel

Making our way up upper the Quick Silver chairlift Ben and I could tell it was going to be a good day. The trees were snow ghosts and everything we saw was blanketed in white. Before long we wrapped into Silver Basin and started heading up the groomer. Finally it was time to turn left and start heading towards Gunbarrel and immediately we were swimming in powder.

With all the new snow we were looking for something that had both open areas and steep trees. Knowing the distance to Gunbarrel the shortest of any tours around Crystal Mountain we made our way straight towards the line. Once in an open clearing we had a good view of our line and knew it was going to be a good day.

With all the new snow there was a descent avalanche risk. Knowing that Gunbarrel Ridge is a safer route that minimizes you exposure we started heading that way. Working through the contours we put in a mellow skin track with the hopes of using it multiple times throughout the day.

The weather was coming in and out as we made our way up. Looking behind us we had a beautiful view of the terrain around Silver Basin and the King. There was one final switchback that had some exposure to the route. With Ben staying in the trees I broke my way to the summit and before long he was on the last switchback.

Preparing for our First Run of the Day Down Gunbarrel Ridge

Once on top of Gunbarrel we took in the view while we transitioned. We chatted about what route to drop in first as we had a few options. All of which would be north facing.

We decided to take the same route as our skin track on Gunbarrel Ridge. It would be the safest spot to ride and build up our confidence on snow conditions. After a few turns on the upper face we were able to ride onto the main ridge. With each turn the snow would blow up all around us.

From top to bottom we found a foot of dry, stable Cascadian champagne. With all the new snow we made our way down one at a time. Though we weren’t afraid of slabs we wanted to make sure not to catch each other on the other persons sluff.

Our Second Lap Down Gunbarrel

Feeling a bit more confident in the snow pack we made our way back up our skin track. This time around we would ride the skiers right side of Gunbarrel. The line was much more open then the previous run but we now felt confident to ride down. I dropped in first and after taking a few turns traversed over to a safe spot. From there I waited for Ben.

I confirmed that I was in a safe spot by yelling up to him. After some confirmation of where I was he made his way down. As he rode by I could just see plume after plume as e effortless rode by me all the way to the bottom of the slope.

Once at the bottom we looked back and were happy with our two laps in the area. We had amazing snow and super fun terrain. With the time being 1 p.m. we still had enough daylight to make another lap.

Heading Over Towards Dogleg Peak

Knowing that all of the north facing slopes were good we focused our attention on Dogleg Peak. It would be my last line in the PNW for 3 months so we would check out the zone. Soon enough we had transitioned and were breaking trail to the east.

On top of Dogleg Peak we saw that there were tracks in the main chute. Fortunately there was more then enough terrain to find fresh snow. Instead we decided to head over to the steep trees on the skiers left. This would give us some great tree riding as well as the open apron below. Ben dropped in first and after confirming he was in a safe spot I made my way down in semi tight trees before the terrain opened up.

Below us was 500 feet of wide open apron. We needed to make it as far as possible as this was our final run. Knowing that I dropped in the lower section and was able to ride deep powder all the way to lower Henskin Lake

Exiting Silver Basin for the Crystal Mountain Car Park

Arriving at the lake we had the battle of whether to skin or bootpack. We were around 200 feet from the top of the Quick Silver Lift. In the end with it being bootpacking would be horrible so it was time to skin through Silver Basin.

Things were easy enough as the terrain was flat and before long we were at the top of Quick Silver. After transitioning we were back at the base and throwing our gear in the car. We had gotten 3 amazing runs in Silver Basin and our first tour of the season. It was time to say goodbye to the Cascades but I was fortunate to get in a good run before hand. The next time I would see Ben was in 2 months when he arrived in Japan during one of the worst drought seasons in years.

Thanks to Ben Starkey for being a great partner and helping put in the deep skin track!

Thank you for reading this trip on Gunbarrel and Dogleg Peak. If you want to see more ski tours within Crystal Mountain Backcountry check out this link.