Cayuse Pass to Crystal Mountain has always been a ski tour I was interested in. Heading North I wanted to link the best lines covering 8 miles and 8000 feet. With the opening of Highway 123 and less than desirable visibility predicted, I thought it might be fun to pull off another traverse in my own backyard. I was able to recruit the Hummel twins and Drew Tabke for the trip who were interested in linking the lines. I had come to know all the different zones over the years and knew they still had a healthy snowpack in Mid May.
Starting the Traverse of Cayuse Pass to Crystal Mountain via Naches and Yakima Peaks
We started off early in the morning as the clouds were coming in and out. It was hard to say what the weather was going to do is we skinned up the mellow West ridge of Naches Peak. Once making it to the summit we road down the Northeast bowl before traversing over to Chinook Pass.
From the East side Chinook Pass parking lot we skinned east over to the Yakima col. Once on the lower North face we switched over to bootpack towards the summit. Dropping in we found powder conditions riding all the way into the basin.
Deadwood Peak
Making it into the basin we focused our attention to skinning up the south face of Deadwood Peak. The snow was wet and gloppy as we skinned through the trees finally making it to the summit ridge. Soon we made our way over to the summit proper and it was time to descend into Deadwood Basin.
After a small traverse to skirt around the cliffs we were riding the open face down to Deadwood Lake. The weather was starting to build up but I felt confident touring in a white out if it came to that.
Sheep Lake Couloir
The next line was going to be the gem as we skinned up the Southwest slopes of Shepard Peak. The snow was glopping on the base of our skins but it was a relatively easy climb. Soon we were standing on the summit and preparing to drop in.
it was still really fun snow to descend. Before long we made it up to the summit of the Shepard Lake Couloir and descending to Sheep Lake.
Heading into Morse Creek Basin
Starting at Sheep Lake we skinned towards a low col just South of Sourdough Gap. Once on top we looked down the open North Facing slopes that dropped into Morse Creek Basin. Dropping in it was wide enough for each of us to have our own line. Making our way down we were soon on the shores of Placer Lake.
Dog Leg Chute
The day was starting to get late as we had one final skin. We were getting close to finishing off the Cayuse Pass to Crystal Mountain traverse as we skinned around Placer Lake. The final skin took us through the Southern trees of Dog Leg Peak. Before long we were standing on the summit and preparing to ride the Dog Leg Couloir. One at a time we made our way down the chute and before long we were at the Crystal Mountain parking lot.
Looking Back at the Traverse From Cayuse Pass to Crystal Mountain
It was a fun day with stellar company tagging the best lines. While heading in a northerly direction we were able to find epic snow traversing from Cayuse Pass to Crystal Mountain. Once Cayuse Pass finally opens this is a great trip that I highly recommend.
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