Norse Peak is the highest summit around the Crystal Mountain area and offers a scenic alternative to the closer summits. Being a bit of a longer approach it is dramatically quieter than the surround mountains. It has 3 main faces that can be rode being the south side to Lake Basin. The North side into Big Crow Basin and the west side down into the Crystal Mountain valley if you are adventurous. Being that it was a clear day with a little bit of snow we made our way out there to take a lap on the South side before exciting via East Peak.

Climbing up the Bullions Basin Trail Towards Norse Peak

After many days riding the lifts at Crystal Mountain Scott and myself had decided to head up to Norse Peak. The forecast promised for clear views and better snow than what was available at the resort. with the promise of good weather and hopefully good snow. After packing our bags we were breaking trail up East Peak before arriving on the Cement Basin Ridge. Looking back we were blown away by the view of both Crystal Mountain and Mount Rainier in the far distance.

Once on the ridge we followed the contours of the slopes up and down making our way towards Scouts Pass. There was just a little bit of snow in on the ridge but we were able to make the most out of it occasionally diverting from the ice scoured ridges.

Lapping the South Face of Norse Peak

From Scouts Pass we pushed over to the summit and quickly transitioned. Below us the snow looked good and we were excited to ride the face. Before long we were riding the wide open slopes of Norse Peak down the south face into Lake Basin. Once in the flats below we switched back to skinning and started heading back to the ridge for another lap.

Skinning back up to the ridge we would occasionally look back at our tracks. There is something so rewarding about putting the first lines down a slope. We still had a little bit of time before the sun would be dropping. There was more than enough space to take another lap off Norse Peak.

Standing on the summit of Norse Peak we spotted another line from below on dropped into the upper mellow slopes heading southeast before the terrain steepened. From the first turn it felt like the snow was a little bit better on the mellower ridge before it got steep.

Soon we were on the steep roller and just above the apron below. Fortunately we had seen the line from the side and below and knew that it went. After punching through the first section we were in wide open slopes below and riding back to our skin track.

Exiting via Scouts Pass down East Peak

Making our way back up the skin track it was starting to get late. We pushed forward as the views started opening up around us. Soon we were standing on top of Scout Pass and watching the early light of the sunset making Crystal Mountain and Mount Rainier light up.

Soon enough it was time for our final descent down East Peak. We would traverse the ridge as far as possible before riding down the Northwest slopes back to the Bullion Basin trail. With it having a northish facing aspect the area always has good snow. Before long we were taking our last turns of the day towards the Crystal Mountain Valley below.

It was a great tour as we were both just getting into Splitboarding. This trip began to show us all of the opportunities and possibilities available to us. With a bit more experience and experience we were pushing further and further into the Crystal Mountain backcountry.

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