Cowlitz Gap & Rocks (winter)

We were surprised to see park snow crews had cleared the Paradise Valley Road down to asphalt all the way to 4th Crossing. We walked there to the start of the route (to ascend Mazama Ridge) and found a huge snow bank blocking access.  After trying a few things and deciding it was unsafe to try to climb it, we looked around for some options --then asked the plow driver to create a ramp for us, which he obligingly did.  From there we followed the "100 peaks" route--up until the final ascent to "the col"  at which point we decided to simply ascend the slope directly to the summit.  (we were breaking trail the entire way. Fresh snow ranged in depth. ) The final ascent and descent up and down the slope we used crampons; ascending in snowshoes possible but descending would have been very dicey.  Large cornices on the east side of summit ridge were not as apparent at first with this direct approach but we expected them and stayed well back from them.  Crossing over the Paradise River was not an issue; snow very deep --but there are some areas where cavernous holes have been created so cautious routefinding is in order.