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Seattle Basic Alpine SIG Field Trip - Overnight Snow Scrambling - Skyline Lake

Overnight snow camping trip to Skyline Lake with morning ascent of Heather Ridge.

Karl Themer Karl Themer
April 06, 2026
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • Overnight parking at Stevens Pass is in lot D on the North side of the highway.  There is an outhouse.  NW Forest Pass required.

    The road to the lake has good snow coverage but there was some exposed dirt near the buildings when we came out on Sunday.

    There was thin snow coverage at the pass but up at 5000' we still had a decent snowpack.  There was a thin crust, then the top 8 to 10 inches was soft, below that was a solid layer that was difficult to shovel, likely the result of previous rainfall that has since frozen.  Below that was soft, sugary snow.

    The outlet of the lake has a small melt pool where we could retrieve water without the need to melt snow.

    The last steep slope up to the summit of Heather ridge had good snow for step kicking but some sections will likely melt out soon.  In some places the rocks were less than a foot below the surface.

    Afternoon snow was very soft in the sunshine.  There are some open slopes along the road which are good for practicing various skills.

We left Seattle at 6 AM on Saturday and arrived at the pass at 8 after stopping at the Sultan bakery.

We loaded up with overnight packs and ascended the road with snowshoes or skis, arriving at the lake before 10.  We built a camp on the East side of the lake which included a large snow kitchen where we could cook and eat together.

After lunch we rope up for glacier travel and practiced crevasse rescue on the slopes above camp further to the East.  We also briefly touched on carabiner and boot axe belays and running belays.

Back in camp we had dinner which was followed by a three-hour karaoke session with some interesting song choices.

Some of us went to the saddle to watch the sunset.

Up between 6 and 7 in the morning.  Breakfast, then we snowshoed up to the base of the steep slope below the summit of Heather ridge.  We removed snowshoes and I anchored a 40 metre line to the summit proper.  The snow was good but there are some narrow sections between small trees with exposure, so the line was warranted.  The snow held and everyone passed through safely.

Back at camp just before noon for lunch, then we broke camp and started our descent.  We stopped at some open slopes about 500' above the pass to practice self-arrest.  I tried to build a bollard here but in the afternoon sun the snow was very soft, and it failed.  I built another one deeper in the snow, but it also failed.  Back at the trailhead we put on crampons to check for fit and we discussed some technique, but without any hard snow there was limited opportunity to practice.

We had great weather all weekend.  We stopped in Gold Bar for Thai on the way home.