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Winter Scramble - Mazama Dome

Awesome winter scramble to Mazama Dome on the eve of the Everett Snow Field Trip

Matt Surprenant Matt Surprenant
May 01, 2026
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • The route was snow covered from the beginning (although lower snow than in a normal year). 

    Although in spring conditions, there were signs of avalanches from recent snow in the middle of the week. It didn't get very warm on us, so there weren't any active avalanches that we spotted. There were not many roller balls either.

    The snow was very hard in the trees/shade but softer in the sun areas.

In keeping with the tradition of the Everett Snow Field trip, I led a trip for instructors (and others) on the Friday before hand. This year, we broke the streak of no summits - we actually reached the summit for the first time in 4 tries (winter scrambles can be rough in that regard - each of the last three failures has its own story). Anyways, not only did we reach the summit, but we also got the lead singer/song writer of B. Charles Booth and the Detox Choir (if you know, you know) to a summit on a scramble for the first time in 3 years. It was a great day all around.

We started from the Mountaineers lodge parking lot. We stayed on the ridge above Lower Bagley lakes, dropping down near Grandma's house and to Upper Bagley Lake. We couldn't cross the bridge due to a snow cliff, so we walked on the lake which was mostly covered but had some open areas. 

As we traversed the north side of the lake, we found some deeper snow, so we put on snowshoes. Nearing the west end of the lake, we headed up in the snow approximately where the summer trail is. We continued up to approximately where the summer trail switch backs before heading to Herman Saddle. Due to avalanche debris in a gulley clear of trees, we decided to ascent the ridge with Mazama Dome through some trees. That ended up being a bad choice as it involved a lot of steep bushwhacking and some very hard snow. Some members of the team used their microspikes and crampons here. All used their ice axe. Once the ridge was gained, it was easy sailing to the summit of Mazama Dome while keeping clear of the various cornices.

At the summit we were greeted by 360 degree views on a blue bird day. We returned the same way except that we decided to descent the treeless gulley, which was much easier. We also got some glissades in on the way back.

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View from the summit!