ARTIST POINT — Nothing celebrates the raw splendor of the North Cascades like the season’s first snowshoe trek to Huntoon Point.
Although weather conditions rarely detract from gliding across eggshell-white fields of snow, our early January outing in the Mount Baker Wilderness proved unrivaled.
“It’s a 10,” announced Bellingham’s Ken Harrison, a hiking guru who is as stingy at giving perfect marks as Olympic figure skating judges.
None of us lashing on snowshoes disputed the assessment. We were too busy swiveling our heads for panoramic views of white-painted peaks.
Wispy clouds decorated the sea of blue over Mount Shuksan like skywriters. Deep snow softened the chiseled face of Mount Baker. The snowy summits of the Skagit Range — including American Border Peak, Mount Larrabee and Tomyhoi Peak — prompted a visceral sense of wonder.
For most winter recreationists, the start to winter along the Salish Sea had been dreary. Conditions were as moist as a mousse cake, but the lowlands remained snowless.
“We’re getting the moisture, but the freezing level is staying high,” said John Varner, Whatcom County Snowmobile Club president.
Members of our summer hiking troop resorted to long walks through Boulevard Park, Squalicum Harbor and other paved paths around town.
Then the forecast promised sunshine after days of the leaky faucet residents have come to endure in the least sunny place in the Lower 48.
The high country called.
The journey to 5,200-foot Huntoon Point, the popular rocky knob above Artist Point, begins just beyond the ropes of the Mount Baker Ski Area where an icy cat track flings downhillers and boarders down the run.
We ascended a slippery stairway of hard-packed snow to Austin Pass while the speed crowd whooshed past. It’s a thigh crusher but each step heads toward the Republic of Bliss where the 360-degree vistas reside.
Potential hazards
The scenery draws a crush of backcountry skiers, snowboarders and snowshoers who help reduce avalanche risks by carving safe routes to follow.
With so much traffic, it’s easy to forget — especially when conditions are perfect — that sections of Kulshan Ridge present potential hazards. Snowshoers and skiers have been lost, injured or killed in small avalanches along this route.
Experts recommend using established paths instead of huffing up steep slopes of untracked powder. Those heading deep into the Baker backcountry should carry an avalanche transceiver (beacon), snow shovel and avalanche probe — and know how to use them.
Harrison and I use the ON X Backcountry app, which has detailed avalanche information for the Mount Baker region. The Northwest Avalanche Center regularly updates forecasts at https://nwac.us/avalanche-forecast/#/all.
The Center’s assessment on the day we visited illustrates the difficulty in predicting problems and the need for supreme caution. The report said, “It’s hard to tell how much avalanche activity there will be during this transition from wet, stormy weather to sunny skies and soaring freezing levels.”
I wasn’t thinking about slides while overheating on the climb as the winter sun bathed us in blinding rays.
I shed my beanie and gloves and was about to strip a fleece layer on the ridge when icy winds blowing off glaciers slapped me silly.
Hat and gloves returned to proper positions.
Huntoon Peak glistened in the morning sun, beckoning me to its crest.
But the snow ghosts kept distracting me.
One of the mind-bending features of the Mount Baker Wilderness is how the evergreens transform into imaginative creature-like shapes known as snow ghosts. Many looked like prehistoric grasshoppers, but everyone sees what they want when enjoying these natural ice sculptures.
Snow ghosts appear in exposed, windy mountains like the North Cascades when water droplets in fog freeze to the outer surfaces of objects. The white ice, known as rime crystals, freezes on the windward side of tree branches and structures adding to the otherworldly scene.
After descending from Huntoon Point, Harrison led us to the base of Table Mountain. I was happy for any excuse to linger in such enchanting territory.
Cross-country skiers continue to wait
I felt all the more grateful to have a place to snowshoe after local Nordic skiers and snowmobilers recounted their recent experiences.
In stark contrast to our 6-mile trek, they continue to wait for their winter overtures.
Until temperatures drop, the cross-country trails at the Salmon Ridge Sno-Park and other spots in the Mount Baker Highway corridor are inaccessible.
“There has been no grooming so far this winter and until we get more snow there, we won’t have groomed skiing,” said Pete Tyron, president of the Bellingham-based Nooksack Nordic Ski Club.
Tyron took his cross-country skis to Artist Point the day after our outing because of a lack of options.
Snowmobilers also are driving higher in the mountains to find worthwhile terrain. They are riding near the Heliotrope and Damfino Lake trails at elevations of 4,000 feet or higher.
The lack of snow gets frustrating.
“I’m going to have to get a motorcycle and ride the roads,” Varner lamented.
January to March are the heart of the cross-country and snowmobile seasons so enthusiasts are on high alert for snow in the Nooksack River Valley.
The Water Supply Availability Committee, a group of experts from state and federal agencies who evaluate Washington’s water resources, offered a somewhat optimistic outlook at its Jan. 10 meeting.
Officials concluded it’s premature to offer a definitive water supply forecast, although trends have been promising with the wetter-than-normal conditions. They also expect temperatures to drop to near-normal levels in the coming weeks.
But it will take precipitation with freezing conditions to drop enough snow on the trails.
“In Bellingham, you have to take what comes your way,” Tyron said.
Or go elsewhere.
Many Nordic skiers look north or east to get their fix. The Methow Valley in Okanogan County offers excellent cross-country skiing but it’s a trek to get there with State Route 20 closed for the winter.
The best options are in British Columbia: The Whistler Olympic Park in the Callaghan Valley and E.C. Manning Provincial Park in the Canadian Cascades are good overnight destinations.
The Hollyburn trails on Cypress Mountain are about the same driving time as Artist Point. Dirk Rohde, president of the Hollyburn Cross Country Ski Club, reported good skiing in early January.
“If we get too much more rain we’ll be in trouble because the snow will be washed away,” he said. “But we’re not skiing on rocks anymore.”
Elliott Almond's outdoor column appears monthly. Email: elliottalmond4@gmail.com.
