Mount Aix and Nelson Ridge are the sleeping Giant of the Central Cascades. The area is relatively unknown but rivaled in size only by the massive Goat Rocks. The area is what you would consider the middle of nowhere from Washington standards. The 90 mile summer drive is more then doubled when 410 closes down for winter leaving the area isolated and unused. From Crystal Mountain you can get a distant view of the massive alpine bowls that rise over 800 feet higher then the top of Crystal.
The mountain had become somewhat of an obsession for me over the years as I studied approaches and access issues of the mountain. Trying to get beta was all but impossible as trying to get any skiing info was dead end after dead end. The question kept coming up in my head “why isn’t anybody heading out to the Nelson Range”.
The forecast was looking good with mostly sunny skies on the Eastern side of the Cascades. According to Forest service the road was plowed all the way to the Mount Aix trailhead. Friday night I met up with Ian and Jeff at the North Bend Safeway and made the 190 mile drive to the Eastern side. Soon we were driving back into the Central cascades. Once arriving we camped a few miles from the trail head.
Heading up the Mount Aix Summer Trail
The next morning we woke up under the early morning sun. Slowly we stuffed our sleeping bags into the car and drove up towards the trailhead. The forest Service was wrong as the road was not plowed. The slog fest up the road was an uneventful adding 4 and a half miles before finally hitting the Mount Aix trailhead. Once we reached the trail we lost it within the first 5 minutes under the deep snowpack. From then on out we proceeded to bushwhack up the semi densely forested slopes. Soon enough the terrain opened a bit and we had our first view of the alpine.
After battling our way through the alpine for a few hours we finally made it into the alpine. Looking up into the Nelson Range the snowpack was thin but the terrain was big. Finally things would be going faster as things became straightforward. Simple put the only thing to do now was head up.
As we started climbing north toward Mount Aix Mount Rainier was rising in the distance. There had been so many times that I had seen this zone from the Mountain and finally we were looking back. It was a stunning and different perspective of the southeast side.
The Final Ridge East to the Summit of Mount Aix
Once in the high alpine travel was so much faster and efficient. The higher we went the mellower the terrain became. Finally we were up at the low saddle and had our first view of Mount Aix. It was still quite a ways away but an easy route all the way to the summit.
Making our way east up the ridge we had a unique view to the south. We had a clear view of the Goat Rocks and the lower slopes of Mount Adams. What was originally blue skies was becoming cloudy but the cloud deck was high above us.
Looking north into the Nelson Range we were blown away by the skiing potential. There was a lifetime of bowls just in front of us and we were only scratching the surface. It was enough terrain to fit all the Washington ski resorts just in this area alone.
During our ridge scramble to the summit we had spotted a skiable line off the NW face. Being that it was early May most of the upper face of Mount Aix had already melted of. We would have to be careful not to hit rocks but we were happy to see the line was still doable.
Finally Arriving on the Summit
Finally we made our way to the summit of Mount Aix and taking in the view. It had taken us quite a bit of time to get there but the scenery alone was worth it. As we transitioned we would look in every direction and get unique views of the Cascade Mountains.
To the west we had a clear view of Mount Rainier and its massive eastern side. From the Ingraham Glacier to the Emmons it was all on display.
To the south was Bismark Peak and numerous other skiable lines off of Nelson Ridge. While I had seen the area on topographic maps I had no idea how big the terrain was.
Snowboarding Down the North Face of Mount Aix
Soon enough it was time to drop into the north side of Mount Aix. A turn at a time we made our way down in slushy but fun conditions. It was decently steep as we carefully wrapped around rocks and kept making sure we were going down the right route.
Finally the terrain opened up and we were able to ride confidently. It was a long run making our way all the way to the flats below. Once we had all arrived to the base it was time to climb back up.
Skinning Back up Rattlesnake Basin
Soon enough it was time to climb out of Rattlesnake Basin. It had been a super fun line worth returning to earlier in the season. I’d waited for years to ride the line and it was great to finally tick it off. Now we had one final climb before our biggest descent of the day.
A switchback at a time we climbed back towards the western col we had been at earlier. It would take us back to the high ridge and hopefully we could find a good descent from there.
Snowboarding down Peak 7495 off Nelson Ridge
Peak 7495 had caught my attention on the way up and was easily accessible. With an additional 30 minute skin Ian and I made the ascent to its summit. While we climbed Jeff stayed behind and took in the views of Bumping Lake and Rainier.
After riding through the small ribbon of snow up top the terrain opened up. To our surprise we found wind blown powder as we made our way down our final descent.
Riding down we made our way all the way to tree line having by far the best run of the day. It was just wide open terrain from top to bottom as we layed our tracks into a blank canvas.
We met up with Jeff 2000 vert lower as we looked up at the tracks we had just left. We made the decision to follow the creek until it was impassable. Luckily we were able to meet up with the trail and stay out of the dense forest. After riding down the switchbacks we were finally back to the road at the base of the valley.
It was a long 4.5 miles back to the car making it back to the car around 8pm. As we arrived the first drops of rain started to fall. We quickly threw our gear into the car and before long we were on a long drive. It had been a great time exploring Mount Aix and Nelson Ridge area.
A Trip Never Meant to be
We dropped Jeff off at his car in Cle elum while Ian and I drove up the North fork of the Tenaway River to tackle our next beast Mount Stuart on Sunday. We made it to a camp ground around 11:00 p.m. and passed out until 5:30 a.m. and drove the additional 4 miles to the Beverly Creek trail head and started packing our gear. I started putting my skins on my split when all of a sudden SNAP and as soon as the trip began it was over.
Thank you for reading this trip around Mount Aix and Nelson Ridge. If you want to see more ski tours within Crystal Mountain Backcountry check out this link.