Sheep Lake has some great terrain surrounding it with a few different aspects. From Shepard Peak to Chinook Pass there is some great areas that see little traffic. Knowing this I made a plan with my friend Scott to do an overnight trip out there. This would give us the opportunity to explore the area and ski some lines we had looked at for a while. Once we felt that it was time to go we would exit via Chinook Pass.

Exiting Silver Basin and Heading Towards Sheep Lake

The plan was to go start at 10pm but after a quick nap in the car it turned out to be 2:30am. We skinned out to the Southback of Crystal Mountain and climbed to a small saddle. This gave us access to a 800 vert run at around 5:00am. It was before the mourning sunlight and you could barely see anything. After that we traversed quite a ways then rode down a wide open Powder field to the valley. Finally we skinned up to Sourdough Gap and it was around sunrise.

There was a high cloud level so there was no sunrise to be seen but it was lighter out. It was time to take a quick run down to an area where we built a basecamp. With little sleep we decided to take a quick nap for a few hours then got out to skinning

Heading for the Shepard Lake Chute

Once we woke up at the shores of Sheep Lake it was time to go ski touring. We decided to focus our attention on riding the Sheep Lake Couloir. Making a traverse we wrapped around the south side. Before long we were skinning towards the southern col and making our way up the last few switchbacks.

When we made it to the top of our line visibility was bad. Fortunately the line was straight forward as it was direct fall line back to camp. Knowing both of those things we felt comfortable riding it though we couldn’t see much.

Dropping in it was a mixture of powder sprays and flat light conditions. Gravity was taking me down and the chute was wide open but my only references were the rock.

Were really excited to finally ride the line as we both had been wanting to do for a while. It was a great first run in the light and conditions were promising for the rest of the trip.

An Afternoon Lap From Sheep Lake

After riding the line we went back to camp and rested for quite a while. After a few hours we were back to ski touring. This time we decided to go hit up a ridge we called 1/10. Why 1/10? It was because there was a one in ten chance that it wouldn’t cliff out.

We skinned back up to the col that we had climbed earlier. This time instead of taking a right we were heading left. Before heading off we made sure to reference the rocks and take photos. It was an area where you didn’t want to be wrong with your descent line.

After a while of communication through radio I traversed around some massive cornices. The dropping in the slope was about a 45 degree pitch. I took a few seconds scoping what was below me before I felt confident. Riding to the base I was fortunate to find a foot of fresh all the way to the valley floor.

The sun was setting to the west as we skinned back to the basecamp. We arrived back at camp and set up for a long dark night in the snow. We were happy with the two runs we had during the day and looking forward to heading towards Chinook Pass.

Day 2 Exiting Sheep Lake and Heading Towards Chinook Pass

The next mourning we packed up our gear and rode and followed the main drainage of Sheep Lake. Though it wasn’t the longest run it was great hitting up the sidewalls. Since it was a gully there was a lot of new snow deposited as we made our way towards 410.

Heading up to Chinook Pass in Winter

Once we arrived on the road we were about 3 miles from Chinook Pass. In some sections we could barely tell we were on the road from the wind swoops.

Breaking trail back up it was nice to see the area in winter. I had driven through the area many times during the summer but it was almost recognizable.

Looking down into the American River Valley there were so many potential ski lines. By the time the pass was open the lower valley was melted out. But heading around in the winter was a different story. It was easy to understand why the area was closed in winter as we passed numerous avalanche paths.

Taking A Few Laps Around Chinook Pass

As we made it to Chinook Pass it was covered in a sea of clouds. Instead of getting lost skinning up Naches which was our original plans we took a quick lap on Yakima Col. It wasn’t the line we were looking for but we lapped the small section in great snow. down to the bathrooms on the eastern side

You could tell how deep the snowpack was when we rode up to the summer bathrooms. Only the tops were barely sticking out and with another two feet they would be gone.

We took the opportunity to take shelter from the storm before our final run. Instead of going up and over Chinook Pass we would ride down Yakima Col. It would be a little bit more direct and should offer some great tree skiing.

Exiting Down 410 Back to Crystal Mountain

Dropping in we had issues with the upper flats but soon we had momentum. We were able to ride through the old growth forest all the way down to the road. It was a bit of a challenge with the deep snow and heavy backpacks but it was fun.

Finally we were back at 410 and riding down the first few miles before we ran into pavement. They had been plowing out the road in preparation for opening it up. We had already made our way down 6 miles and we still had 3 to go. For the final section we took advantage of dry pavement and walked the rest of the way to the gate. We were back in civilization and it only took us 10 minutes to hitch a ride back up to Crystal.

It was a great trip base camping and ski touring in Sheep Lake Basin before our final descent down Chinook Pass and getting to know the area better. This was one of our first camping trips and we learned a lot about riding with heavy gear, what is needed in the backcountry while camping and walking long distances on dry pavement in my snowboard boots.

Thank you for reading this trip. If you want to see more ski tours within Crystal Mountain Backcountry check out this link.