Blue Lake Chute near Washington Pass

Blue Lake is a popular area off of Highway 20 during both Summer and Winter conditions. Located near Washington Pass it is an easy place to get to with some good skiing in the area. Being the starting point of the Birthday Tour that is usually the main reason people go there. With good terrain within the Cirque most people pass by some of the best skiing around. With the first big storm of the season hitting the North Cascades Drew Tabke and I were looking to ski. At the moment Highway 20 was still open but it was a mater of days before closing. Soon enough WSDOT wouldn’t be managing the area. It was a race against time.

Heading Up to Blue Lake From the Washington Pass Area

After meeting up in Seattle Drew and I were driving North in the dark. It wasn’t until leaving hitting the Rainy Pass area until the sky was starting to lighten up. Immediately we were surprised with how much snow there was. Soon enough we were driving the final stretch to the Blue Lake Trailhead in the morning sun. It was the perfect blue sky day with what looked like a thick base in the alpine.

Driving up Highway 20 after the first snowstorm of the season
A clear and perfect morning driving up Highway 20 after the first storm of the season

Wrapping around the west face of Early Winter Spires we arrived in the Blue Lake Cirque. What was clear skies quickly changed as a cloud came in. It was obvious that the weather was making its way for the worse and soon we would be in a white out.

A cloudy morning as we made our way up to Blue Lake after leaving the trailhead by Washington Pass
Arriving at Blue Lake as the weather started to come in

Climbing the Blue Lake Couloir

Knowing that both or time and visibility were limited we quickly set eyes on a nice looking couloir. Being both direct and aesthetic there was no reason to go further. We would be able to climb it from the shores of Blue Lake. Best of all when descending we would be back at the car withing an hour.

Looking at the Couloir we were interested in climbing from Blue Lake
A nice looking line directly from the shores of Blue Lake

Making our way up the apron we knew it would ride great. We had to work for every step as it kept getting steeper and steeper. Soon we were wallowing in what felt like waist deep snow. Every foot was a challenge as we finally arrived at the col.

Climbing up and happy to find good snow in the North Cascades
Making our way up as the snow quickly gets deeper

Our First Bottomless Powder Turns of the Season

Dropping in visibility was limited. Fortunately we had massive rock walls to reference and soon we lost ourselves in the white room. It was still late November and we were now riding bottomless powder. In the valley below we could barely make out Blue Lake but we were heading there fast.

Dropping into the couloir with Blue Lake in the distance
Finding bottomless snow as we make our way down the chute

Once on the apron the zone was waist deep with wide open slopes. While we had drove for 5 hours and skinned for 4 it was well worth it. We were submerged with snow on every turn. Arriving at the base of Blue Lake we skinned across the flats and were soon back to the car.

Finding Waist Deep snow near Blue Lake up on Highway 20
Quickly submerged in waist deep snow

It had been a great day touring at Blue Lake. With the short approach and great couloir we had made the most of our limited time. We had caught the last day of Highway 20 being open as they shut it down the next day. For the next 4 months the road would only be accessed via snowmobiles but we caught the small window. Before long we were back in civilization and ready for the normal season to begin.

Thank you for reading this trip report on Blue Lake

If you want to see more ski tours within the the Highway 20 corridor check out this link.