Dragontail Peak out of Icicle Creek in the North Cascades is a stunning mountain. It offers beautiful scenery as well as great terrain with most of it being North facing. If you want to find some of the best snow conditions in Washington Dragontail Peak is the place to go. Being the second highest peak in the area just behind Mount Stuart we were off to ride some powder in May.
Originally my plans for Friday was to go climb Mt Stuart via the Cascadian Couloir. A few days before heading out a storm came from East to West. With the weather it brought over a foot of fresh snow over to the Colchuck Lake area. While I love powder I wasn’t interested in hiking up a 4’000 foot south facing avalanche path. Instead of riding Mount Stuart we would go for some north facing slopes. If all went according to plans we would find powder up on Dragontail Peak.
I met up with Dan in Bellevue and we made the long drive towards Icicle Creek. Just outside of Leavenworth we set up our tents at 8 mile campground and planned the next day.
Heading Up to Colchuck Lake
Early the next morning we drove to around 1 mile before the trailhead before being stopped by snow. We packed our gear and were on the trail by 7:00 AM. After 2 hours of hiking through the Alpine Lakes wilderness we finally made it to the base of Colchuck lake. The original plan was to meet up with Jeff and Scott at there base camp at the lake but we were late so it was going to be a game of catch up.
Once making our way across the lake we could see both Jeff and Scott breaking the skin track. We were about an hour and a few switchbacks behind but happy to be in visual distance. Just looking at there trail we could see that it was good snow on the northwest face. It was going to be a great day riding down Dragontail Peak.
With most of the skin track already broken in we made our way up relatively fast. Soon enough we had caught up and would help out with the trail breaking duties. It was a stunning day in the Eastern Cascades as the sky was clear. All around us the surrounding mountains were plastered in new snow.
Finding Powder on the Colchuck Glacier
Our skin track was on the shade line as we climbed near the col. Above us Dragontail Peak rose dramatically out of the valley making a beautiful backdrop. Before long we were up at the col and about to move over to the Southwest face. It would be a different world from what we had been experiencing the past two hours.
Corn on the South Face of Dragontail Peak
From the moment we were on the south face of Dragontail Peak the snow changed immediately. It had went from powder snow to wet slush with the sun beating down on us. Making out way up our attention was on the main southern couloir that went from the side of the summit.
Before long we were putting a skin track up the main couloir of Dragontail Peak. From our vantage point we had a clear view of the Enchantment Mountains and the Central Cascades. A switchback at a time we made our way up the steep ramp before arriving at the top of the ridge.
Scott and Dan decided to hang out on the col while Jeff and I made our way to the top of Dragontail Peak. The route was through open rocks which made it easy to climb. With solid hand and foot holds we pushed up the final 20 feet and soon enough we were on the summit.
Enjoying the View From the Summit of Dragontail Peak
From our view we could see straight down the north side of Dragontail Peak. To the west we had a good view of the Alpine Lake Wilderness. From the northwest was the Chiwaukum area. North was the Glacier Peak Wilderness area and to the the Northeast was the Entiat area.
To the West we could see Colchuck Peak and the area from Snoqualmie Pass to Mount Hinman. Followed by the Robins Lake area to Stevens Pass. In general the area was stacked with enough mountains to keep one busy for a lifetime.
To the southwest you could see Mount Stuart and Sherpa Peak. In front of that was the Argonaut peak northeast face.
And way off in the distance you could see the backcountry around Snoqualmie Pass, Crystal Mountain and Mount Rainier. Earlier in the week I had been in this zone heading up Mount Aix.
Snowboarding down Dragontail Peak
Before long it was time to get snowboarding down Dragontail Peak. It had been a great time on the summit but we were excited to start riding. The plan was to ride the upper south Couloir before riding powder down to Colchuck Lake. Soon enough Scott was dropping in and taking the first turns of our trip.
Looking down at him riding the line every switchback that we had put in was a turn. It was awesome to see him riding from our perspective as we had a clean view all the way to the bottom.
Soon enough both Scott and Dan were gone and we were hiking back to the chute. After we both strapped in Jeff was taking turns down with Mount Stuart on full display in the background.
Before long the chute opened up to wide open slopes. By now the snow had turned to slush but it was a fun line non the less. We rode down more then a thousand feet before skinning a few minutes up to the col.
On the Colchuck Glacier and Riding Powder Down Dragontail Peak
Back up at the north col we were excited. Ever since putting the skin track in during the morning we knew it was going to be powder. Though most of the area was in the sun it was still easy to find areas in the shade. Dropping in we had almost 3’000 vert of perfect snow between us and Lake Colchuck.
Riding down we would work with the light kicking up snow in the sun. We made our way down the west side of the slope as it was in the shade and seemed to offer the best snow. One at a time we layed down our tracks in the wide open face.
It would be some of the best May conditions that we could think of as the snow was bottomless. Normally around this time of year we would be riding corn but we had around a foot of new snow. We had made the right call to head out to Dragontail Peak.
Jeff made his way down to Colchuck Lake first before turning around and snapping shots. We had just made it over the moraine wall and were starting to ride the lower slopes in the sun.
Finally we were all back on Colchuck Lake and looking at our tracks. Both the South Couloir of Dragontail Peak and the Colchuck glacier area were in great conditions. It had been a long day but well worth it. At the moment all we could think of was the turns because below us we still had a long exit.
Back on Colchuck Lake and a Long Bushwhack to the Car
It was time to head back to the car as we skinned across Colchuck Lake. Looking back we would occasionally see our tracks now in the shade. Below us was going to be an adventure as the trail was hard to find. Fortunately we still had a few hours of daylight and headlamps in our backpacks.
Our route out was brutal as we battled the thick forests. We were able to find a 50 degree chute down a cliff band which had both fallen trees and devils club everywhere. After clawing our way down a piece of vegetation at a time we were below the cliffs. It felt like forever as we bushwhacked for the next few hours and crossed numerous creeks we. Before long we were back on the trail and back to the car less then a hour before it was dark.
It had been a great day with a fun crew on Dragontail Peak. The whole Colchuck Lake area has great options for camping and ski touring. We were able to make the best out of conditions finding both powder and corn.
Thank you for reading this trip on Dragontail Peak. If you want to see more ski tours within the Stevens Pass Backcountry check out this link.