Mount Fernow is a stunning and massive mountain on the Eastern Side of the North Cascades. Situated right above Holden Village it is one of the ten highest peaks in Washington State. Bordering both the Entiat River to the south and Railroad Creek to the north it offers numerous potential ski runs. With a summit elevation of 9,249 and with Holden being at 3,228 that means there is over 6,000 vertical feet to potentially ride. Knowing all of this Jason Hummel and I made plans to spend a week in the area to ride some of the bigger peaks around. This was the first mission of two that went down that week.

Heading up Lake Chelan to Holden Village

The sky was grey with a cold and bitter wind as Jason and I loaded our bags on the Lady of the Lake. Nestled deep in the North Cascades we were about ready to head up Lake Chelan. The water filled valley was dug out by ancient glaciers and runs over 100 miles. It is considered the third deepest lake in the continental U.S. holding access to two small mountain towns. First is Stehekin, which is at the head of the lake, and secondly Holden Village, an abandoned mining town that was converted to a Lutheran community. These places are cut off from the main grid of civilization with the boat being there only access during the winter. Best of all they are surrounded by some of the biggest mountains in Washington.

From the moment we entered Holden Village, we were greeted by the whole town. It had been over two months since our last visit to Holden, and it was good to be back. Since our last departure it had snowed at least 100 inches in town. Next to the buildings there was a 4-foot deep snowpack on the valley floor. The town was busy in a tradition called “work week” where they prepared for the transition to summer. It was apparent that winter was still gripping the community.

Our First Attempt at Checking Out Mount Fernow

When we woke up, we walked to the community board where they displayed the daily weather. The forecast had called for mostly cloudy skies with up to 3 inches of new snow. Looking outside we were surprised to see the sun was out on the surrounding summits. With a quickness, we grabbed our gear and started skinning up Copper Creek towards the upper basin. We had heard that it was a local favorite and an area we were interested in. We planned to check out Mount Fernow and see the route to the summit.

Astonished that the sun was shining, we followed an old mining road before detouring into sparsely gladed trees. Following the creek and generally climbing upwards we found ourselves at the head of the valley. From our first glimpse of the surrounding peaks, we knew we were somewhere special.

By now, the cloud deck had dropped and everything was flat light conditions. We decided to call it a day and return another time in hopes of more favorable conditions. The ride down was much better then expected. with snow exploding with every turn. That night, we studied our maps and talked back and forth about the area. Hopefully the weather would be better the following day.

Day 2 and Second Attempt on Mount Fernow

We woke up to 3 inches of new snow in town and grey skies. Putting on our skins on we were quickly on the previous day’s skin track. Soon enough we were back to the south face of Fernow in similar conditions to the previous day. Visibility came and went as we passed our turn-around spot from the day before. Climbing up we were hoping that conditions would improve as we could see the clouds moving fast. Glimpses of the sun came and went as we skinned onto the upper slopes. It was quickly getting deeper with over two feet of unconsolidated new snow. With a quick test we found that our only issue was sluffs and cautiously minimized exposure. Pushing up to the high col we were only a thousand feet below the summit proper.

Once on the ridge the terrain had started to mellow out. We were now on the windward south side of the slopes and the snow wasn’t nearly as deep. While we couldn’t see the top of the mountain yet, it was obvious we needed to climb west. There was a faint blue in the sky and hopefully we would get the sun soon.

Cutting in switchbacks we were happy with how good the snow was. Since we were on a ridge we knew that the area was often ice but not this day. We were breaking in a skin track at over 8,000 feet in the North Cascades of Washington state. The route had gone smooth so far and we had hoped this would continue.

The Technical Section on the East Ridge of Mount Fernow

What started as a mellow open slope quickly became a knife-ridge separating Big Creek to the north and the Enitat Glacier Basin to the south. There would be no more skinning and the rest of the route would require crampons. Before long we were climbing across a steep headwall hoping soon we would be on the summit.

Falling just wasn’t an option as we gingerly climbed towards the ridge. Things had gone from wide open to kicking in steps with an abyss of clouds underneath us. From the faint outline of the peaks we could tell that we were getting close but we still had a bit to go.

Climbing around on the ridge had been time consuming as we finally made it to the last section. By now we could see the top of Mount Fernow and knew that we were close to our line. Thought both the clouds and winds hadn’t exactly been the best we were happy to finally make it to our destination.

Finally we were back on the ridge and just below the summit pyramid of Mount Fernow. Wrapping around the cornices on the ridge finally we were making our last steps to the destination. It was an aggressive couloir we had seen in some of John Scurlock’s photos, and to our excitement it was barely filled in. Knowing that the top would be challenging I was a bit concerned. But below that was a 5,000-foot fall line apron to the valley below.

Snowboarding Down the Northwest Couloir of Mount Fernow

We carefully skirted into the couloir with ice axes in hand. On one side of the line it was firm yet edgeable while on the other side bulletproof ice. A foot at a time I laid my edges in while heading down the upper 55-degree couloir. Before long we were wrapping around a decent-sized cliff and on the upper face.

After a few seconds we were making turns on the upper apron. Each turn caused a considerable sized sluff as we carefully mitigated the danger by taking a few turns at a time. The terrain was still really steep and had a while before mellowing out below. While we had to be cautious with the snow it was much better then if the terrain would be ice.

A turn at a time the terrain started mellowing out quickly and the snow was getting deeper. We had made it past the crux zones and finally felt comfortable opening up a bit. We could tell that just a few hundred feet below us was the main apron. Just a few turns later the slopes would relax dramatically and we would have the massive apron we were looking forward to.

We enjoyed shin-deep powder as we ripped down the open apron and into a small sucker-hole of sunshine. There had been a few tense seconds both climbing and riding above but that was now behind us. Things had gone smooth as we could have hoped arriving at the top of the lower apron.

Riding the Lower Apron From Big Creek to Holden Village

With no more fears and no more exposure, the only thing that stood between us and the valley was 4,000 feet of breathtaking scenery. We were in some of the most dramatic mountains in all of Washington being on the northwest side of Mount Fernow. We had just rode one of the biggest and burly lines in the area that we referred to as the Inferno Couloir.

Finally we were making turns on the apron we had been waiting for. Thought we were in the clouds the turns more than made it up. Most of the upper face was treeless but soon enough we could see the top of them sticking out of the snow. Riding into Big Creek we were able to make it all the way down to Railroad Creek before heading down the valley to Holden Village.

By the time we had reached town, we were haggard and beaten. After 14 hours of climbing, we arrived to the town hall just in time to see the second half of the town’s talent show. It was a great feeling coming back to such a warm, open-hearted community where we sat and ate food before heading off to our room for the night. Our next plans were going to be an even bigger day on Bonanza Peak.

Stats: 12 miles

6000 feet of elevation gain

Thank you for reading this trip on our trip to Mount Fernow. If you want to see more ski tours within the Stevens Pass Backcountry check out this link.