[TR] Silver Horn--Silver Star- Varden Creek 3/4/2006

[Kyle_Flick]

Climb: Silver Horn--Silver Star-Varden Creek

 

Date of Climb: 3/4/2006

 

Trip Report:

With the festivities of the Freeheel Festival ongoing this weekend, Tom Janisch and I thought it might be good fun to head to the Methow and try some backcountry skiing up the basins below Silver Horn and Silver Star Mt. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), the Highway was snowed in three miles farther than we anticipated. So the skins went on the skis where they stayed for the next eight hours. Up the road for about three or four miles we turned up Varden Creek. Tom "The Piston" took over cutting an uptrack alongside the creek up into the NE basin below Silver Horn. The snow wasn't particularly good--windcrusted in much of the area; so we continued on up trending west to 7500' where finally the skins were removed to head down the glacier to Silver Star Basin. When we arrived at the high point for the day, we were pleasantly surprised to see some friends already there who had come up Silver Star Creek.

Up to this stage my legs were reminding me how little time they've spent on skis this winter. But all that was forgotten as we all whooped it up in near pristine powder for thousands of feet. The snow pack is incredible as evidenced by nearly all the brush covered in Silver Star Basin.

Another 1000' of survival tree skiing deposited us on the highway where all of us hitched rides from kindly snowmobilers. In fading light, back at the car, we briefly chatted with other friends who reported great skiing up in the bowls of Cutthroat. Now another fond memory to cache.

[Billygoat]

[fheimerd]

What's the access like for Silver Star Creek. Is it the Same additional 3 miles in?

[Kyle_Flick]

Add another two road miles past Varden Creek, but probably a mile less creek travel.

[Kat_Roslyn]

Wow, that sounds so nice!

Thank you for sharing!

-Kat

[Kit]

Ooh... nice. Any chance for pictures? Did the folks who went to Cutthroat stay overnight?

[Kyle_Flick]

No and yes. No pictures. I hate skiing pictures; they never do the scene justice. The folks skiing at Cutthroat were part of the Freeheel Fest; so many of them stayed overnight in the Methow Valley.