Newman55 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Now that the SR20 has opened, and we can access the North Cascades, a few friends and I were thinking of climbing Sahale this weekend. Cascade River Road is drive-able to mile 20 so we'd have to park and hike 3 miles to the trail-head on snowshoes. Anybody climbed Sahale Peak in Spring? We're planning for a snow-shoe approach Saturday, camping overnight, then a Sunday morning summit and returning to Seattle Sunday evening. Any Springtime-specific tips or info would be appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rad Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Though it may feel like spring down in the lowlands, you will probably encounter winter-like conditions at higher elevations. Watch the forecast and plan accordingly. Should be beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclopath Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 According to the NPS road conditions page, Cascade River Road is driveable to about mile 18, depending on your vehicle. So that leaves 5 or 5.5 miles of hiking along the road, plus about 7 on the trail. Plus round trip. Sections of the road are incredibly steep. At least as steep as E Roy in Seattle, which is a 26 % grade. I hiked to Cascade Pass in early July last year, and I've never seen so much snow. There was a lot of rockfall in the traverse section before the pass (after you come out of the woods), and there was an avy on J'berg mountain every 45 minutes or so. I don't know how susceptible the portion of the trail above tree-line before the pass is, but I would find out before doing it again. Another hiker lost the trail, made a b-line for the ridge, then lost his footing and slid out of control for 300 vertical feet before hitting a tree. He was slightly bloody but ok, I hiked out with him to make sure he didn't get into any more trouble. Long story short, I'd hold off a few more months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason4 Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 I hiked to Cascade Pass in early July last last year too and skied fall line with some scrambling through the waterfall band back to the trail head. I think you should use common sense for mountaineering and expect a wet wintry mix up there this weekend. Take whiskey in case you get rained out and have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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