[tomastaylor]

My plan for today was to snowshoe to the top of Dirty Face Mountain. Last Saturday the avalanche forecast was rated extreme. This past week there has been no snow or rain and the weather has been unchanging. As a result, the avalanche forecast was low. In addition, the whole state was under an inversion. By looking at the Stevens Pass webcam, I could see the mountain tops were bathed in sun, a perfect forecast for a mountain top hike. I spent the night in a cabin beneath Dirty Face. Because I had no car, I rode a mountain bike a mile from the cabin to the trailhead. I hit the trail in the fog around 8:30 am with the temp about 25 degrees. The lower part of the trail was snow covered, but the snow was frozen so I left my snowshoes on my pack. After about a mile the trail crosses over Fall Creek just above the waterfall. Fall Creek is the mountain's main avalanche chute and it's already seen action this year.

After another mile I climbed out of the fog. The hard snow turned slushy and after a stretch of post-holing, I strapped on my snowshoes. I wish I had put them on earlier. Notice the burned tree trunks from the Dirty Face fire of 2005.

The next two thousand feet of climbing were tough. There were no existing tracks or trail to follow. I essentially climbed straight up the mountain. I tried to stay in the trees, or close to the trees, and avoid wide open slopes, though I did have to cross a couple. By this point, the slushy snow turned to deep snow and each step took a lot of effort. I'd take ten or twenty steps and then rest. I checked my GPS for altitude. One hundred and twenty steps equaled 100' of altitude gain. At the very top, the snow was windblown and packed firm.

Since the last time I was up here, an automated solar-powered weather station has been installed where the former fire lookout stood. Data from the station is used for avalanche forecasting.

All of the valleys were complete socked in. That's Entiat Ridge in the distance sticking out from the left. Plain, Leavenworth, and beyond are buried beneath the clouds.

Looking up the Napeequa Valley at Clark Mountain.

Buck Mountain (?) left, Seven Fingered Jack and Maude Mountain, right. Not too sure.

Highest peaks, left to right: Rock Mountain, Mt. Howard, Mt. Mastiff.

The fuzzy white block directly in the middle of the photo on top of Nason Ridge is Alpine Lookout.

The lake is buried in clouds, too.

The fog continued up the Little Wenatchee River. The fog has even filled in Rainy Creek, the notch up the valley, past Mt. Mastiff.

Far off in the distance on Entiat Ridge is Sugar Loaf Lookout. It's at the highest point in the center of this photo. On the way down, I came across a group of five heading up. They said, "Are you the step maker?" I said, "Yep". They said, "Thanks!" We talked for a while. The group was from Seattle, staying at a cabin on Eagle Creek (between Plain and Leavenworth).

Then I headed back down. I took the most direct path down that I could. Once I dropped back into the fog, the temperature fell considerably. At the bottom I found my bike still chained to a tree and I rode it back to the cabin.

[GaliWalker]

Great trip, beautiful views. Thanks for the eye candy. Dirty Face Lookout is a workout in summer; must have been a toughie in the snow.

[puzzlr]

Great determination keeping going like that without having anyone to trade leads with! That mountain seems to go on and on, much more than the numbers indicate.

[raising3hikers]

Great effort through the snow! Must have been nice to get a great view of the Napeequa Valley in winter.