So far this winter has been very good for the snow pack. I had been hoping to get out on my snowshoes, but for one reason or another I had not made it until this hike. I finally agreed to get out with a friend, Russ Hamerly , and thankfully he did not let me back down even though I was a bit tired from my new work schedule. One of the reasons I had not gotten out before, was my reluctance to hike alone with so much snow in the mountains, and my inexperience with winter snow hiking. Russ is a member of the Mountaineers, and often leads scrambles for that organization.

When we arrived at the Pass, the sign over the road read 21º, and the plowed snow along the road was well over our heads. The ski area lot was rapidly filling, but we found a spot, and headed across the road to the trailhead. After getting into our snowshoes, we set out on a beautiful day.

In this photo, you can see the depth of the snow along the stream that we are about to cross. Another crossing is made easier where a large log piled high with snow provides a bridge. As we work our way up the valley, Kendall Peak begins to show up through the trees. As the trees begin to thin out, we get a better view. The best view we had was from our lunch spot in a large open area just before the rapid climb towards Lundin Peak. In this photo, Lundin is in the center and Red Mountain is just to the right. You can’t see them, but there were 4 skiers descending the snow field between the two peaks. Climbing to the ridge where the skiers started down will have to wait for another day, as we turned around after our lunch and a rest in the sun.