On Sahale Arm, Johannesburg Peak is the backdrop. Click most images to enlarge.
Yeah, it’s a trade route. So with that out of the way, PNW locals, you can hold your ribbing. Thing is, I’ve got a list and trade routes all over the world are on it. It’s a writer thing, perhaps some of you understand (grin). Good to catch another tradster.
Sahale Mountain in Washington’s Cascades boasts a big long ridge called Sahale Arm — makes for an excellent low-key ski location in contrast to surrounding mountains that remind you of Chamonix. Lots of good stuff on the web about Sahale, so a few photos will suffice:
Some guy with a big camera named Jason said we should do this twig crawling or we could not say we'd skied the PNW. Our feet were still on the ground, so it didn't count as bushwacking, but still, do we get a badge or something?
The day began with a sporty little traverse above glide cracks and punji stakes. This to avoid what locals told us was 'the endless hiking trail that actually goes downhill when you want it going uphill.'
You arrive at Cascade Pass, then swing northerly away from the Chamonix zone to the semi-Cham zone. That's Eldorado Peak in the background, another Cascade classic.
On Sahale Arm, actual summit is the tiny bump on horizon. A small glacier sits below the top bump. I didn't know how safe that glacier is so we did our turnaround there instead of the summit. Later, I found out most people just ski over the glacier unroped as it has nearly zero crevasse danger
I couldn't resit snapping this classic view of Lisa in front of Johannesburg.
And finally, I was playing around trying to get Euro style hero flash-fill shots.
Looks like we’ve got a nice weather window for a few more days, so we’ll be trying to hit a few more classics up here in the Cascadian zone. Thanks all for visiting WildSummerSnow.com
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
