Mt. Catherine Loop

Published on 2004-1-11 by Michael Stanton

Mt. Catherine Loop, Jan 11, 2004

Josh, Dan, Peter and myself had most of the day for some nordic skiing. The Mt. Catherine Loop seemed like a good idea, with some trail-less navigation to Nordic Pass. We managed to fit all four of us with skis in my car, and drove to the pass. Peter and Dan had beefy AT gear, while Josh and I had long tele skis and leather boots. We skinned up into a foggy area, and ended up going a mile the wrong way on a groomed road. We figured that out, then set off on a snowshoe trail to reach Frog Lake. Dan got a blister and we scrounged some duct tape for him from rips in my battered shell jacket. Continuing southwest on a compass bearing, we made for Nordic Pass, fighting the occasional problem with skins, bindings, etc. Time was speeding by, and we almost turned around below the pass, as the low visibility and casual nature of our travel made us wonder if we were all turned around somehow. But we were mostly on track, hitting the pass just a bit to the north where a great view of Silver Peak appeared briefly in the fog. Josh and I hiked down about 100 feet to the pass - steep terrain in dense trees that Peter and Dan managed to ski. Getting down from the pass was an adventure. I suffered numerous face-plants, eventually learning to side-step and traverse the difficulties. Josh gave up and hiked! We had some time in the sun, then went south over Windy Pass and took a long coasting ride on a road. My skis with their scales seemed to be the slowest. We spent a long time on nearly-level terrain to get back to the car. Dan was worried about being late, so we hurried quickly back to the Sound.

It was a fun day with lots of laughs!