![]() The run to the lake is much more fun when you can actually see where the slope rolls over! Taking advantage of yesterday's skintrack, we put in a warm-up lap down the NE face of 7088, which skied wonderfully with the new snow. The third day we woke to clear skies and warmer weather so we headed out of the hut to ski everything in sight. Making it back to the lookout by dinnertime, we were greeted with clearing skies and the most spectacular sunset I have ever witnessed. Dropping over the shoulder, we descended the skiers left branch of a Y-shaped couloir immediately above the lake. Through the latter half of the day the clouds began to lift so we worked our way up the NE face of Pt. Taking a very slow morning start, we left the lookout at 11:30am and descended to the lake under good snow but vertigo-inducing flat light. The next morning we woke to 3-4in of new snow, howling winds, and variable visibility. We made it to the lookout at about 4:45pm and caught some fleeting views of the surrounding North Cascades. Traversing below fat cornices with near zero visibility and the weather deteriorating? Not fun. The sun kept the crusty snowpack soft for most of our day, and that night's weather system rolled in just as we reached the pass before the lookout. Consistent, skinnable snow began a little over a mile up the road, so we opted to take the summer route up the Sibley Ck. Made it to approx 2600ft on the road before a few patches of deep snow prohibited further travel, then began the 7.5hr slog with heavy packs to the lookout. Drove up Cascade River Road to USFS 1540 with the goal of spending three nights at Hidden Lake Lookout and skiing whatever conditions permitted.
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