Winter Wonderland

We had a great Christmas with all eight of our children here in Enumclaw. It was the first time we had all been together since August 2008 and we celebrated every day. We ate great food, played games, talked, watched movies, hiked, snowshoed and enjoyed each other. The only issue during their stay was the weather. It was gray and rainy every day (typical for Seattle this time of year) so extensive outdoor adventures were limited. The day after all the older children went home last week, the sun came out and we had a few beautiful sunny days.

Yesterday was a perfect day with bluebird skies. My friend Kim Judd and I took a long drive to Mount Baker ski area -- about 3.5 hours north of Enumclaw, near the Canadian border and North Cascades National Park -- for a snowshoe adventure. We had a fabulous time. We drove up to 4,200 feet where the views of the surrounding mountains were breathtaking. From there the opportunities for snowshoeing were endless and every step up provided an even better view. We ended up spending five unforgettable hours on the ridges and peaks.

When we got out of the parking lot we eyed a ridge that looked very inviting that included a peak (Mazama Dome) that would undoubtedly provide a great panorama.

Here is the view from the Parking lot with our destination Mazama Dome in the middle of the picture.

One of the advantages of adventures in the far northern latitudes in the winter months is the sun never gets too high in the sky, which gives great lighting for most of the day. Note our long shadows in the photo below.

Every step on this adventure was beautiful but the best views were on top of the dome. The seven photos below show the 360 degree panorama.

Mount Shuksan (9,721 feet) is one of the most beautiful mountains in the world.Looking toward North Cascades National Park
Mount Baker at 10,781 feet is the third highest mountain in Washington.

The parking lot where we started is in the middle of this photo.
Back to Mount Shuksan for the full 360 degree tour.

Climbing Mazama Dome was so steep as we had to remove our snowshoes as the angle was too steep to get good purchase on the snow and ice. But the last part of the descent provided a great glissade down. Kim enjoys the easy ride in the photo below.
Every time I see a photo of Mount Shuksan it reminds of one of my favorite mountains -- The Wetterhorn -- in my favorite place in the world, Grindelwald, Switzerland. Note the ridge profile in the photo of Shuksan below and the one of the Wetterhorn in the summer. Rosie said, "It looks like God used the pattern of the Wetterhorn to create Shuksan."

It was a remarkable day in a true winter wonderland. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have Rosie and my children there to enjoy this unbelievably beautiful place. I look forward to taking them there.