Lake Chelan Backcountry Skiing
Backcountry Skiing in Lake Chelan
While some amazing backcountry skiing terrain exists at the remote northern end of the lake out of reach of road access, shallow snow depths and more moderate mountains on the southern end means Lake Chelan doesn't register as a ski touring destination in the Cascades. But where there are mountains and snow, there is opportunity for skiing, and with a little bit of determination and lowered expectations, ski tourers can earn their turns around the lake. The backcountry season typically lasts from December through March, though on lean years in the Cascades, the pickings can be especially slim even during the heart of the winter. In general, northern aspects will be your best bet for adequate coverage, and it's not uncommon for them to hold recycled powder for weeks during cold spells. Use the map to view some potential options for approaches and descents - all the approach and descent names are made up by me, and I tried to use descriptive names based on nearby geographical features…
ski tours
Chelan Butte
A trailhead five minutes outside of Chelan, sweeping views of the lake and a decent amount of vertical gain make Chelan Butte a nice tour option during the heart of the winter. And if the coverage at lake level is low, there is an alternate parking spot and approach that puts you 700 feet above the lake. There are a number of different slopes to ski, meaning you can have a quick tour, or string together a couple descents for something a bit longer.
4th of July Mountain
Fourth of July Mountain is a relatively short ski tour from Antilon Lake Sno-Park with amazing views of Lake Chelan if you ski down the north side. The summit of Fourth of July Mountain is only 3,500ft, so this tour is best done during the heart of the winter when the snowpack is at its deepest, as in the spring the snow quickly melts off the southern side.
South Goff Ridge
South Goff Ridge is another relatively short ski tour from Antilon Lake Sno-Park. The protected northern aspects can hold recycled powder during cold dry spells in the Chelan Valley. And while the descents off the ridge are only around 600 ft., you can lap the skin track to rack up more vert. And sometimes the lower slopes leading back to Grade Creek Road can be a decent ski as well.
conditions
Below are the aggregate and daily conditions with the previous 7 days comprising telemetry data from Mesowest station located in Manson, WA at an elevation of 1,972ft. The forecast is centered around Echo Ridge at an elevation of 3,002 ft..
avalanche
Avalanche forecasts for Lake Chelan are provided from the Northwest Avalanche Center (NWAC) and typically updated at 6pm for the following day. Use the link below to navigate to the NWAC website for more details on the forecast.
webcams
Use the web cams below to get a sense for current conditions in the Lake Chelan Valley. The Echo Valley Cabin's webcam is located at 2,700 ft elevation and is very close to Echo Valley and Echo Ridge (useful if Echo Valley Ski Resort's webcams are not functioning). The other cams are all located at lake level, 1,100 ft elevation, at different points along the lake on both the north shore and south shore.
