Cross-country Ski - Big Four Coal Creek

Meeting Place:  Coming from Granite Falls, meet at the end of plowed road on Mountain Loop Highway (Highway 92) at seasonal locked gate.  Deer Creek Road #4052 is about 12.1 miles east of Verlot.  The seasonal locked gate is about 1/4 mile past Deer Creek Road.  Park on the side of the road.  Pay attention to the "No Parking" Signs right at the locked gate.  DO NOT Park where you shouldn't.  

Parking can be a breeze... or not... depending on snow and weather conditions.  It's a popular area.  You may have to park back down the road (west) and walk a bit to the locked gate.  If you don't find me as you walk along the road toward the gate we'll meet at the locked gate.  I drive a white Ford F-150 pickup with a canopy/shell on the back.  There are Mountaineers, Search & Rescue, Sea Kayak, and Bigfoot stickers on the back canopy glass.  I'm 72 years young, 5'6"ish (maybe 5'8" with XC Boots and Skis!), 150#, bald, wear glasses.

Meet Time:  9:30 AM (0930) - allow enough time.  It takes longer to get from Granite Falls  to the start point than you think, even without snowy conditions on the road.

This trip is primarily for the 2025 students of the Everett Mountaineers Cross Country Ski Course.  Others are welcome if students don't fill all the spots.

I've checked "Leader Permission Required" so that you and I have contact of some type before you register.  Check the "contact leader" box and send me a note including a short bio of your ungroomed cross-country skiing experience.   

This is an ungroomed trip on a mostly flat, gently climbing road.  The only "tracks" we're likely to find will have been made by snowmobiles and snowshoes.  The road is multi-use.  There will be XC Skiers, Snowshoers, Snow Machines, Walkers, Dogs, Kids, Sleds, etc.  If there has been sufficient snow just prior to the trip we'll hope for a few snowmobilers to have preceded us and packed down a nice track.  While the initial start can seem crowded it quickly thins out and we'll have a great time.  In my experience a super crowded day on this trip is far less crowded than a low-to-normal day at Crystal Springs.

IF you have metal edge skis please plan on using them.  Not required but generally more fun on ungroomed snow than non-metal edges.  Could be icy of course.  Hope not, but you never know.

See my note in Required Equipment about Optional Snowshoes.

We'll ski a couple miles up on the road to the Big Four Picnic Area.  From there we'll decide if we are going over to the Big Four Ice Caves Overlook or if we are continuing on up the Mountain Loop another mile or so to the Coal Lake Road (#4060) and ski up that road a while.  Decision will be made by the group based on weather, snow conditions, fitness of the group, turn-around time, etc.

If we decide to go to the Ice Caves Overlook we may need to take our skis off on occasion as we traverse the ~ 1 mile trail from the Picnic Area to the Ice Caves.  

We'll eat lunch on the trail.  Maybe at the Picnic Shelter.  Maybe in the snow and cold by the side of the trail somewhere.  Plan on being flexible.

Assuming we are skiing by 10AM (1000) at the latest we'll be back at the cars around 2:00PMish (1400ish).  

Depending on weather and group decisions there will be an optional apres ski gathering at a joint of some type in Granite Falls.