Fourth of July Mountain

Since my early season ski tour in the beginning of December on Fourth of July Mountain, I had been wanting to get out for another ski tour in the area. However, I was waiting for a weather window to align with my schedule, as I was really hoping to have a clear day to enjoy views of the lake while skiing down. Finally that day arrived, and I took advantage, as I wasn't sure how much longer we would have enough snow to ski around the lower mountains of Lake Chelan.

During my ski tour on Johnson Creek a couple of weeks prior, I noticed it was possible to head up Fourth of July Mountain directly from the parking lot, rather than following the road / snowmobile track to Lake Antilon and then heading up on the summer trail. Arriving at the Sno Park, I decided to give it a go, as there looked to be enough coverage.

Heading up directly from the Sno Park

Getting up the slope was a little awkward at the start, as there was a steep bank not far up the slope, which I think is the result of a buried pipeline carrying water from Antilon Lake. Once past that part, it was straightforward skinning up. Definitely steeper than heading up the summer trail, but more direct. It didn't take long before I intersected with the summer trail and made my way onto the ridge.

There were some clouds rolling in, but I was able to get nice views of Lake Chelan and the surrounding mountains. It was nice to be able to see what I had skied from Johnson Creek, as visibility was very limited that day. The snow coverage was depleting quickly, and I figured this may be my last time out around the Anitlon Lake Sno-Park this year.

Lake Chelan

Terrain around Johnson Creek

Of course once I reached the top of Fourth of July, I had limited visibility and couldn't see down to the lake. I couldn't tell if a lot more clouds had rolled in and the entire ski would be in the clouds, or this was a pocket of clouds centered around this area and things would open up as I descended. I was a bit disappointed, and considered skiing back down to the car. But ultimately I decided to stick to my original plan and ski down the northwest aspect of Fourth of July towards the lake.

Summit of Fourth of July Mountain

The snow was firm skiing down, but consistent and I was able to link together some nice turns. After a couple hundred feet, I descended out of the clouds and was treated to amazing views of Lake Chelan. The slope below had a nice consistent fall line, however it was "bumpy". I believe this is a result of lots of bushes and fallen trees on the slope and lack of deep snowpack to cover everything up - it's something I have encountered before in the area.

Looking back up towards the top

Looking down at Lake Chelan

As I skied on the lower part of the slope, I noticed an overlook of sorts that looked like a good place to stop. I skied down to it, took off my skis and sat on a rock outcropping, while hydrating, eating and admiring the views of the lake.

Views of Lake Chelan

While I could have skied down a bit farther, this seemed like a good place to start traversing around the mountain, as the coverage was getting pretty thin. I eventually reached a snowmobile track on a flat section above a large gully, and had to throw the skins on. While throwing on my skins, I noticed a coyote casually trotting towards me. It stopped a hundred feet away and watched me for a bit, before heading down into the gully.

Coyote below Fourth of July Mountain

I followed the snowmobile track, which took me through a pretty Aspen stand and to the shore of Antilon Lake. The snowmobile track headed north, probably towards the forest service road that comes around the north side of the lake. I decided to break off and try and save some distance by heading straight east to connect directly with the forest service road. In theory this sounded like a good idea, but turned out to be somewhat difficult.

Stand of Aspen

With the low snow coverage, it was hard to navigate some of the steeper sections and fallen logs. And at one point the underbrush was very thick, resulting in a good 'ole northwest bushwack. In hindsight, I probably would have been better off just crossing Antilon Lake, but I was by myself and not a hundred percent confident the ice would hold. I eventually reached the forest service road and then followed that back out to the car.

Finally reaching the forest service road

It was a fun tour, and cool to check out a different aspect of Fourth of July Mountain. Need to figure out a better way to get back to the forest service road. Fingers crossed I can get a bluebird day with fresh powder in the coming seasons.