Goff Ridge

After a quick but fun ski off of the south ridge of Goff a week earlier, I decided to mosey on up to Antilon Lake and take a look at the ridge running west off of Goff Peak. It looked like a longer descent and studying the satellite images lead me to believe there may be some skiable lines.

The forecast was calling for a clear day, but there were low hanging clouds completely blanketing the sky. I've noticed over the last couple of years that if you can get above the cloud layer in the Chelan Valley, you will find the forecasted blue sky and was hoping that was the case today. I followed Grade Creek road and hopped into my skin track from a week earlier. Lost in the moment, I followed the skin track a bit too long and had to find a suitable place to cross over the small ravine and get on the slope that heads up to the ridge I had in mind. I started to see some blue sky as I skinned up the slope, confirming my suspicion that there were low hanging clouds from the lake with blue sky above.

Blue sky in my future

Around 3,600 feet I was above the cloud layer, with bluebird skies above me. I'm assuming the cold air temperatures, especially overnight, interact with relatively warm lake water and cause this cloud layer, as it is only around the lake and is very low elevation. I was able to get a view of the south goff ridge lines I skied earlier in the week - nothing too impressive, but it's a nice short tour and typically holds powder during cold dry spells, so it's a nice option to have in my backyard.

South Goff Ridge slopes

There was also a cool view of the very top of Fourth of July Mountain poking through the clouds - looked like an island amongst the cloud layer. Upon reaching the high point on the ridge, I had to figure out where to descend. I poked around a bit, but wasn't able to discern much from the ridge.

Fourth of July Mountain in the clouds

I found a reasonably open spot a little skier's right of the high spot and started to ski down. I figured if it proved unskiable, I would throw the skins back on and try another option. The snow was good, with recycled powder and enough coverage that I wasn't dodging too much underbrush or fallen logs. Every time the vegetation seemed to close in, I could find another opening and continue skiing. It was better than expected!

Turns down the top section

Eventually my luck ran out and the vegetation started to quickly thicken, with no end in sight. Once it became unbearable, I picked my way over skier's right towards an open slope. It was a couple hundred yards, with a little bit of side stepping up the slope to avoid some sections. The open slope appeared to extend up towards the ridge, so I plan to ski this part next time. I laid some more turns down and then was eventually funneled into a rocky section. I was able to pick my way through, and it would have actually been a fun ski if I was more confident about not thrashing on some rocks.

Rocky section

The very bottom wasn't bad, but wasn't particularly fun. There was more and more vegetation and the recycled powder gave way to crusty snow. But I was able to ski down to the bottom without incident, and was quite pleased I was able to find an enjoyable ski down from the ridge on my first attempt.

The bottom part of the run

The run ended on a snow covered forest service road, and I skied down to the groomed snowmobile trail along Grade Creek Road. I thought about putting my skins on, but the snow was firm and there was a little bit of downhill that I could take advantage of. Hitting some uphill after a bit, I decided to skate and herringbone rather than put the skins on, as I was hopeful the uphill wouldn't last long (this was my first time this far out on Grade Creek). It was a little longer than expected, but eventually it turned into a downhill and I was able to ski along the frozen snowmobile trail. By this time, I was back in the clouds and it was actually a little difficult flying down the frozen trail with limited visibility - I didn't want to slow down and risk having a lot more uphill.

Back in the clouds

I passed by a small group of Nordic skiers taking a break alongside the trail. I had noticed some old tracks along the side of Grade Creek road on the way in, and couldn't tell if it was nordic or backcountry skiers, but I am guessing it was nordic skiers as I haven't seen any other tracks going up slopes. The exit along Grade Creek was long, but wasn't too bad given the trail was frozen solid and moved fast. It would be somewhat painful if the snow was soft and you had to skin in - in that case, I think I would rather just skin back up the descent to the ridge, and ski the southern slope back down to Grade Creek.