Goode Mountain and Mount Logan

Goode Mountain's northeast couloir is one of the great steep ski descents in North Cascades National Park, dropping 3,500 feet from the summit ridge into the North Fork of Bridge Creek valley. Mount Logan sits across the col with the Douglas Glacier offering additional terrain for parties with time and ambition. The approach from Rainy Pass on Highway 20 keeps access relatively straightforward by North Cascades standards.

Day one covers the approach from the Rainy Pass trailhead, crossing Black Peak's southern slopes and descending through Woody and Grizzly Creek drainages into the North Fork of Bridge Creek valley. Thick vegetation and tricky creek crossings mark this section. From a valley camp, day two sends you up 5,000 feet to the col below Goode, with the final 2,000 feet as a steep bootpack to the couloir entrance. The couloir itself holds snow in wildly different states depending on the season, from deep powder to bulletproof ice that turns parties around.

When conditions align, the 3,500-foot descent from Goode's summit back to valley floor ranks among the finest steep ski lines in Washington. The NE couloir runs at 50-plus degrees with fluting that channels sluff, demanding decisive, committed skiing. Goode Glacier crevasses and ice cliffs guard the lower approach and require careful navigation. This is a route where conditions dictate everything, and reading the snowpack correctly is the difference between a legendary day and a forced bivy.