Olallie Meadow from Annette Lake trailhead

Trip Report

Mark and I parked at I-90's exit 47 and skied down the road to the Annette Lake trailhead. We took a combination of trail, logging road, and off-trail up to the Iron Horse Trail where it intersects a broad NW ridge that leads to Olallie Meadows.

We headed up the NW ridge, the first 200 feet above the Iron Horse were steep and tough with the icy snow. After that we broke into old growth forest and had a nice stroll up the moderate ridge. The ridge got steep again right before reaching the meadow, I wished I had my ice axe for this.

Once we got to Olallie Meadow, the snow changed from icy crud to lovely powder, with a few patches of ice and of wind-packed slabs, it made for interesting skiing. We skied a couple runs in the open, rolling hills of Olallie Meadow, taking a break at the warming hut.

Too soon the day was over and we had to head down. Now I really wished I had my ice axe, crampons would have been nice too. Plunge stepping down frozen snow with sporadic sheets of ice is no fun. We made liberal use of veggie belays.

Maps

• Online map with route drawn on it: Olallie Meadow from Annette Lake trailhead

Travel Times

• 19 minutes driving there from Lower Queen Anne to TNAB rendezvous point
• 42 minutes driving there from TNAB rendezvous point to I-90 exit 47
• 5 hours 8 minutes ascending from I-90 exit 47 (1,875') to our high point in Olallie Meadow (4,395')
• 23 minutes ascending from our high point in Olallie Meadow (4,395') to NW corner of Olallie Meadow (3,445')
• 1 hour 19 minutes descending from NW corner of Olallie Meadow (3,445') to I-90 exit 47

Visited

• King County
• Lost Lake USGS quad
• Olallie Meadow
• Snoqualmie Pass USGS quad
• South Fork Snoqualmie Drainage
• Washington State

Warming hut in Olallie Meadow

Rockdale Ridge from Olallie Meadow

Granite Mountain from exit 47