West Cashmere Shoulder
A burly early-season ascent up the west shoulder of Cashmere Mountain. Nova led the charge through snow, scree, and ridgeline scrambling to bag nearly 6,900 feet of alpine terrain.
Elevation Profile
The Approach
Saturday morning, early March. The kind of morning where the cold bites your face but the sky is so clear you can see every ridge in the range stacked behind each other like cardboard cutouts. Nova was already at the car door before I had my boots on.
We started from the trailhead outside Cashmere around 7:45 AM. The first stretch winds through forest — nothing dramatic, just the steady rhythm of boots on packed snow and the sound of Nova's tags jingling ahead. She always sets the pace. I just try to keep up.
The Climb
Above treeline, things got real. The west shoulder of Cashmere is a relentless grind — almost 9,200 feet of elevation gain over 8.5 miles. The snow was firm early, which made for good travel, but as the sun hit the south-facing slopes, we were punching through to our knees.
Nova didn't seem to mind. She floated on top where I'd sink, picking her line with that instinctive mountain sense she has. Watching her navigate terrain is something else — she reads the snow, avoids the soft spots, and always finds the efficient path.
The Ridge
The ridgeline section was the highlight. Exposed, airy, with drop-offs on both sides that make your stomach flip. Nova was in her element — trotting along the spine like she was born up there. Which, honestly, she might as well have been.
At 6,890 feet, the views opened up in every direction. Stuart to the north, the Enchantments gleaming, and the whole Wenatchee Valley spread out below like a map. We sat there for a while. Nova curled up next to me on a flat rock, both of us just taking it in.
The Descent
Coming down is where the legs pay the price. Over 9,300 feet of descent — the knees remember every foot of it. But the light was doing that late-afternoon golden thing on the snow, and Nova was bounding downhill with that goofy grin she gets when gravity is on her side.
Back at the car by 1:45 PM. Six hours of hard mountain travel. Nova immediately claimed the back seat and was asleep before I turned the key.
A proper Cascades day.