Kendal Adventure Zone

A north facing slope stacked with chutes

Ski Touring Difficult

Distance: 16 km
Ascent: 1.3 km
Descent: 1.3 km
Duration: 7-8 hrs

Low Point: 790 m
High Point: 1.7 km
Gradient: 37˚

Over the years I’ve heard so many names for these chutes that I don’t even know where to begin. The name Kendal Adventure Zone seems to have been the most used which makes since sense it is an adventurous zone within Kendal Mountain. it’s stacked with line after line of steep gullies that run all the way down to the valley. This is the type of area that you could set a tent up at the base and ski line after line all weekend and never cross your old tracks. Now that I got you excited about this area it is time to speak about the dangers. Looking at the bowl you will notice there are barely any trees, that is because of avalanches. This area gets wind loaded and while it holds great snow it can also hold massive slabs. The moment you drop in you are committed. While I’ve heard of people using the valley below as an exit I haven’t so can only talk about my personal experiences bootpacking back up.

Looking at Kendal Adventure Zone from Red Peak Photo: Kyle Miller

Looking back up after riding down Photo: Kyle Miller

Hiking back up our tracks to get onto the ridge Photo: Kyle Miller

Description

When we did this tour we started at the Lake Mardee Road just off the Summit East turn off of I-90. From there we started climbing up Forest Road 9090 which then switches to 2235. The road easily makes its way up to the ridge just above Kendal Peak Lakes where after dropping a few feet of elevation north you are in the basin. Make your way through the open section before following a drainage that will take you to the lower lake than the upper one. Standing at Upper Kendal Lake make your way North towards a low col making sure to stay on the edge of the trees which goes all the way to the ridge.

Standing on top of Kendal Ridge your eyes will immediately focus on the slopes just under your feet. The terrain rolls off into what starts as a semi tight chute with a beautiful apron below. Dropping into the north slope only be willing to descend as much as you are wanting to climb back up. When we did this we rode to the flats before bootpacking directly back up our tracks to semi safely get onto the ridge. You could spend all day in the area but we decided that only one of the lines was good enough for the day. From there you can just retrace your route back down the road and to the car.

To see my trip in the area and more photos check out this link https://www.whereiskylemiller.com/snoqualmie-pass/kendall-peak-chutes/