What We Accomplished in Our 2025-26 Season

As ski season winds down, we want to take a moment to highlight the work our team accomplished throughout the 2025-2026 season—and to say thank you to everyone who supported us for another year!

Photo credit: Kira Tully

Hosting Community-building Events

This was a huge year for bringing together our backcountry community. We held two editions of our flagship Backcountry Connections event in the winter and spring, plus joined with partners for events in Stevens Pass, North Bend, Seattle, and Bellingham. We're looking forward to more great events next season and continuing to expand our geographic footprint so we can connect with even more of the community.

We're also very excited to have some fresh Cascade Backcountry Alliance merchandise for sale. So the next time you see us at an event, be sure to grab a hat or beanie to show off your support!

Pushing for Sustainable Access at Snoqualmie Pass

We're working hard on improving backcountry access at Snoqualmie Pass and making it more sustainable over the long-term. This is likely the busiest winter recreation area in all of Washington and existing access infrastructure hasn't kept up with increases in ski resort and backcountry visitors. To address this, we published our roadmap for developing a new PCT North Sno-Park.

We also launched our first-ever trailhead survey in partnership with Mountains to Sound Greenway. This survey provides data about current access conditions at Snoqualmie Pass and is key to our ability to advocate for infrastructure improvements.

Thank you to everyone who took the trailhead survey. It'll be back next fall so we can keep collecting data and bring our vision for a new Snoqualmie Pass Sno-Park to life!

Returning Winter Recreation to Mount Pilchuck

We shared our framework for returning winter recreation to Mount Pilchuck  with a new Sno-Park on the mountain. We believe this will be a terrific access point for backcountry skiing and riding, snowshoeing, snow play, and more. It will also address a major geographical gap in the Sno-Park program, offering quick access to snow for residents in the greater Everett metro area.

We continue to engage with land managers, local stakeholders, and our community to keep this effort moving forward. Stay tuned for more news and ways you can help this fall!

Building Regional Relationships and Advocating for Access

We've continued to build relationships with the US Forest Service, ski areas, tribes, and other regional land managers and stakeholders. We've also continued to speak up on issues that impact the backcountry community throughout the Cascades. We submitted comments on the Mission Ridge Ski Area expansion, attended events on proposed Roadless Rule changes, and participated in a panel at the Winter Wildlands Alliance Conference.

These relationships and advocacy efforts are at the heart of what we do, and we'll continue to build on the strong foundation we've established.

Strengthening Our Organization

We made significant improvements behind the scenes to ensure Cascade Backcountry Alliance can continue to be your voice for winter access far into the future. We brought on four new board members to increase our organizational capacity and expertise, developed a 2025-2027 Strategic Plan to guide our work, and updated our branding and website to ensure our digital footprint matches our impact. We also published our first annual impact report.

We’re so proud of what we achieved this season, and we have a lot more in store for next year. Please consider supporting Cascade Backcountry Alliance by subscribing to our newsletter, following us on Facebook and Instagram, and making a donation.

Thanks so much for being a part of our community!