Washington’s Kyle Miller has been quietly leading the charge when it comes to exploratory splitboarding for a half-dozen years. Here, he travels to the unridden reaches of the Eldorado Icecap on a three-day mission in search of an unnamed first descent and the solitude of the North Cascades.

It is said that ravens and eagles who soar through the desolate mountains are the souls of fallen climbers; to perish looks increasingly possible if you marvel at the North Cascades from up high.

With more glaciers than any other part of the contiguous United States, Washington’s Cascades have some of the steepest and most remote terrain this side of Alaska. And like the fabled peaks of AK, a wet maritime snowpack sticks to near-vertical faces and makes committed, high alpine descents a mid-winter reality. With this in mind I took a methodical approach, dividing the North Cascades into sub-ranges and attacking a different line in each one. I planned to dance with another animal altogether—a new level of riding, of trekking, and exploration…

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