South-facing slopes grow sticky in the sun and crusty in the shade, a condition that can snap ski tips unexpectedly. Traverses between drainages are difficult because most valleys have steep glaciercut walls. Rock out-crops sometimes require detours, even along valley floors. Check with the Park Service for safety tips regarding avalanches, lake and stream hazards, and other dangers. As in summer hiking, Bear Lake is the point of departure for many winter trips, short or long.
Rangers are often on duty on weekends to provide assistance.
Snow pack and conditions are usually more favorable at this elevation and higher. Although summer trails sometimes offer the best route, valley bottoms and stream beds have more snow cover and can be negotiated with care. A leisurely one or two hour round trip to Nymph Lake involves a climb of several hundred feet. The summer trail from Bear Lake is the most common route. Emerald Lake, one mile beyond Dream, can be safely reached by traveling up the left side of the valley above Dream for several hundred yards, crossing to the right side of the valley through the trees in the flat area, then continuing west on the right side of the valley.