The route starts from FS-4096, which is not on the USGS maps.  It is depicted on the Washington gazetteer or the DNR maps of the area.  A well beaten in foot tread leaves the road to the left at about 2100 feet elevation.  Not knowing when we would encounter snow, we decided to start hiking in our tennis shoes and carry the ski boots.  The trail is a fisherman's route to the lake, and as such it has a few blowdowns and gets faint in places.  However, we entered old growth immediately and encountered no brush.  The hike to snow level, about 3000 feet, was a pleasant left traversing climb to above Nels Lake.

Wade striking a pose; Near the lake in old growth.

Here is where we made our route finding error.  Instead of traversing above the lake, we followed the ridge up and encountered steep snow that eventually ended at a third-class headwall.  On skiing back, we found that traversing above the lake at about 4600 feet would have kept us on ski-able snow the whole way.  After getting up to the headwall and discussing our options, we decided to take the lazy climbers option and ascend the rock instead of down climbing and traversing around.  We stamped out a platform in the snow, and donned our tennis shoes for the scramble to the top of the ridge.

Big Four Mountain from above Nels Lake;  Scrambling third class rock with skis.

At the top of the ridge, the summit was clearly visible.  A straight forward skin up to the northeast ridge lead to the summit.

Summit glory.

After a leisurely lunch, we tightened the boots and started skiing.  The ski down was excellent.  The conditions were fast and the snow was good.  Knowing the correct route down, we skied all the way to 3000 feet, were we put the skis back on the packs and followed the trail back to the car.

Wade kick' n it.

This was an easy ski ascent with no brush, definitely an enjoyable outing.  It took us a little over four hours to ascend and two hours down.  I would highly recommend this for an off the beaten path ski tour.