Our first view of Mt Stuart
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Aspens
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Carolyn enjoying hot coffee and a hot lunch
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Larch turned golden
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Lake Stuart photographed from the SW
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Mt Stuart and Lake Stuart
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Pano (2 pics) of Stuart Range and Lake Stuart
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Stuart Range
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Mt Stuart obscuring the sun
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Dragontail Peak (left) and Sherpa Peak
.

Unnamed peak north of Dragontail Peak
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Michael heading up the boot trail leading to Forgotten's summit.
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The scramble gully was mostly snow-free.
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Michael heading up.
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Michael topping out from the gully.
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Last section leading to the summit.
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Shadows cast from the summit.
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Michael signing summit register Three Fingers (left) and Whitehorse in the rear.
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View of Forgotten Meadows from Forgotten's summit.
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Bedal Peak (left) and Sloan Peak.
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Monte Cristo peaks.
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Me
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Crux section of the scramble - hard snow section above a steep "fatal" gully.
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Michael heading down with Mt Pugh in the background.
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View of Forgotten summit from Meadows.
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Glacier Peak from meadows.
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Roxy first discovers her love of huckleberries. After being hand-fed a few,
she began picking them off the lower branches.

Jay and Scott chose the boulder route for the last section.
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Season's first snow
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Zoom shot of Kaleetan Peak. Too snowy for a summit bid.
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Roxy playing in the snow.
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View east includes Kaleetan, Chair Peak, Bryant, and snowy Glacier Peak.
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More snow on taller peaks to the east.
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Gorgeous fall colors.
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Steep section of trail where hands are needed
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Our first view of the Pickets Range
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Trappers Peak summit
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Zoom shot of Mt Triumph and its tiny east face glacier
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View east includes (I believe) Pyramid Peak, Pinnacle Peak, and Paul Bunyan's Stump
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View SE which (I believe) includes Eldorado and The Triad.
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Gabi, Michael, and Me. Sameer was away exploring.
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Pano of Upper Thorton Lake, Thorton Peak, and Mt Triumph
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Pano shot of the Pickets Range
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View south includes (I believe) Hidden Lake Peaks and Snowfield Peak
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Huckleberries or Blueberries were plentiful and especially delicious
.

Hands required section on the descent
.

Nice sign indicating turn off point for Trappers and Thorton Lakes
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Sean taking a break
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Sean snapped this photo of the Camp Robbers visiting our break spot
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Zoom shot of Shuksan's Curtis Glacier
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Me and Sean (modeling his spiffy new rain jacket)
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These days, our son is big into Star Wars
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Topping out on Skyline Divide Ridge. Mt Baker and Hadley Peak are hidden by low clouds and fog.
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Location where Sean and I had our special Father-Son moment in which Hadley Peak and Baker made their appearance
.

Mt Baker making its first appearance of the day above glaciated Hadley Peak
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Heading out
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Carolyn and Sean
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Carolyn and Sean heading down
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One last peek at Baker and Hadley before our descent to the trailhead
.

Roxy
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Roxy cooling off
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West shoulder of Silver Peak
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Ready for her ride home
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NE side of Naches Peak
.

Seymour Peak or Peak Number 6937
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Rainier
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Mostly obscured view of Rainier's Little Tahoma peak
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Carolyn and Sean
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A warning best heeded
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View of first snow/ice field
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Sheep Mountain (I believe)
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Me and Carolyn
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Sean
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Me and Sean
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Sean and Hall Peak (I believe)
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The new bridge completed a few months ago
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Camp
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After dinner, we hung our food above the reach of mountain goats and rodents
.

Alpenglow on Mt Stuart
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Day two: we woke to clear blue skies and temps in the low 50's
Ingalls South Peak (left), Ingalls North Peak (center, our route), and Ingalls East Peak (right).

Lake Ingalls and Mt Stuart
.

Hiking up to the start of the climbing route near the South/North Peaks col
.

Steven (left), Steve, Me, and Joe (climb leader)
.

Joe (with his rope partner) leading the first pitch
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Joe topping out on the first (4th class) pitch
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Joe (top) leading the 2nd pitch; Gary (3rd from top) leading the 2nd pitch
.

The crux move (5.4 or 5.5) is between the top two climbers near the bulging rock
It took me at least 5-7 minutes to get myself through the crux move because the handholds were nearly out-of-reach and small and only one of two footholds was especially secure. How, I kept asking myself, did I do this climb in 2007 wearing sturdy backpacking boots...?!?

Steve belaying me on the 3rd (last) pitch.
I was on a nice secure ledge and decided to snap a quick photo after asking Steve if it was cool to do so.

Mt Stuart (rear), Ingalls true-true summit, and Ingalls Lake
None of us chose to bother scrambling the 3rd class ramp to reach the nearby, and only slightly higher true summit.

Me on the summit much warmer than two years ago on this same spot!
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Steve, my awesome rope lead
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Gary rappeling down to our route's starting point
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Me, rappelling
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Final view of our route with Joe facing camera
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Me (left), Steven (sitting center), Thomas (yellow helmet), and Gary
Gearing down at the base of the route and readying to hike back to camp.

One last look at our route. Center of photo a climber's rappelling
.

For an area known for its mountain goats, until this guy showed up, we saw none
He (or is it a she) munched on tree branches while we were preparing to leave camp.

View of route (south) from Sunrise Mine trail
.

View up snow free Headleee Pass
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First view of Vesper Peak (on the right)
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The route goes through the scrub then enters the boulder basin on the east slope
.

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With the exception of a couple of spots we stayed on rocks the entire route
.

Jay nearing the summit
.

Scott (left), Jay (center), and me
Photo credit: Scott C.

View north of Three Fingers (left) and Whitehorse
.

"Twin Peaks" are Del Campo (left) and Gothic. Left of Del Campo is Morning Star
.

View of west side of Headlee Pass
.

Morning Star Peak
.

Heading down Headlee Pass which was well-maintained nearly the entire way
.

Above timberline and heading toward the snowfield south of Sulphide Glacier
.

Nice patch of flowers
.

Russ (left) and Hyer
.

An amazing spot for a campsite with spectacular views of Mt Baker
.

Awesome water source 50 feet from camp
.

Thunderstorms heading our way. Once they arrived, rain fell for an hour or more
.

Storm clouds surround Mt Baker
.

Day 2: Roping up for our climb via the Sulphide Glacier
.

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Sunrise
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Our initial view of Shuksan's summit block
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The second of our two rope teams winds its way up Sulphide Glacier
.

View of our planned route up Shukan's pyramid-shaped summit
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In another few weeks, this crevasse will be impassible
.

Shuksan's 600-700 foot summit block
Depending on the source, the rock route is 3rd, 4th, and/or 5th class terrain.

Leaving the glacier to climb (scramble) the rock
Our climb leader, Stephen (left), and Kevin

Exposed 4th class section where I decided to stop given there was yet more ahead
.

Me, scrambling summit rock
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Pano of the Sulphide Glacier from the base of Shuksan's summit block
.

Heading down
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Another look back although I plan to return to this amazing peak
.

Heading out after breaking camp
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Pano view east a bit before dropping below timberline
.

Lookout where the boulder hop starts to reach the ladder
.

Three Fingers
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Me and Roxy. Lookout is on the high point behind us.
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Roxy
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Three Fingers zoom shot
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Three Fingers from the Pilchuck parking lot
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View of Johannesburg Mountain from the parking area


One of a few stream crossings
.

Our first open view of Boston Basin and Sahale Mountain
Sahale is the smallish pyramid shaped peak near left center in this photo.

Snowfield beneath Quien Sabe Glacier
Sharkfin tower is on the left, Boston Peak is in the center, and Sahale is on the far right.

Dinner time a few hours after camp setup


My rope partners, Brian (left) and John
Hidden Lake Peaks is in the background on the right.

View of Sahale (top center) and our route up the Quien Sabe Glacier
We went left of the seracs, turned right beneath the large horizontal crevasse, then headed a bit left to the saddle between Boston Peak and Sahale.

Sunrise on Johannesburg Mountain


Rope team ahead of ours crossing the snow bridge across the crevasse


Nearing the saddle between Boston and Sahale


View east northeast from saddle between Boston and Sahale
Based on my map, I believe the peak on the right is Booker Mountain and the peak on the left Mt Logan.

Me on the saddle between Boston and Sahale
Six of us waited here for a few minutes while the first rope team scouted the final 200 (or so) feet to Sahale's summit.  At this point, after assessing the steepness of the snow slope to the right of the large cornice, the group decided the route was too sketchy to continue.  Besides, going another 1/10th of a mile on this highly technical section would have required another 2 hours or more to ascend/descend.

Zoom shot of the cornice before the true summit


Descending Quien Sabe Glacier with view of Baker (left), Eldorado, Torment, and Forbidden


Descending Quien Sabe Glacier with view of Sahale's summit





Zoom shot of Sahale's summit and the cornice near where we stopped
The snow field left of the summit looks deceptively tame from this vantage point, however, its slope is around 45-50 degrees or more  with zero opportunity to arrest a fall.  Placing protection and belaying each of us nine climbers, on the ascent and descent, would have taken another 2 or more hours -- too much time allowing snow atop the Quien Sabe Glacier to (unsafely) soften.

View of our route which started in the center, left and above the lower seracs,
turned right toward the far right-end of the large crevasse, (just above the upper seracs), then leftward toward the saddle between Boston and Sahale.

Heading out with view of Hidden Lake Peaks (right) and Snowking Mountain (rear left)


Last view of Sharkfin Tower and Sahale Mountain

View of Helen's SSE face from Climber's Bivouac
.

Our first view of the Monitor Ridge route
4 people can be seen in the upper snowband.

Timberline is reached a bit more than 2 miles from the trailhead
.

Our first view of the crater rim
The false summit is visible on the left-side of the photo. The true summit is further left (west).

Wanda with Monitor Ridge in the background center
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Wanda with Mt Adams
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Inching closer to the crater rim
.

The long view down Monitor Ridge
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First view of the crater rim
.

Josh and Shabnam with Mt Adams
.

Lava dome
No camera can truly capture the incredible view and experience of gaping down into the center of this volcano.

Spirit Lake and Mt Rainier
Thousands of trees blown down by the 1980 euruption still clog a large portion of Spirit Lake.

Me
.

View of Mt Adams and upper part of Helen's Crater Glacier
.

We glissaded down a few sections of snow however...
... some of the snow was ice-hard, bumpy, and covered in dust.

Wanda descending with Mt Hood in the background
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Helens route

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Mike (right) and Chango crossing tame Bean Creek

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View of Bean Peak from Bean Creek basin

We scrambled up the SE ridge seen in this photo.

Jay (left) and Scott making their way up the SE ridge

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Snow was largely gone precluding the need for ice axes

.

These two trees caught everyone's attention

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Scott topping out on the ridge west of Bean's summit

At this point of the scramble, we were scrambling Class 2.5 terrain.

Mike (right) and Chango on Bean's summit

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Me on Bean's summit with Mt Stuart (right) in the background

I was expecting cool temps and brisk winds on the summit.  Instead, the temp was comfortable and the winds were light.

Scott (left) and Chango descending from Bean's summit heading toward Volcanic Neck

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Jay heading toward Volcanic Neck

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View (I believe) of the initial scramble route up Volcanic Neck

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Mike heading west from the saddle between Bean and Volcanic Neck

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Mt Stuart and Sherpa Peak (right) and Ingalls (left)

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Bean Peak loop route

Starting at the bottom, we went counter clock-wise.

View of Whitehorse from Hiway 530
The summit is in the center of the upper section of the glacier where the snow finger leads to the top of the summit's rock formation.

Zoom of summit from Hiway 530
Summit is in the center of this photo.

A bit of brush bashing on the way to camp beyond Lone Tree Pass
.

Final section below Lone Tree Pass
By this time, we'd been hiking for roughly 6.5 hours.

Setting up camp
.

View of summit from our camp named Pothole camp
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View of Baker from our campsite
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Post sunset view of Darrington from camp
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Day 2, ascending from camp to High Pass
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Nearing High Pass
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Tiny black dots are climbers descending from the summit
.

Ascending the glacier
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Ascending the semi-steep slope separating the upper and lower portions of the
top of the glacier. The snow was soft thus reducing chances of falling.

Inching closer. The last section, even at this point, didn't appear especially
steep.

Me, taking a break before the final push
Mt Baker is in the background.

Final summit snow slope is now appearing to be faily steep.
.

Ascending final section looking back toward High Pass
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Last section before topping out on the rocky summit.
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Almost there. Slope, at this point, is roughly 45 degrees.
.

Summit view down into the valley where Darringington lies
.

David (top) climbing final section
Climbers hip belayed their followers once they topped out onto the rocky summit. In this photo, David is followed by Beth then me.  Photo credit: Shannon P.

Me, topping out
It felt good to put my hands on rock because I was tired and a bit tense from the final section which called for traversing 15-20 feet across a snow shelf that will soon, with warming temps, be a bergshrund.  Photo credit: Shannon P.

View of Three Fingers with Rainier in the background
.

Summit pose with Three Fingers
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Summit group photo
Photo credit: Joe D.

David rappelling down from the summit
Given the steepness of the snow, we decided to rappel one 30m rope length down. The hardest part about the rappel was trying not to dislodge loose rocks onto your climbing partners below.

Shannon's route graphic
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Shannon's Topo route
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Me nearing summit

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View NE from the summit.
Photo by Richard.

Most of the summit snow was gone although plenty remained on the entire upper route

.

Richard (left) and Raj

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View of Mt Si and Haystack Rock from Teneriffe's summit

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The section leading to the summit is moderately

steep once you enter the forest.  With harder snow, an ice ax would be ideal to prevent a slip and subsequent collision with a tree.  Otherwise, in today's conditions, trekking poles and careful foot placement was sufficient.

View of Teneriffe during our descent.

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Logging road erosion consequence.

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Roaring Creek

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TeneriffeRoute.JPG
TeneriffeRoute.JPG 2009-05-23

Heading Up
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Making our way to the SW ridge route
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Small portion of the SW ridge route melted out.
.

First peek of the lookout tower
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We wound our way up on the west side of the SW ridge
.

Views NE from the summit include Kaleetan (left), Chair (middle), and countless
other peaks.

First of 3 or so glissages.
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Last glissade before the treeline.
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Plenty of snow at the beginning of the route.


Given this view, I figured it made little sense to ski to the small lakes at the base of Kendall Peak.


Pano shot of Kendall Peak (3 rocky summits).

StampedePassRoute.JPG
StampedePassRoute.JPG 2009-04-20

Donald (left) and Jay


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Two boarders climbing to Table Mtn summit

The 50 degree slope was heavy with new snow.  We were glad they survived their ascent.

Mt Shuksan


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Mt Shuksan

It was impossible to snap a poor photo of this amazing peak.

Atop a knoll east of Artists Point

Jay (left in background), Larissa, and me.  Table Mountain is in the background left of my left shoulder.

Mt Baker


Glacier goggles were quite handy


Jay and I falling and laughing our way down


Stitch photo of Mt Shuksan


Stitch photo of Mt Shuksan

Impressive shoulder-height cornices on an exposed section of the road.


Fresh tracks (making) are both beautiful and tiring.


Open meadow (clearcut) just west of the Amabilis summit
Views, especially north, were mostly non-existent.

View of Lake Keechelus


I've yet to meet a snowshoer who can descend, from this point of the route, to the (visible) I-90 Exit 63 bridge in 60 mins or less. :o)

1237661740254.jpg
1237661740254.jpg 2009-03-21

1237661928648.jpg
1237661928648.jpg 2009-03-21

1237662170768.jpg
1237662170768.jpg 2009-03-21

Deer Creek Road Ski Tracks 2.jpg
Deer Creek Road Ski Tracks 2.jpg 2009-03-15

Deer Creek Road Ski Tracks.jpg
Deer Creek Road Ski Tracks.jpg 2009-03-15

Sun starting to peek out of the fog

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Zoom photo of Bears Breast Mtn

This is the view NE from the (very broad) summit of Amabilis Mtn.

View NE from Amabilis Mountain

Mt Daniel (right), Mt Hinman (center), and Bears Breast (left).

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Best lunch spot I've had since Alta Mtn in November

Only person I saw at the summit was a solo snowshoer 200 yards or so away on another ridge.

View N of Amabilis Mtn

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Rainier

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My lunch meadow

In winter, it's a "meadow"; in summer, it's a clearcut.

Pano Lunch Meadow

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Pano View North of Amabilis Mtn

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View of Granite Mtn from Windy Pass
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Turn-around point
.

Carolyn
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End of day photo
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Solitude
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Close-up of Silver Peak from Twin Lakes
.

Yet more solitude at Twin Lakes
.

Why we live here
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One of the long runs down from Mt Catherine
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Snoqualmie Mountain from Hyak Sno-Park
.

Close-up of Mt Roosevelt from Hyak Sno-Park
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Panoramic shot of Silver Peak from Twin Lakes
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Panoramic shot north from Hyak Sno-Park
.

Lunch spot stop
Temps were relatively comfortable in the sunshine.

Wendy
enjoying the panoramic views.

I'm in the background on the right stuffing
my face with lunch.

Jay at the lake
.

Mike (left) and Morgan at the lake
.

Jay (left) and me at the lake
.

Lower Kendall Peak Lake
.

First ever hike on snow
The tiny bit we encountered last week on Granite Mtn didn't truly count.

View of Mailbox Peak
.

Near the summit of Mt Wa
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Pano north view from Mt Wa summit
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Eating snow perhaps for the first time

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View NE

Kaleeta, Chair, and Bryant Peaks (left to right).  Glacier Peak is barely visible in the center.

Rainier

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Pano NE view from Granite
Pano NE view from Granite.jpg 2008-11-16

Finally, at rest at the end of the hike

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Roxy 1
Roxy 1.jpg 2008-11-09

Roxy 4
Roxy 4.jpg 2008-11-09

Keekwulee Falls and Denny Mountain
.

Bryant Peak (right)
.

View NE includes portions of Chair Peak
.

Roxy
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Zoom shot of Kaleetan Peak
The Class 2 scramble route winds its way up the central part of the gulley.

West face of The Tooth
.

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Zoom shot of The Tooth. The climbing route is the shaded area near
the right-hand skyline.

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At home, empty bladder, full tummy, her favorite ball and section of the couch
.

KC and Matt on Alta's summit
.

Mt Thompson and Alaska Lake
The horizontal line, in the center of the photo on the far left, is the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).

View north from Alta's summit includes Huckleberry Mtn (center foreground),
Alaska Mtn (left foreground), Lemah Mtn (left background), and Chimney Rock (right background). I believe Summit Chief Mtn is the large peak on the far right in the background.

Tallest cairne I've ever seen...
.

Ridge to Alta's summit. Some parts were airy (exposed a bit) which
added some variety to the otherwise mundane trail.

View up to Alta's false summit
.

Rainier. We could see Mt Adams but the haze made for poor photos.
.

Route leading down from the summit to Rachel Lake
.

Hibox Peak (right)
.

View up to Alta's false summit
.

Rachel Lake
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Crappy photo of a black bear who sat and watched hikers pass by above him/her


View of Mt Forgotten from near the Meadows. The scramble route traverses the slope on the right side of the mountain.


Once away from the snow and ice near the start of the boot trail, past the Meadows, most of the snow was gone.


Glacier Peak


Standard gully route which, when snow-free, is rated Class 2. Today, we decided the snow made the upper section too steep and treacherous.


I'm not entirely sure of all the names of these peaks but do know there the ones in line with Mt Dickerman (foreground) so I believe Sperry's on the right and Del Campo and Gothic Peak are on the left.


Matt and Jay above me on our final ascent to the summit.


View of Mt Forgotten Meadows (center snowy section) from Mt Forgotten's summit. Don't know the names of the peaks in the background.


Me on the summit happy but concerned about getting ourselves safely back to the trailhead before dark.


Matt (left) and Jay on the summit. Spending less than 5 minutes on the summit totally sucked but we agreed that time was running out and it's a long 5+ miles back to the trailhead.


IMG_5072
IMG_5072.JPG 2008-10-11

One of the "don't fall here" sections of our ascent/descent near the summit.


While descending to our newly found route, we stopped at the flat area above the standard gully route to watch two Scrambers ascending the snow-covered gully route. They ascended safely and steadily but I noted their ice axes offered nothing in the way of self-belay therefore they acted merely as a singular short trekking pole. Later, we spoke with the two and they said they descended via our newly-found route because the gully was too dangerous to descend.


Shabnam (left) and Mike on our descent to the trail where we hung out for a bit waiting for Josh, Jay, and Matt.


Josh, Jay, and Matt descending from our newly-found route which is through the thicket of evergreen trees.


A few clouds rolled in during our descent to the Meadows.


It only took us 40 minutes to hike back to the Meadows (once we were on the boot trail) but it always appears further away and above when on this section of the trail.


Bedal Peak (left), Sloan Peak (center), and Mt Dickerman (right)


Glacier Peak


Class 3 section we did not scramble down from the Meadows to the route's boot trail


IMG_5088
IMG_5088.JPG 2008-10-11

Clouds moved in a bit before reaching the Meadows while on our descent. This photo makes it appear much darker than reality.


Sunset over Big Four Mountain


Fuzzy photo I snapped of the bear while on my descent


Pano shot taken of basin ENE of Forgotten's summit. This is the flat area beneath the standard gully route.


Pano shot of Mt Baker (left), Shuksan (center), and Mt Pugh (right)

Julie on her first mock lead


Rena


Julie beginning her first sport lead


Me, at the end of the day

Views south to Stuart Range about 2/3rds from the trailhead
.

Carolyn
.

Close-up of Colchuck glacier
.

Dragontail Peak is on the left and Colchuck Peak is on the right
Colchuck glacier is between the two peaks.

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This photo was taken by a couple in their 70's
who are 3 months shy of their 50th wedding anniversary.

View of Aasgard Pass and Dragontail Peak

This is the steep route (2,200 ft of elev gain in 3/4 of a mile) leading into The Enchantments.  Not having been (yet) to The Enchantments, from the west side of Colchuck Lake, the route looks especially tough.

It was tough getting a glare-free shot of the two peaks
due to the position of the sun. Its dramatic features became more apparent once the sun began shining on the west face of Dragontail Peak.

Stout bridge over Mountaineer Creek
.

Me on second lead
.

Me on second lead 4
Me on second lead 4.jpg 2008-09-20

Me on second lead
.

Cathedral Rock
.

Mt. Daniel's West Peak from our camp site near Peggy's Pond.
.

Our route via the Hyas Creek Glacier starts
on the far left-side and traverses across the glacier to the low point (saddle) on the upper right near Daniel's West Peak.

Lori and Lilly (pooch)
They tagged along on our scramble until we reached the glacier which was too steep and hard for Lilly who easily scrambled Class 2 rock.

Starting up the Hyas Creek Glacier
Given its lack of crevasses, the glacier is considered a permanent snowfield. At its steepest point, near the ridge, it's approximately 35 degrees whereas the other sections are quite gentle with mostly safe runout.

Lori photographed our ascent of Hyas Creek Glacier
.

Dennis and Julie at the top of the Hyas Creek Glacier
Mt Stuart is the high point in the background. Smoke is from a forest fire NW of Stuart.

Once we exited the Hyas Creek Glacier and
crossed west over the ridge, we "ridge hiked" to near Daniel's Middle Peak (right-side of this photo) and then on to Daniel's highest point: West Peak (7,960 ft).

Scrambling (not much) Daniel's West Peak summit.
The scramble is a walk-up (with a few handholds) though there's exceptional exposure on the summit, especially southward.

Julie (left, the arms-raised ham), Ed, and Dean on the summit

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Ed (left), our fearless leader and Dean
On Daniel's West Peak summit.

View SSW which includes Bears Breast,
Summit Chief, and Chimney Rock.

View north of Lynch Glacier and Lynch Lake.
Glacier Peak is the high point in the background.

Looking SE toward Stuart and Daniel Glacier

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Pano (unfortunately crooked) looking north from near Daniel's West summit.

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Pano of Rainier, Bears Breast, and Mt Hinman
.

Descending the Hyas Creek Glacier.
The sun and higher temps had warmed the glacier/snow to the point where crampons were optional.

One last look at our Hyas Creek Glacier route.
.

The ridge leading from camp to the Hyas Creek Glacier
was tame except for this one spot which was a bit exposed with loose-feeling handholds.

Cathedral Rock and Peggy's Pond.
We camped left of Peggy's Pond near the exceptionally clear running the Hyas Creek.

Lemah Mountain (left) and Chimney Rock (right)
This is the view from the shore of Cooper Lake near our campsite.

Close-up photo of Chimney Rock's 3 summits
.

IMG_4745
IMG_4745.JPG 2008-08-30

Sean ascending the trail with our first view of
French Cabin Mountain.

Taking our lunch break near one of the
unnamed French Cabin "spires." From some side trails, it appears some folks climb this particular one.

French Cabin Mountain's West Peak (5,724 ft)
This is the point where I stopped, snapped a few photos, and returned to Carolyn and Sean who stopped near the 5,000 ft pass. Someday I may return to scramble this peak which the Mountaineers rate a Technical 2 (out of 5).

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Last view of French Cabin Mountain's West Peak
.

View of Stuart Range
from our lunch break spot.

View of Sibley Peak (left) and the intended scramble route
which would be the 2nd or 3rd saddle on the right.

View of our scramble route up nearly to the

ridge (left side) and down (right side) back to the trail.  Oddly, Hidden Lake Peak (7,088 ft) and Hidden Lake Peak Lookout (6,890 ft) are not visible from this point of the trail though guide books and online trip reports led me to believe they are.

Scrambling up to the saddle (low point)
in this photo.

View of the route we took after abandoning our
scramble attempt to reach the ridge. We came down to the right of the rock cropping (with trees) on the upper left-hand side of this photo.

Back on the Hidden Lake Peak Lookout trail
with the Lookout as our destination. Lena is in the front followed by Shabnam and Mike.

View NW of Mt Baker
.

View of rocky point where the Lookout sits.
It's hard to spot the Lookout and the scramble trail from this vantage point. The trail would be extremely hazardous if covered in hard snow because of the steepness of the slope.

The last section leading to the saddle between
Hidden Lake Peak Lookout (goes right) and the scramble route ridge (goes left) to Hidden Lake Peak.

View NW from the route leading to the saddle
which includes Mt Baker.

Hidden Lake Peak Lookout
From the saddle, I estimate it's another 30+ minutes to hike to the Lookout.

View east from a spot roughly 20 minutes from
the saddle leading to the two Hidden Lake Peaks.

Mike, Scott, and Me (left to right) and Lena and Shabnam (left to right).
.

View east on the hike back.
.

Our scramble route led to the low point (saddle)
on the right side of this photo and to the left of the rock outcropping with trees on the far right.

On our descent, I stopped to snap this photo of
what I believe to be the boot trail leading to the ridge scramble route which is around 5,450 above sea level. It's to the right of a very small stream.

Vehicle of the 2 U.S. Border Patrol agents
we saw and spoke with on our descent.

View of Hidden Lake Peak Lookout point.
The "trail" appears to go to the left. Given the lateness of the day, Lena and I decided to stay at the saddle, snap photos, eat, and return to the others to descend before dark.

Finally, a view of Hidden Lake Peak. It is
the high point in the center of this photo.

Point at the saddle which leads (right) to Hidden Lake Peak
It appeared to be a well worn boot trail until the point it led to the rocky ridge.

Having a blast climbing great rock with some
friendly people on a warm WA day. Doesn't get much better than this...

Ken setting up top ropes on "Jesus Saves" a 5.8 route.
IMG_4553.JPG 2008-08-09

Jen on Jesus Saves
.

Me on "Notch Route" a 5.6 route that seemed far easier.
.

Me on Notch Route
.

.
.

Quick swim in the Columbia river after our climb
.

Getting ready to climb at Pineapple Pass
beneath the first pitch.

Dustin leading the first pitch.
The entire climb is a bit more than 2 times this visible rock face.

Linsey leading her first pitch with Dustin above her.
.

Summit photo
.

Marc, our climb leader hiking up the last section to the summit.
Denny Mountain is in the immediate background.

Linsey
The closest background peak is Bryant and the one immediately behind it on the right is The Chair. The left peak is Kaleetan.

Me on the summit
.

Me rappelling with Marc above me


Me dismantling my last of 4 rappels.

Despite the look on my face, I am enjoying the climb.

Basin leading to base of climb. We headed to the right
where the small snow finger is seen (leading to the left of the rock spire) which leads to Pineapple Pass.

Hiking out toward the Source Lake trail.
.

Descending final snow slope above Source Lake.
The Tooth is in the background.

Tiny Source Lake
.

Final view of The Tooth
from the end of the Source Lake trail.

The Tooth's climbing route skyline view
which is the face on the left-hand side.

Roxy on Tiger Mtn Cable Line
She was barely tired after the (near) sprint to the top. Photo taken on my new 2 megapixel camera phone. Not bad but n

Davis creek near the trailhead
.

View of burn at the upper section of the trail.
.

Davis Peak's broad false summit
.

This is the class 1.5 section between the false
and true summits.

Jin (top) and Jay
.

Ridge between false and true summits of
Davis Peak.

Spire is named Cathedral Rock
This is the view north of Davis Peak.

Matt near the summit
.

Requisite summit photo
.

Davis Peak Summit
Photo credit: Martin.

Car camping the night before our climb
IMG_4338.JPG 2008-07-04

After crossing Heather Pass
we got our first view of Black Peak which is on the left in this photo.

Looking back toward Heather Pass
which is the low point in this photo.

View of the Lewis glacier moraine
Two people can be seen in the lower left-hand side of the photo.

On our way to camp before attempting to climb
Black Peak.

Our climbing group waiting for the weather to clear
1,000 ft below the summit of Black Peak. This photo makes it appear as though the final 1,000 ft of climbing is on bloc

View from the ridge SE of Black Peak's summit
Our camp is near Wing Lake which is barely visible in this photo due to the snow covering the vast majority of the lake.

Me waiting with the others for the weather to clear.
After more than an hour, I decided to bail and hiked back to camp solo. The others waited on the ridge for approx 3.5 h

Low clouds obscured most nearby peaks
IMG_4355.JPG 2008-07-05

The next morning, Black Peak beneath a blue sky.
.

The next morning, other climbers headed up the ridge SE of Black Peak's summit.
The day before, our group sat on the rocky ridge between the large snow patches seen in the upper section of this photo.

Hike back toward Heather Pass
This area is a great backpacking destination however some sections of the snow slope could be treacherous without an ice

Lots of beautiful waterfalls
along the way back to Heather Pass.

Final view of Black Peak from Heather Pass.
.

Wild flowers in bloom on the south slope near Heather Pass
.

Black Peak view using 5 photos stitched together
.

Tower Mountain and Heather Pass view using
6 photos stiched together.

Twin Falls
IMG_4316.JPG 2008-06-27

Roxy
IMG_4318.JPG 2008-06-27

Sean and Roxy
IMG_4321.JPG 2008-06-27


IMG_4323.JPG 2008-06-27


IMG_4325.JPG 2008-06-27

Budding scrambler
IMG_4330.JPG 2008-06-27


IMG_4331.JPG 2008-06-27

Mandy
I imagine this is how sad she looked staying home alone.

Stuart Range Stitched Photo - 3 Pics.jpg
.

David, Johnny, and me heading up
Bean Creek trail. Their destinations: Mary peak and Bean peak. Mine: Earl Peak.

Point where David and Johnny
continued on toward their destinations and I split off toward the ridge separating Earl Peak and Bean Peak.

Semi-firm snow on the route
leading to the ridge. I postholed a couple of times but otherwise found good snow conditions.

Upper section of ridge between
Earl and Bean peaks. In dry conditions, this route offers several different scrambling options.

View of Bean Peak (close by) and
Mt Stuart (background) from the ridge leading to Earl Peak. Volcanic Neck (dark fin) is on the ridge in front of Stuart.

Route up toward Earl's false
summit.

Only time an ice axe was needed
(barely) was the snow patch seen in this photo. Otherwise, it was easy going over dirt and rocks.

Earl's true summit (left)
seen from its first false summit.

View north from Earl's true
summit.

South ridge leading to Earl's
true summit. Two of the four Mountaineers groups scrambling Earl took this route. Other two took my route.

View of the ridge I scrambled up
to reach Earl's summit. I came up the mostly snow-free side which is the south slope.

First group of Mountaineers
scrambling up the south ridge.

Students practicing ice axe
techniques, self belay and self arrest in perfect snow conditions.

Great view of Stuart (left in
clouds), Sherpa Peak (right), and Volcanic Neck (foreground dark fin) which one Mountaineers group scrambled.

Heading out and crossing
Beverly Creek.

Heading up via the
Bench Lake/Snow Lake trailhead located off of Stevens Canyon road.

Unicorn Peak seen from the
beginning of the climb. Our route heads up the snow-covered pass to the west of Unicorn.

Nearing Bench Lake


Heading toward the first of the
snow gullys.

The weather began with
shirt-only temps and wind levels. Unicron Peak is in the background.

Heading up the slope south of
Snow Lake.

Topping out on the first slope
At this point, the clouds began to breakup and the temps began to rise a bit.

View east from the top of the
first slope above Snow Lake. Rainier stayed mostly cloud covered though the local views were impressive.

Beginning our ascent up the
final and steepest snow gully west of Unicorn. Unicorn's summit is the rock finger in the background.

The slope's steeper and longer
than it appears. It took us 20 mins or more to reach the ridgetop.

Regrouping at the ridgetop
before crossing a bergshrund. A few climbers requested a (rope) belay. I straddled the tiny snow bridge a' chavel.

View SW from the ridgetop
I was impressed by the drop-off and reminded myself (if necessary) to not slip/fall down that side of the ridgetop.

View down the snow gully from
the ridgeline. Two climbers are ascending the snow gully.

Climb leaders setting up a rope
belay at the bergshrund. The snow bridge was short tho narrow. A fall inside the shrund would be serious tho not fatal.

South face (climbing route) of
Unicorn Peak. The light rain began during our final approach. Two (other) climbers were ascending the final 80' of rock.

Two other climbers ascending the
80' of rock. Past the first 5th class section it appears much like Mt Si's (Class 3) Haystock Rock.

View of Unicorn Peak (left peak)
from the parking lot of Paradise Visitors center. We ate a (quite tasty) late lunch at the new Paradise Inn.

Photo of our group minus the
photographer. I'm on the right-hand side in the red jacket.

Route

Umptanum Falls








Unknown type of bird





Spring's arrived east of the
Cascades crest.

Beavers have built dams along
the creek adjacent to the trail.




Stuart Range from the road
back to Ellensburg.

Sean was fascinated seeing his
(in his words) "first skeleton."

Happy Camper at Easton S.P.





Denny Creek hike
to the trailhead.

Denny Creek with a view of
The Tooth.

Snow buried road leading to
Denny Creek trailhead.

Halfway to the top
"Nice" view of a newer clearcut for a new housing development.

Heading into forest near the top


Peter on the summit of the
upper ledges.

Me


Summit is far right hump
~ .5 miles from the TH, we went off-trail then scrambled up the gulley between the 2nd and 3rd humps on the right.

Lake Keechelus





Kendall Peak
The 3 Kendall Peak Lakes lie south of Kendall Peak and the ridge which runs west to east.

Point on the Little Si trail
where the offtrail (class 2) scramble begins.

Lynn awaiting her fellow
scramblers.

Elaine exiting the bush/rock
section.

Scrambling up the one of the
last sections.

The exposure is moderate but,
in certain sections, sufficient to keep your attention.

Final walk-up to the summit


Dining on the summit before
descending via the hiking trail.

Bit of aspenglow on Mt WA

Lunch at Kelcema Lake
Peak in the background is Bald Mountain.

View NW from Deer Creek Pass
which is about 1/10th of a mile NNE from Kelcema Lake. The peak on the left may be Three Fingers.

Me at Deer Creek Pass
The only time, the entire day, a jacket was required.

Mike, Mazzy, and Tom


Devil's Peak
Fred Beckey, I later read, reports its two faces seen in this photo are class 4 climbs.

Tom


Avalanche chute located about
three-fourths (from the trailhead) the way to Kelcema Lake.

Avalanche debris
The size of these trees is an indicator of this year's record-level snows and resulting avalanches.

View south on our descent


Mike, Tom, and Colleen.


Mazzy taking a break near the
end of our outing.

View SW of Sperry Peak

Practicing uphill and downhill
techniques. Photo by Tom P.

At the lake
Photo by Tom P.

View of Silver Peak

Panoramic photograph
I used Canon's Photo Stitch software to combine 4 photos into one.

View from near the Paradise
parking lot.




Sean


Sean and Carolyn


Sean and Me





View south toward the
Tatoosh Range.




Carolyn and Me


Heading back to our vehicle
where hot chocolate would be made and enjoyed.

Taking a break halfway up
to the summit of Teanaway Butte.




On the summit of Teanaway Butte.
At our summit time of 12:30, the winds were a bit high and the temp was around 18 degrees.

Taking a break near the summit
but not entirely out of the wind.

Teanaway Butte Route
Teanaway Butte Route.JPG 2007-12-02

Mt Pilchuck above Heather Lake








Heading back


Peek-a-boo view of
Three Fingers Peak

I snapped this shot from the
parking lot on our way out.

Summit guardian
The last section of trail passes underneath this rock outcropping then turns SSE toward Jolly's gentle summit.

Eyes on you
We headed down the trail so he walked around the rock outcropping to keep us in view.

One last peek
We think he stopped here to watch us disappear into the forest.

Jolly Mountain summit
Rock outcropping on the upper left is the main summit.

View east of Mt Stuart
The closest peak is Esmeralda. 2 weeks ago, on my Ingalls climb, I was at the Ingalls trailhead just east of Esmeralda.

Mt Daniel
I believe this is Daniel though I haven't pulled out my maps to verify. Regardless, the views north were spectacular.

Becky


Lemah and Chimney peaks
I believe Chimney peak (3 summits) is on the right.

Last view of Stuart
on our return hike.

Fall colors


Larches turning yellow

Sunrise looking west
At 6:30 AM, our trailhead start time, the temp was just above freezing. At Beverly Camp, the overnight low was 30.

View of Mt Stuart and Ingalls
Lake from the climber's route leading to Ingalls' North-South col.

View South from the start of
our first pitch. Our climber's route (trail) on the way back to the trailhead wound on the other side of the rock fin.

My only action shot and it's
goofed up by my camera's shutter! I'm in the middle (pitch #2), belaying Monique who's to my left.

Jill, Peter and Anita's rope
lead. The summit wind was brutal so Monique and I (1st on summit) were freezing. Once we rappeled we escaped the wind.

Peter, on the summit
Another 2007 Basic Climbing student/grad. He'd already finished his 3 req'd climbs before this one.

Anita, on the summit
Another 2007 Basic Climbing student/grad. In June, she'd already finished her 3 req'd climbs.

Monique, on the summit
Ingalls South Peak is behind her. I scrambled it exactly one year ago.

Me, on the wind-battered
summit. Anita loaned me her parka which I was grateful to use. My warm clothes were in my pack at the 1st belay station.

Peter rappelling from the summit
We rappelled twice though some climbing groups rappel once and downclimb the 3rd/4th class section.

Anita rappelling from the summit


Mt Stuart


Late afternoon shot of our route
back to the trailhead. I love the shadows cast by the undulating mountain crests.

View NW from 1st belay station


Peter, rappelling back to the
first belay.

End of climb, packing and
snacking before our 6 mile hike back to the trailhead. The peak in the background is Ingalls South Peak.

Peter


Scrambling back down to the
meadows and trailhead. Unlike this time, last year, the larch had yet to turn golden.

Ingalls North Peak (center)
Our climbing route is the illuminated face on the left, above the 2 "toothy" looking rock formations.

Mt Stuart


Jill, Me, and Monique
(Left to right). Monique was the climber leader and my rope lead. Jill was Anita and Peter's rope lead.

Three tired Basic Climbing
"Grads" not "Students" as Anita reminded me before this shot was taken.

Ingalls Route
Green = 1st pitch, Red = 2nd pitch, Blue = 3rd/final pitch. Yellow arrow shows summit, reached via (loose rock) walk-up.

Grouse


Our first view of Slippery Slab
from the PCT (tooth-like formation in the center). Its 6,400 ft summit, north of peak 6117, is not named on Topo maps.

Western WA's marine layer
trying to invade central and eastern WA.

Trap Lake with Slippery Slab
I'm disappointed this photo is out of focus!

Western WA's marine layer
obscuring all but the tallest Cascades peaks.

Close-up of Slippery Slab
The clump of trees in its center is the location of our first belay station. Route goes up the center of the rock spire.

Nick climbing the lower part
of the 4th and 5th class section.

Me on the summit
Photo credit: Beth

Joe rappeling down the final 4th
class section.

Me, after the final rappel down
the 4th class section - the point where I began enjoying the sensation of having completed all the course's requirements

View of Glacier Peak, one of
WA's five volcanoes.

Packing up our climbing gear
for the 5+ mile hike back to the trailhead.

Joe, Nick, Steve, and Me
(left to right). Joe and Nick were rope leaders. Steve was the climb leader and my rope partner.

Basic Climbing students
Brian, Rick, and Beth (left to right). Rick and I celebrated our respective "final climb" status with Slippery Slab.

Slippery Slab Route
Blue = hike in. Red = 4th class handline route. Green = 4th and 5th class climbing route.

Red Mountain
It appears nothing like the peak I scrambled in May 06 in which an injured scrambler had to be medivac'd via helicopter.

Mt Thompson
Photo was taken from Kendall Peak's summit.

Kendall Peak's steep east face


Kendall Peak's summit


Red Mountain (right) and Lundin
Peak (center of photo).

Rainier


Peaks and ridge east of
Melakwa Lake from right to left: Chair, Bryant, The Tooth, and Denny Mtn.

The "scramble" route up Kendall
is actually a loose dirt and rock "climber's" trail.

Obvious start of the "scramble"
route off of the PCT.

The well-documented stump
which signals the starting point of the "scramble" route. From the trailhead, the route is 22 paces from the stump.

Kendall Peak
The "scramble" route starts north of the summit and winds up through a not-too-steep gulley.

Interesting "mushroom" that
looks like a tomato.

Sean's first gondola ride


We enjoyed 360 degree views of
jagged glacier-clad peaks from the top of Whistler Mountain.

Sean made friends from
Lake Forest Park WA.

What kid doesn't love making
snowballs on a warm Summer day...?

Hiking High Note trail which
opened last year. It's a 4 to 5 hour loop hike but we stopped after an hour or so for our picnic lunch.

Parasailer who took off a short
distance from our picnic spot. The kids (I suspect) annoyed him by constantly asking, "when are you going to take off?







Sean's temporary buddies
from Lake Forest Park.




One last snowball fight





Eagle chair lift to the top of
Whistler Mountain. The steepest and highest chair I've ever ridden. I thought Sean would be afraid but he was thrillled.

Eagle chair lift

Our route to the false summit
Red line is our route via the Mazama Glacier. Green line is where we unroped and joined the South Climb scramble route.

Day 1: We took the # 20 on
our way to Sunrise Camp.

Day 1: Group photo on our way to
Sunrise Camp.

Day 1: Hiking to Sunrise Camp
Camp elev is approximately 8,300 ft.

Day 1: Nearing camp
Behind us, the trail was over talus and small boulders. Ahead of us, mostly low angled snowfields. Mt Hood is visible.

Day 1: Sunrise camp lies to the
left of the brown-reddish rock formation in the photo's center.

Day 1: Camp nearing sunset
Mt Hood in the background. Other climbers camped in bullet-proof 4-season tents.

Day 2: Sunrise an hour or so
after we began our climb at 4:15 AM.

Day 2: Beginning our ascent
on the Mazama Glacier. At its gentle edge where it met the rock, the ice was clear and very hard.

Day 2: Katie and Jessica
prepping for our climb.

Day 2: Jim (left) and Don
Jim (rope leader), Don, and I shared a rope on the Mazama glacier. Here, Jim is fixing his crampon which came loose.

Day 2: Ascending the Mazama
glacier just past its lowest point.

Day 2: Mt Hood


Day 2: Ascending the Mazama
Glacier. We traversed to the right above the crevasse visible in the upper right-hand side of this photo.

Day 2: Nearing the upper end of
Mazama Glacier. Near the upper rocks, we turned left to exit the glacier.

Day 2: Nearing our Mazama exit
Mazama's bergshrund (large crevasse separating upper and lower portion of the glacier) is visible in this photo.

Day 2: At Mazama's end where
we crossed a moat separating the glacier and rock band. At the rock band, we unroped and began our South Climb scramble.

Day 2: Crevasses at the top of
Mazama near where we unroped on top of the rock band.

Day 2: Beginning of our scramble
up the South Climb slope. Here we joined a few dozen other scramblers making their way up from the Lunch Counter camp.

Day 2: View of true summit from
our vantage point from the false summit. It (bump on far upper left) is a lot further away than it appears.

Day 2: Snacking and resting at
the false summit. We got a few stares because we wore helmets. Many other scramblers didn't have crampons or ice axes.

Day 2: Nearing the true summit
While some in our group were faster than others, it took me 1 hour and 5 mins to go from the false to true summit.

Day 2: View of Mt St Helens from
the summit of Adams. Look close and you can see dust, steam, or gas rising from its crater.

Day 2: Summit is finally in view
as is the former lookout tower in the upper left-hand side of the photo.

Day 2: Me nearing the summit
Don and Sherene are to my right. Photo credit: Jim

Day 2: Summit photo of our
group of nine climbers. I'm on the far left. My beige sunhat is sticking out from under my helmet/hood.

Day 2: View of false summit from
the true summit. It's on the right in the center of the photo near the rock band.

Day 2: Me on the summit with
Rainier in the background.

Day 2: My altimeter was off a
few feet (at 12,050 ft) given Adam's summit is 12,276 feet.

Day 2: Me and Don re-roping at
the start of our descent onto the Mazama. As soon as we crossed the rock band, the wind died down and I began roasting.

Day 2: Mindy beginning the
descent down the Mazama Glacier after exiting the South Climb scramble route. Photo credit: Mark.

Day 2: Traversing around the
large crevasses at the lower portion of the Mazama. Photo credit: Mark

Day 3: Sunrise
We left camp around 6:30 AM with the parking lot as our destination.

Day 3: Sunrise view from
aptly named Sunrise Camp.

Day 3: View of our camp and
the Mazama Glacier. I camped with Mindy, Jim, and Mark under the (most distant) constantly wind-battered blue tarp.

Day 3: Hazy view of Mt Hood at
sunrise.

Day 3: Hiking back to the
parking lot across Adams lower moon-scape like terrain.

Day 3: Re-entering forest on our
way out. The hike back was a very pleasant two and one half hour descent.

Day 3: Last great view of the
volcano before we descended into the slightly denser forest.

Day 3: Taking a break on our
way back to our cars. I'm wearing the stupid looking beige sun hat. Jim is in the foreground. Photo credit: Mindy

Day 3: (climb's end) Me, Mindy
(our climb leader) and her husband, Jim, my rope leader.

Our first view of the mountain
upon leaving the parking lot.

We're about to leave the
Railroad Grade trail and enter the climber's trail which runs along the top of a moraine.

Hiking along the top edge of the
moraine.

Still heading to camp
the peak is named either Seward or Lincoln.

Nearing camp under a blazingly
hot sun.

Tom (center) scouting for a camp
site. Baker's crater is 2 o'clock from his hat.

View of Baker's crater and
ridge leading to its false and true summits. It appears deceptively close to camp.

We camped at an elevation of
approximately 6,300 ft above sea level.

Our alarm clocks went off at
1:00 AM. After a quick breakfast, we departed camp around 2:15 AM. South one could see Seattle/Bellevue's lights.

Moon in view prior to sunrise.


Taking a break well below the
crater rim. A puff of steam can be seen on the horizon.

Greg, my rope leader nearing the
crater rim.

The crater's sulphuric smell was
impressive as was the hissing sound eminating from its core.

View of Baker's Sherman Peak
I'm standing near the crater rim.

At the crater rim
Despite my extreme exhaustion from sleep deprivation and the climb, it was a surreal experience standing near the rim.

Greg is approaching the climb's
steepest section (35 degrees in places) which runs adjacent to the rock formation "Roman Wall." No pickets were req'd.

Nearing Baker's true summit
which is the tiny hill on the upper right side of this photo. I nearly laughed when Greg said it was the true summit.

Standing atop the summit
my back is facing west where the Deming and Easton (our route) glaciers meet. Our group was the only one on the summit.

On the summit
The North Cascades views were amazing. Scenic river (visible in the photo) lies 10,600 ft below Baker's summit.

Tom (right) and Jamie
This was Tom's 4th summit of Baker via the Easton glacier route.

Start of our descent above the
Roman Wall. The snow and glacier-clad range in the upper right is named Sisters, North & South Twin.

Descending the Easton glacier
to camp.

Massive crevasses
on Easton's east side.

Seracs on Easton's eastern side


Nearing (sort of) camp which is
visible (3 tents) in the lower left-hand portion of the photo.

Last view of the mountain
before reaching the parking lot.

Greg (left), me, and Tom
Greg was my team's rope leader. Tom was the entire group's climb leader. Both look far less tired than me.

View of Mailbox's false summit


Marmot


South slope of Mailbox


Glacier Peak


Rainier


Talus field which is the
primary route during winter.

View west from climber's
trailhead leading to Silver Star Mtn.

Our destinations seen from road
(1) campsite, top of the forested slope (2) Burgundy Col (low pt on upper ridge) which leads to Silver's glacier/summit.

Close-up shot of Burgundy Col
Elevation 7,800 feet. Burgundy Spire is to its right shrouded in low clouds.

Debbie and her brother, Burt
descending trail down from North Cascades Highway.

Burt at creek crossing


Hiking steep climber's trail to
our campsite located at 6,400 ft.

View west of Liberty Bell Massif
the peak farthest left is South Early Winter Spire, a rock climb Bill and Debbie plan to schedule later this Summer.

Our campsite with Burgundy Col
in the background. Bill and Debbie both commented its upper part looked a great deal steeper than they'd expected.

Bill, Burt, and Debbie


Me with snowy and fog-encased
Burgundy Col in the background.

Returning to our cars on Sun
morning.

Day 1: Heading toward our
practice area for ice axe arrest and crampon and rope use on steeper slopes than our practice during Snow 1 field trip.

Rainer viewed from area
beneath Panoramic Point.







Day 1: Returning to the parking
lot with awesome views of the Tatoosh Range.

Day 2: Traversing moraine of
the Nisqually glacier on our way onto the glacier.

Starting to rope up before
our planned search for crevasses on the Nisqually. Mt St Helens is in the background.




Onto the glacier...
the rocks between the climbers separate the glacier and its moraine.

We circled around the glacier
after finding only one small crevasse which was far too small for crevasse rescue practice.

View south down the Nisqually
glacier where it terminates thus the start of the Nisqually river. This photo fails to show the scale of the glacier.




Acting as the fallen climber, I
await my "rescue" from my fellow ropemates. It was a bit disappointing to not practice in an authentic crevasse.

Fox on the prowl for Marmots





Other climbers entering a scary
rock-strewn gulley. We watched from across the valley as they continued climbing up the side of the mountain.

Practicing crevasse rescue
Tom, in green shirt, was our lead instructor for the day. He's got something like 30+ years of climbing experience.

Bill, our subteam's instructor


Marmot


Day 2: Falcon? Osprey?
3 circled above us on our hike out -- awesome end to an incredible weekend.

Trailhead sign


View north from trailhead 1392


Sean heading up trail 1392








Wildlife watching


Tree with a U-Turn trunk








Fire and erosion scarred slope
The trail beyond this section was washed out in several sections so we turned around after about 1.25 miles.

View West of Davis Peak


Cooper Lake at Owhi campground


Chilling out before bed


Breakfast at Roslyn Cafe
Their smoked salmon, cream cheese, and green onion egg scramble is highly recommended.

Heading to camp east of
Source Lake on day one.

Practicing roped travel on
day two.

Chair Peak's east face


Denny (center) and The Tooth
(right).

Backcountry skiers who setup
camp near Source Lake clearly in the avalanche chute to the west and north.

Practicing roped travel on
day two above Source Lake and to the right of the northerly avalance chute.

On the ridge above Snow Lake


Peggy, one of our field trip
instructors. She was fun, easy going, and knowledgeable. What more would a basic climbing student desire?

Bary (spelling?), one of our
other field trip instructors.

IMG_1428
IMG_1428.JPG 2007-05-06

STC_1394
STC_1394.JPG 2007-05-05

Bill, one of our mentor group
leaders climbing one of the tougher routes.

Andrew, the youngest person in
our mentor group (17) who's a natural on rock -- no one else in our mentor group climbs as effortlessly and quickly.

Ryan belaying someone else
in our mentor group. Our mentors, Bill & Debbie, watch from the shade.

Me starting the easy part of the
climb which first appeared as an easy though exposed scramble -- looks were deceiving from below.

One-third the way to the top


Point where I couldn't ascend
any further. Others got past it by "matching" which is a technique I didn't learn until the next week at Veritcal World.

Me being lowered down after
climbing top-roped. As a newbie, I found it very intimidating to place all my weight on the rope prior to being lowered.

Rappelling the steepest wall
I've encountered in my training. The ledge/wall is 90 degrees which requires one to start the rappel facing outward.

Yes, Me
By the end of the rappel, sweat was pouring off me because of the tension I had to place on the auto-block I was using.

One of several small avalanche
gullys on the east slope on the route to Lanham Lake.

Rich, our scramble leader.
He and Lynn (our co-leader) are two of the friendliest and most experienced scramble leaders I've ever known.

Traversing one of many clear-cut
sections of forest.

Heading up the east slope toward
the rocky prominence at 5,700 ft. It was mostly strenuous and non-technical though an ice-axe and skills are necessary.

Pausing momentarily at the 5,700
ft rocky prominence to don jackets and gloves. This is where I bailed.

Views east from our rest stop
at 5,700 feet.

Jim Hill Mtn is the hump on the
upper right. The group scrambled up the snowy ridge then east to the saddle between Jim Hill and the hump to its east.

Kathleen was my company on our
twosome descent.

The road into Black Canyon isn't
clearly marked. This is the sign to look for, however, it's a standard sign for all trails in this area.

Last gate leading to the
Black Canyon trailhead. The road beyond is only suitable for high clearance vehicles due to large rocks and ruts.

Trailhead berm located near the
small parking area.

Swatee, Patti, Brad, Carolyn,
and me.

Long ago abandoned cabin
along the trail. With tree cover and a pleasant running stream, I'm sure it once served its owner well.

Birch trees in the ravine
adjacent to the Black Canyon trail near the cabin.

Spring just off the trail
.5 miles from the cabin. From here, we went offtrail SW .2 miles to setup camp. Photo taken by Patti.

Carolyn, Swatee, Brad, and
Patti.

Our tiny yellow tents
viewed from the hill above our campsite.

Swatee and Carolyn
on the "summit" which did in fact have a small pile of rocks to indicate its location.

Sat's hike provided this
southerly view of the Black Canyon trail.

Our easy Sat hike topped out
on this rounded slope providing amazing views of the Stuart range and the surrounding hillsides.

Trail junction just past the
cabin. On Sat's hike we came down the hillside on the left and returned to camp via the right branch of the road.

Swatee


Swatee, Carolyn, and Patti
bracing themselves from the brisk winds that began late Sat afternoon.







Mt Adams
This was our view of the volcano about 50 yards from camp.

Sat night winds were strong
but Sunday morning, although cold, brought adundant sunshine and warming temps.

Sunday morning return
beneath a beautiful blue sky and increasingly warm temps.

Heading south on Sunday
during our morning return. The views of the distant foothills were stunning.

View of Stuart range on drive
back to Ellensburg.

Bashful mule getting prepped
by its owners for a trip into Black Canyon. We met these folks on our way out from the last gate into Black Canyon.

A portion of the upper trail
was snowed-in, so we chose to ascend this (monotonous) boulder field. Kirsten led the way.

Josh trying to spy the summit


Lots of fog and clouds but only
a few raindrops fell. Windy was mostly tolerable which isn't typical on a (near) Spring day atop Mailbox.

The guy in the blue shirt told
us he ascended Mailbox in one hour and said he'd ascend again after descending to the trailhead. We never saw him again.

Kirsten reading letters left
by other hikers.

View eastward across I-90


Requisite summit photo
Me and Kirsten

Descending from the summit
with the exception of a few patches of snow, the route-finding was easy though the unmaintained trail was very muddy.

Peaks of sun (no, really)


Blue skies above Mt Si and its
Haystack rock. This is the view from the logging road leading to the trailhead.

Does this mean that it is
okay to shoot at distant residences? This sign was posted near the trailhead.

Once off the abandoned logging
road we enjoyed spectacular unspolied snowy vistas.




We left the road early and
followed two guys who broke trail. The book says the correct route is via the logging road until the last .5 miles.

Approaching to mid-way point
with its fantastic views of Rampart Ridge to the NE.

Evan


Kendall Peak
We stopped and ate lunch at the first lake which is the size of a small pond.

Evan brought his small camp
and shared hot chocolate with everyone.

Keekwulee Falls
Denny Mountain is the rocky prominence on the ridge.

View north to Hemlock Pass
Amazingly warm and sunny late October day.

Bryant Peak's summit block
Point where we stopped. The slope was steep and the snow thin, wet, and slippery. This is not the class 2 route.

Talus field leading to Bryant Pk
It was fairly steep but the boulders and talus were mostly stable. The heather slope above the talus is more precarious.

View up the talus slope to
Bryant Peak from the meadows where we ate lunch before descending to the Melakwa Lake trail.

View SE to Hemlock Mtn
This is an unnamed peak between Bryant and The Tooth.

Another view of Bryant's
talus field.

Camp Robber
We disappointed it by not offering a portion of our lunch.

Kaleetan Peak


Melakwa Lake looking NE


Bryant Peak from Melakwa Lake


Bryant's boot trail begins here
to the right of the Melakwa Lake trail at Hemlock Pass.




Final view of The Tooth

Annette Lake Trailhead.jpg
Annette Lake Trailhead.jpg 2006-10-23

View west of Humpback Mtn
Humpback creek runs between Humpback Mtn and Silver Peak's north-south ridgeline.

View of Silver Peak
above Annette Lake.

Talus field leading to
Silver Pk's north-south ridge. Its length is why we search (but failed) to find the alternate route to the summit.

Sue ascending the talus slope


Sue and view of Annette Lake


Kirsten, Jeremy, and Jay
on the north-south ridge awaiting me, Sue, and Gabi before the final summit ascent.

Gabi nearing the north-south
ridge.

Silver Peak's summit and
northeast facing cliffs. The scramble route follows the ridge's more gentle west side.

Kirsten looking north to
Kaleetan peak (on the left).

Kirsten and Sue
scrambling the north-south ridge toward the summit.

Sue and Gabi nearing the summit
above Annette Lake.

Gabi and Sue on Silver Peak's
gentle summit. Upper right is Granite Mtn with its 3 massive avalanche chutes.

Mt Rainer


Me on Summit.jpg
Me on Summit.jpg 2006-10-23

View NE of gorgeous jagged peaks


View of trail leading up Silver
Peak's south ridge from Windy Pass. Abiel Pk's (upper right and out of view) scramble begins from this trail.

Sue and Gabi descending long
talus field.

Tinklet Peak
Darkness prevented most of us from reaching the summit. We turned back about 100 ft beneath the summit.

Unnamed peak NW of the trailhead


Esmeralda Peaks


Fall colors


Ingalls Pass
with Ingalls South Peak in the background

Kirsten not enjoying
having her photo taken







Ingalls peaks from the meadows
near Ingalls pass

Ingalls peaks
The South one is on the left, the North and East peaks on the right

Mt Stuart
from the Ingalls Pass meadows

Nearing Lake Ingalls
It's just on the other side of the large rock formation in the center of the photo

Headlight basin
situated south and east of Lake Ingalls

Lake Ingalls
and Mt Stuart (9,415 ft), WA's 2nd highest non-volcanic peak

View west from Lake Ingalls
to the Ingall's north-south col. After snacks, we ascended the gully leading to the col, heading toward the 2 sharp pts

Rick 1/3 the way up the gully
Once we found the initial route up it was easy "scrambling" on the lower portion's slabs and boulders.

Kirsten (left) and Patti
ascending the "glacier polished" slabs. Their sandpaper like surface made for an easy ascent.

Kirsten (left)
about 1/2 way up the 800 ft gully. Cairns along the way eliminated most route-finding challenges.

Kirsten (top) and Rick nearing
the north-south col. Stable boulders and not-too-steep terrain made the ascent tiring but easy - hands were hardly used.

Mark took a different and
according to him, an equally easy though different route up -- he passed thru the notch to the right of the snowfield.

Ingalls East Peak
A view of its southwest face which is (according to Fred Beckey) a class 4/low class 5 climbing route.

View of Lake Ingalls from the
north-south col. From this photo it appears far more steep than it truly is. Mt Si's haystack rock is much steeper.

Rick admiring the views east and
south. Ingalls Pass is the low point on the ridgeline (by the trees) above Rick's hat.

Patti scrambling up Ingalls
South's north side. Once over and down (a bit) the north-south col, we found an easy class 2 route up to the summit.

Rick and Patti ascending the
north slope. The wind was very cold and blowing hard. The summit's large and broad and -- at this pt -- a 'walk up.'

View of Mt Stuart and the lake
from the summit.

Rick and Kirsten on the summit


Me on the summit
We shared it with a group of Mountaineers. I really didn't intend to pose as though I had summited Everest...

Ingalls East Peak and Stuart


Views west from the summit
We knew we were seeing peaks adjacent to State Route (Hiway) 2 but none of us knew their names.

Kirsten descending the west
ridge of Ingalls South on our way to Fortune peak. The route is harder than the ascent due to loose rock/steep terrain.

View north -- back to Ingalls So
on our traverse to Fortune peak. The route-finding was challenging as was the terrain.

We abandoned our Fortune Pk
loop due to route-finding challenges and our desire to return before sunset. Mark and Patti descending to the meadows.

View of the Ingalls South-
Fortune Peak ridgeline and its large number of "tricky" rock formations. Getting over and around them wasn't easy.

Mt Stuart
I'd really like to know why shutterfly.com cropped the top of its peaks.

Ingalls 3 peaks in shadows
South (left), North (center), and East (right). The best shot of the "glacier polished" slabs above headlight basin.

White River Falls
Adjacent to the Mt David trailhead

Clark Mountain?
This is north of my Green Trails map so I could be mistaken.

White Mountains
This small range runs north-south on the east side of White River.

Mt David
This was our very first view of the peak seen after exiting the forest and nearing the first of many ridges.

Mt David
A view of its east flank.

View of the two rock formations
southeast of Mt David. The trail runs east of the first formation and west of the second one.

The last mile or so traverses
moonscape like terrain. The switchback trail is visible in the center of the photo.

Glacier Peak


Karen and Rick on the summit
What's the likelihood that both brought a fresh tomato on the hike? Very likely, apparently.

Sloan Peak and its
massive northern slope glacier.

Mt Jonathan
and its globally-warmed receding glacier. Mt David's glacier is even smaller though its moraine is quite impressive.

View south of the trail
from the summit. Look close and you can see our footprints in the small (closest) snowfield.

Sam, Nicole, and Sue hiking
toward the summit. I saw them from the summit only after hearing one of them yell my name. Seen in the photo's center.

Sue.jpg
Sue.jpg 2006-08-19

Nicole.jpg
Nicole.jpg 2006-08-19

Rick descending rock ledge just
beneath the summit. The Forest Service blasted out the ledge for their once upon a time summit lookout tower.

A view of the ledge from the
summit. Before the ledge there's a bit of a spooky section (10 ft long & 3 ft wide) with a sheer drop on both sides.

Rock formation SE of David
the gash in the scree field (shadow) was due to rock fall the size of a small house -- which we didn't witness or hear.

Dead wind-battered trees


View south of Lake Wenatchee
Glacier Peak feeds White River which feeds Lake Wenatchee which feeds the Wenatchee River.

Photo of Mt David from the road
leading to/from the campsites. I snapped this photo on the morning after the hike.

View from 4,600 ft level
The so-called "Rock Promontory" called out in the Stevens Pass hiking book. Monte Christo peak is in the far background.

Heading back to the
trailhead from the 'rock promontory.'

Bear Mountain


Spire Mountain


Liz, Sameer, and Janet


The Stevens Pass hiking book
author didn't exaggerate when he labeled the clearcuts 'devastating.'

New growth adjacent to the
abandoned logging road.

(left to right) Kate, Daphne, Jenn, Nathalie, Nicole, Elphie, Me. Beryl shot the photo.

Perry Creek Falls
Located on the trail 2 miles from the trailhead.

Mt Forgotten
viewed from the meadows.

Glacier Peak
viewed from meadows

Post lunch, pre summit photo
(left to right) Nathalie, Kate, Daphne, and me

Heading up the heather slope
to the summit. The steepest portion of the trail is behind me in a 30 degree scree slope leading to the heather slope

View of meadows from summit
(located in center of photo)

Daphne signing the summit
ledger. We were on the false summit -- she's eyeing the true summit which is on a few feet higher than the false one

Kate


Bedal (left) and Sloan (right)


Descending eastern heather slope
just beneath the summit

Halfway back to the meadows
seen just above the first hiker's (Nathalie's) hat

The worst of the brush bashing
on the trail leading to the summit

Last steep section leading
to the meadows -- the hardest part of the hike back

Keekwulee Falls


View northeast from
lower Melakwa lake

View north toward pass
between lower and upper Melakwa lakes.

View (north) of the pass
from upper lake Melakwa. Kaleetan Peak is left.

View (north) from the pass
Glacier Peak is the distant peak

View east of Kaleetan Peak
The peak is far more imposing than this photo reveals.

Daphne


Liz


Chair Peak Lake





View south from the pass
to the two Melakwa lakes

Daphne and Liz heading down
the snowy slope

Second to last section of snow
on return trip

Rocky "trail" leading to/from
the pass. Kaleetan Peak in the rear.

View south of upper lake Melakwa

Trailhead sign


Trailhead (1212) to Mt Baldy
is 15-20 feet before and to the right of this sign

Bridge spanning Silver Creek
at the beginning of the trail

View of Kachess Lake


High point of Domerie Divide
trail before it splits east to Mt Baldy and north to Thomas Mtn. Not having a map I've no idea which peak is Thomas.

'Roslyn' Lake
viewed from the summit of Mt Baldy

This plaque was installed at
the top of Mt Baldy. I'm not sure why these people thought it was within their right to install this thing

Faint views of the Stuart Range
in the far background




View west from Mt Baldy summit


Mountain Lion scat?
I've viewed photos online to learn which scat is associated with WA wildlife. I'm pretty sure this is from a cougar...?

The tiny bump on the left is
the summit of Mt Baldy




The huge pile of black bear scat


The prints this beast left
behind were impressive -- unfortunately the photo doesn't clearly show the outline which is roughly = to my size 10 boot




Silver Creek falls


Roslyn watershed sign


A strange but humorous
memorial posted off trail

Heading up the trail


Jack, our scramble leader


Despite the lack of a smile I am
enjoying myself.

The south facing slope is nearly
snow free while the north facing slope still had plenty of snow for ice axe arrest practice and glissading.

Iron Peak


Another group on their way to
Iron Peak. Appearances from our angle were deceiving because it looks like they were standing on a cornice.

Me and Katy
She's a former co-worker who enrolled in the course based on my recommendation. Stuart Range is in the background.

Glissading practice


Each of the groups gathered at
this spot waiting for others. The Volcanic Neck group took longer than expected so we headed back without them.

Still waiting...


Sat night BBQ


The live music was terrific
The group favorite was "I was born to scramble, man" sung to the tune "Ramblin' man" by the Allman Brothers.

View NE of Stuart Range


Rainier and its Little Tahoma Pk


Hiking down to Hidden Lake





Hidden Lake


Sean happy to back
to the trailhead. Turns out, the hike back up to the trailhead was a pretty strenuous one for his young legs and heart.

Sean and Carolyn happy to
be back to the trailhead. Carolyn's knee injury came back in full bloom on this hike though she didn't complain once.

Our was the most isolated
campsite. With a small (clear running water) creek nearby, we're sure we got the ground's best campsite.

Sean's favorite part of our
campsite was this little creek.

Non-high clearance vehicles
did reach the top but I wouldn't take my wife's sedan because of some especially deeply rutted parts leading camp.

Before our trip home, we drove
a few miles east to Rainier's Sunset visitor's center.

It was fun viewing climbers
camped on the mountain.

Snowball fight with Mom and Dad


Views by the afternoon were
clearer.

Sean loved playing in snow in
July on a hot and sunny day.

Cozy campsite


Lake Kachess














We didn't hike the entire way to
Rachel Lake. We found a nice spot by the river to eat lunch before our return.







Our lunch spot

Me half-way up Red Mtn


Group nearing the summit
This photo shows the rock formation on the slope's lower mid-section: look for a "wall" left of the last scrambler.

Group nearing the summit
The tarn at the head of Commonwealth creek is visible to the right of the lead scrambler, Margo.

Me at the summit
I look a lot more tired than I felt.

Nearing the summit


Me on the summit enjoying lunch
Lundin Peak is behind me in the center of this photo.

Our scramble leader, Tom
Snoqualmie Peak is the tallest peak in the background.

Summit


The guy in the purple shirt
is a Physical Therapist who helped in the "post op" first aid treatment of Clarance.

First sight of the chopper
After its return flight from the wrong Red Mtn -- the one near Cle Elum.

Touch down


The Navy Blackhawk landed at
the base of Red Mtn's west slope in a wide-open basin. Our helmits were used by the pilot for depth-perception.

Preparing Clarance for the
flight to Seattle's Harbor Trauma Center.

Loading Clarance for the
flight to Seattle's Harbor Trauma Center.

On its way...


View of Red Mtn


Red Mountain.jpg
Red Mountain.jpg 2007-08-17

Evening View N of Umtanum Ridge
This was the "light" show our group enjoyed after dinner at camp.

Trailhead sign


Hiking west, day 1


Nicole, Jenn, and Samantha


Canyon Walls
These canyons, in my mind, are more like rock strewn gullies

Setting up Camp


Junction of road and BBC trail
Day 2's return hike

Nicole resting at the trail/road
junction on day 2's return hike

View NE of Umtanum Ridge
Day 2's return hike

Group photo
End of day 2's hike

View south at 5-mile/4,000 ft pt


Last mile to summit


View east of McClellan Butte


View east of the I-90 scar
Mt WA is a great hike/snowshoe with the exception of the drone of traffic heard during a third of more of the time

View NE of unknown peak
I was too tired to take out my compass, take a bearing, and check my map.

Nearing the 4,000 elevation
level which was our lunch spot destination.

Lunch spot at 4,000 ft level
A nice broad open area (due to past logging) for views of North Bend, Teneriffe's summit, and a ridge leading to it.

Mt Teneriffe summit (4,788 ft)

We woke to a windless morning
with bright filtered sunlight.

Former M'eers tow rope
on small slope near Snoqualmie Pass.

Inside the snow cave
After our cold night one of my three partners is debating extracting herself from her warm sleeping bag.

Someone brought Tibetan
prayer flags.

Snow cave entrance
Besides digging, extracting snow from the cave was the most difficult part of construction. A small sled helped.

Other groups chose to
camp in tents. One group built an igloo for two. Unfortunately I don't have photos of their great abode.

Snoqualmie Pass area has
received roughly 8 feet of snow this year. I suspect we'll be able to hike in this area by August...

Sun burning through the fog


2/3 the way from the top


Rolling fog bank


View East of Mt Stuart
Peak in the distance on the left

At the summit


View of Red Mtn

Glacier Peak
Glacier Peak.JPG 2005-10-09

Glacier Pk left, Bedal Pk center, Sloan Pk right
Glacier Pk left, Bedal Pk center, Sloan Pk right.JPG 2005-10-09

IMG_3835
IMG_3835.JPG 2005-10-09

IMG_3837
IMG_3837.JPG 2005-10-09

Mt Dickerman
Mt Dickerman.JPG 2005-10-09

Mt Forgotten
Mt Forgotten.JPG 2005-10-09

Mt Forgotten (6,005 ft) is on
the left. Mt Pugh (7,201 ft) is the peak in the rear. Some great summit views from many different summits in this area.

10 - Fall colors from Meadows


14 - Glacier Peak
14 - Glacier Peak.JPG 2005-09-25

19 - View of Meadows from summit


2 - view of Mt Forgotten from Meadows


20 - view of Meadows from Perry Creek trail


4 - view of Mt Baker and Shuksan


9 - south face of Mt Forgotten


15 - Sloan Peak (right)
15 - Sloan Peak (right).JPG 2005-09-25

IMG_3474
Foot bridge across White River

IMG_3476
Rainer on left - Little Tahoma on right

Glacier River Bed


Little Tahoma and
Frying Pan Glacier

False summit Goat Island Mt
Try spotting the hikers on the ridge heading upward

IMG_3503 Goat Island Mt Summit (highest pt)
IMG_3503 Goat Island Mt Summit (highest pt).JPG 2005-08-20

Scramble Leader, Tom Cushing


View from Goat Island Mt summit
Mt Rainer's Emmons Glacier

Male Mt Goat
One of 7-8 goats in the small herd

2 miles left to descent

Annette Lake


View NE
Mount Stuart faintly in the background

133-3376_IMG
133-3376_IMG.JPG 2005-07-03

Annette Lake
from atop Silver Peak ridge

1,000 feet of talus
leading to/from Silver Peak ridge

Glacier Peak


Monte Christo Peaks


Blue Lake


Atop ridge above Blue Lake


White Mt (left) and Glacier Peak


Glacier Peak


Johnson Mountain


White Pass Meadows
with Indian Head Peak in the background

White Mountain nearing sunset


Indian Paintbrush


Sloan Peak

Practicing emergency rappeling
Scrambling is summiting peaks without technical gear (ropes, etc.) but we learned rope use in emergency situations

Wearing our goofy helmets


View SE from Mt Erie summit


Ed instructing while wearing
pink shorts

South end of Ross Lake
Our 20 minute northbound boat (taxi) ride began at the Ross Lk dam.

Trailhead at Ross Lake landing


Foraging solo bear spotted
100 yds from the trail. It's the brown speck in the center. Likely a black bear given the few # of grizzlies in the park

Jack Mountain and its north
facing Nohokomeen Glacier.

Room(s) with a view
We woke to a warm sunny morning after a pleasant and not-too-cold star-filled evening.

Ross Lake from atop
Desolation Peak.

Desolation Peak
lookout (elev 6,102 ft) where in '56 Jack Kerouac spent 60 days as a fire lookout. It's manned during the fire season.

Hozomeen Mountain (8,066 ft)
viewed from atop Desolation Peak. My backpack partner (Dave) and I had the entire mountain top to ourselves.

North end of Ross Lake
which extends into Canada.

McClellan Butte
View from I-90 facing south

Peak of McClellan Butte
View of peak from about 1/8 of a mile away

Views from near the top


View of Mt Rainer
from southern side of McClellan Butte

View Northeast
from near top of McClellan Butte

Day 2 hike
Skunk cabbage plants

Close-up of Bear Grass blooms
These beautiful and unusual flowers have a very pleasant scent.

Day 2 hike
Boulder Lake and Boulder Peak.

Day 2 hike
I almost didn't bother taking this photo. It turned out much better than I suspected it would.

Day 2 hike
View south of glacier-clad Mount Olympus from just past Happy Lake. It is the highest peak in the range at 7,965 feet.

Cascade Mt Range


Cascade Mt Range


Near the top of Tiger Mt

Jul 2009 Mt Shuksan Climb.wmv

Aug 2009 Ingalls North Peak Rock Climb.wmv