Ingalls South Peak

Alan, Jacob and I opted for Ingalls Peak due to sketchy weather west of the Cascade Crest. Not long after crossing Snoqualmie Pass heading east, the sky cleared and it turned into a  beautiful bluebird day. 

View from Ingalls Pass

Ingalls South and North peaks sit just west of Mt. Stuart and just outside the Enchantments area. Access is off of I-90, up the Teanaway river road. 

With the late spring snowmelt, we encountered snow within the first half mile.

Heading up towards Ingalls Pass

Once at the pass, we side hilled past headlight basin, over to the slopes above Ingalls lake.

Jacob at a rest stop with Mt. Stuart in the background.

Once on the ridge above the lake, the way is pretty straight forward, up the ridge to the col.

Closer to the col, the snow got increasingly steep.

View from the col looking northwest, with Glacier Peak in the distance on the right.

This was the best part of the climb, heading up the steep gully after leaving the col.

This could be a good bivy spot, just minutes from the summit.

Cool rime ice on the rocks below the summit.

Relaxing on the summit, the view was fantastic although a bit windy.

Looking south to Mt. Rainier.

Mt. Stuart to the east.

We took an alternate route on the way down, heading the opposite direction we had come up. There are a series of shelves to descend, leading us to the ridge just south of the peak.

Yet another self portrait of Alan and me. Jacob was way ahead at this point.

Round trip 8.5 miles, elevation gain 3440'

Time for a beer and pizza in Cle Elum.

Sourdough Mountain, North Cascades NP

Yet another fantastic May weekend in the mountains. This weekend's adventure led Alan and me to the North Cascades National Park to scramble up this relatively straightforward peak. Rising directly up from the town of Diablo and Diablo lake off of Hwy 20. The trail starts right in town at 900', directly behind the tennis courts.

The trail rises steeply, but not as steep as last weekend's trek. No snow until about 4000'.

Very quickly the trail rises and gives us peek-a-boo views of the surrounding peaks to the south and west.

The snow at 4000' was quite steep in places through the trees, but the way soon began to open up as we neared the tree line.

The top is broad, flat and affords dramatic 360 degree views of the surrounding peaks.

Mt. Terror (I think)

Ross lake 5000' below with Jack Mountain rising directly above.

Obligatory self portrait, quickly becoming standard fair on these trips.

Relaxing in the sun before heading down.

9 miles round trip, 5250' elevation gain

Mt. Persis - as beautiful as her name

Wanting to do another close in training trek, Alan and I chose Mt. Persis. The trailhead for this peak is just past the town of Gold Bar along highway 2. Due to the currently high spring avalanche danger, this was an excellent choice as the route follows a ridge line pretty much all the way to the top. The climbers trail starts up steeply right from the start, making it's way through initially dense forest, then it opens up into an old burn area. 

Looking back down into the valley we came, there is much active logging going on right now.

After a quick self portrait 1/2 way up, we donned our snow shoes and continued.

Our first view of the peak itself, complete with nice cornices ready to drop.

First view of Rainier, Alan was very excited. Our Rainier climb is only 7 weeks away.

 On the summit at 5464', very aware of the overhanging cornices.

It's a straight shot down, several thousand feet to the valley below.

 A bit hazy, but below is the town of Index with Glacier Peak in the distance (upper left) and Mt. Baring close in (upper right).

Panorama with Mt. Index on the left, over to Mt. Rainier in the distance.

3.4 miles round trip, 2664 vertical feet, 3.5 hours hiking time.

Started hiking at 9am, summited at 11:30. Left the summit at 12:30, back to the truck at 1:30pm.