Chair Peak 8/8/20

Chair Peak wins again!  I am starting to wonder if the sun ever shines on this mountain.  It was cloudy and misty all day.  The higher we climbed, the wetter it got.  It was just too slick and risky, so we decided to turn back before things got worse. 

Upper Keekwulee Falls

Ron, Nathan, Jason and Doug descending the wet gully.

Mt. Rainier, Disappointment Cleaver 7/26/20

Climbing a dog route in July is normally an "easy" summit for a well prepared team, but not in 2020.  MRNP was closed to car traffic for most of the spring.  Disappointment Cleaver was more like an intermediate route and not even climbed until about a month before our trip.  There were a lot of changes and restrictions in place.  Everything came together nicely in the last few weeks before the climb.  The weather was perfect.  It was warmer than normal, but not too hot and it was unusually calm, even on the summit.  

 Alex, Nate, Ross, Nathan and Doug ready to take on the mountain.

 We camped at 11,100' Ingraham Flats with a great view of our route up Disappointment Cleaver and the Ingraham Glacier.

 House sized blocks of teetering ice near our camp.

 Sunrise from 14,000'!

 Doug, Nathan, Ross, Nate and Alex on the summit.

Locomotive sized seracs ready to topple at any moment!

Checking out the view from the spine of DC.  Little Tahoma in the background.

A few hours later, we were in the parking lot barbecuing hot dogs and then home in time for dinner!

Chikamin Peak 7/11/20

If you have ever driven over Snoqualmie Pass, you have probably seen Chikamin Peak.  It is NE of Hyak at the end of the Gold Creek Valley.

 There are a couple of challenging creek crossings on the way.  The Mineral Creek Trail is really overgrown.  There are long sections where you can't even see the trail and you get wet from the dew on the plants.

 Glacier Lake was amazing!  It will probably look even better after the ice finishes melting off.

 Crossing a small stream and heading up to Chikamin Ridge.

 Joe Lake and the Gold Creek Valley.

Ross, Nathan, Doug and Alex on top of 7,000' Chikamin Peak.  Chikamin Lake below.

Camp Muir 7/4/20

We went for a training hike up to Camp Muir and found a good spot to practice our ice arrest skills.

 Alex performing an excellent "head first, belly up" ice arrest.

 The snow drifts near Pebble Creek were higher and steeper than normal.

Mt. Rainier is always such an amazing sight!