Welldigger's Ass 1.29.07

With the wonderful snow conditions and the mostly fair weather I was planning a multiple summit day. I have read some recent reports so I was fairly certain the route would be well broken saving much needed time and energy. I parked 1.6 miles after cresting Stevens Pass. There is plenty of free parking and my route started right behind the staff housing. I was hoping to reach the ridge and then head south for a summit of Big Chief and then retrace my steps along the ridge to reach Welldigger's Ass (pt 5273). There is a well worn snowshoe track that climbs the road that leads to the old Yodelin Ski slopes. Some of the buildings are still intact and made for an interesting side sight. The area was devastated by an avalanche in 1971 killing 4 and burying many more. It is still one of the most deadly avalanches in Washington History. As I was about to start heading south I noticed Tanner had reaggrevated a previous foot injury and was again bleeding quite heavily. He has struggled with this injury the last 3 weeks. I was again forced to change plans. The injury doesn't appear to give him pain so I decided that I could at least make an attempt of Welldigger's Ass ranking it #87 on the Backcourt list. I made my way to the saddle between my summit and Pt. 5023 and dropped pack. I easily made my way the last 400ft to the mostly flat treed summit. I continued on until I hit the high point which afforded no views. I retraced my route to my pack and briefly considered at least climbing Pt. 5023. My worry for my dog's bleeding paw won out and merely plunged stepped my way back to the car. I sure enjoyed not having to break trail making for a quick roundtrip. In my research I have not found the origins of the distinctive name of this peak.




approx 6 miles 1700ft of climb 2:45 car to car

Jungle Creek Road 1.22.07

After last weeks attempt I was back to take advantage of the 2 miles I had already bulldozed. I was happy to find 25+ degree warmer temps than last week. I decided to try and ski the portion I did last week. I was happy to shave a full half hour off of my previous weeks time to my stopping point. I changed to snowshoes since I once again was forced to break trail. The Jungle Creek Road only climbs about 600 ft of elevation in the first 4 miles which took me nearly 3 hours due to the slow conditons. At 3200ft I left the road and made my way up the open and mostly easy grade. I climbed to around 3700ft and reached my turnaround time. I had hoped to make my way to Goldwater Peak, but I sadly didn't have adequate time. I enjoyed plunge stepping my way back to the road. I returned to my skiis and and switched back for the final few miles.








approx 10 miles 1100ft of climb 5:30 car to car

Jungle Creek Road 1.15.07

I had some much loftier goals for the day, but sometimes the day will conspire against you. Today was one such day. I was on the road by 7:30 and made my way up the good roads to Snoqualmie Pass. The wind buffeted me along the way. It made for some tricky driving. The temp was a balmy 11 degrees as I made my way to the Eastern Side. The goal was for a summit of Goldwater Peak Pt 5220 and if conditions were good a ridge walk to Malcolm Mt. Right from the start I had multiple problems with equipment and the dogs were not caring for the single digit temps. It was so cold that both My Ipod and camera quit working. I was so layered up that it was quite comfortable for me. I turned off the snowmobile track to the unbroken Jungle Creek Road. I had both hoped for and expected some fast crusty snow. I was instead treated to deep powdery snow. The Beagle started lagging further and further behind. I had to stop and wait for the trooper more than a few times. My hope was that the snow would improve higher up and will the bright sunshine warm up. Neither of these things materialized for me. When the Beagle passed me and sat down in front of me I realized that he had enough. I was hoping to at least stop and enjoy my lunch is the sunshine but again the Beagle balked at stopping. Apparently he had made up his mind that we were going to return to the car.




approx 4 miles 2:20 car to car and a massive 320ft of climb

Money Creek Road 1.08.07

With today's high avalanche danger I was looking for something with a little lower elevation start. I knew there would be no summitting today. I have had another memorable week highlighted with being involved in subduing a enraged naked man at my work. It took 5 of us to hold him down and at least 6 police officers to get him out the front door. So I decided a little extra sleep was well deserved this morning. I mangaged to make the Money Creek Road at the crack of 12:30. I booted up and made fairly good time for the first 1.5 hours. After reaching the road closed sign the snow conditions deteriorated to deep sloppy snow. I shoed up and made my was very slowly until I reached my turn around time. I quickly had my lunch and then was off for the return to the car. Although I found the snow conditions mostly unpleasant and the hike had little technichal reward I am very glad I made it out. I donned my headlamp for the last two miles and made it out with plenty time to make my dinner date.




Approx 11 miles 1800ft of climb 4.5 hours car to car

Teanaway Butte, Tarzan Butte 1.1.07

have been out of the loop for a while with regards to snow condtions, so I opted for something I was familiar with. I have recently felt the need to find climbing partners to share my time with. I feel prudent on some more demanding days for some extra insurance. I sent out some emails and found two who were willing to spend the day with me and my annoying pets. The goal was for a summit of Teanaway Butte. The road sees alot of snowmobiles so I knew the track would be somewhat faster. We had no problems in reaching the road that ends within a half mile of the summit. We now were on untracked snow but with taking turns the summit was reached quickly. Although it was quite cloudy and snowing lightly the skies seemed to lift for us on the summit. It was nice to see a little more of the area peaks mantled in snow. After a short stay we returned mostly by our up route. After a little discussion we decided that Tarzan Butte(pt. 4365)needed to be climbed. The route is straight forward and soon we were making our way up the nearly 1000ft climb to the summit. For this summit I was pushed to the back of the bus. I am not used to having a hard keeping up with anyone, so I was not quite sure how to handle it. I am much heavier than my climbing partners who were good enough to give me easy steps up the Butte. Too bad for me none of these steps would hold my weight. I spent good portions on my hands and knees crawling. I urged them on and not to worry about me. I soon began cramping intensely which was a new one for me. After a brief rest the pain subsided. I dropped pack with every intention of calling it a day less than 500ft from the summit. I thought I would give it a go with improved snow condition higher up and my somewhat lighter load I was able to make the summit(much to my suprise). We decided on the downclimb to try and make it a little shorter by taking a more direct line to the road of our ascent. This provided me with some anxious time as I was mostly out of gas and I was concerned we might not make it on the shortest line. After what seemed(to me) an enternity we rejoined the road and were on the endless 6+ mile trudge to the car. By now it was completely dark and the weather turned to freezing rain. We all found it quite comical to be layered in so much ice. With about 2 miles to go I found some hidden reserves and ran portions of the rest of the way. I was hoping to put enough time between myself and my companions to have the car warm for their return. More or less I achieved this goal. I was horrified to see the dome light on in the car upon my return. The door hadn't shut properly and since we had been on the go for well over nine hours I wasn't to hopeful that the car would start. Much to my relief it fired right up. Now all I had to do was to chip the half inch thick ice that had engulfed the car. I think after such a trying day we were all ready to be home. The freezing rain made the Teanaway Road an ice skating rink. I was forced to go very slow. The road conditions were mostly white knuckled for me most of the way to North Bend. All and all it was a great day. I was much impressed with the skill of my partners and was very proud of my 4 legged companions as well. I found the highlight of the day was being passed by snowmobilers well after dark. I cannot even imagine what they might have thought seeing our quite motley crew.




Approx 18+miles 4000ft climb 9:30 car to car





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