Bearscout 2.22.10

With company in town I had given up on going out this week. Much to my surprise my wife "suggested" I should go out and take advantage of the beautiful weather. Evidently cleaning house is much easier without two dogs and a husband to get in the way. Not to stare down good fortune I was out the door before she could change her mind. I had a plan just for this contingency and I made a quick stop to get some liquids.




I had an interesting exchange with the cashier Me " I will take one of those lottery tickets" Her " this one" Me "no that one isn't speaking to me" Her "so this one is" Me " yes it is". I went out and scratched it and not too surprising to me I won $50, which I went back in to redeem. I knew now I was going to have a great day.



The goal was Bearscout , an unnamed peak, Which lies above the head of Hansen Creek and derives it's name from the two lakes is watches over. Scout lake to the North and Bear Lake to the South. I had been up the Hansen Creek Road two weeks ago when I did Humpback so I knew I could drive to the 4wd road that I would use for my approach. The weather couldn't have been nicer and I only wore shirt and shorts for a Winter's summit, wow who would have thought. The initial portion of the road was melted with some ice but very passable. Soon the snow started and it was very firm making for easy going. I had read a few reports and I wasn't enthused with crossing Hansen Creek to get to Scout Lake and the reports of the West Ridge was the route I used. After reaching the end of the road I pushed through 300' of climb through small densely packed trees. I switched to crampons here as I crossed a small feeder creek. The trees became a litte farther spaced apart helping with the annoying factor. I drifted too far West and I popped out on a logging road at 4000' feet.

With the worst over I followed the road a short ways it's end. I angled to the SE to a wonderful stand of trees that had perfect cramponing snow. This mini glade was the highlight of the whole trip for me. The grade was easy and I quickly made the 400' to the West ridge. The rigde is open and had softer snow but nothing warranting putting snowshoes on that were to remain strapped to my back for the entire day. Most reports I read had all descended the East Ridge so I expected some sort of shenanigans but the ascent was very straightforward. At about 5000' I hit open snow slopes on the South side of the ridge. The footing was so great that I didn't bother to break out the ice axe. A slip here would have made for a long slide down. With such great snow and nothing to hinder my progress I quickly made it to the summit. I dropped pack and couldn't believe my good fortune to be on such a wonderful seat with such perfect weather. It was warm and calm and I didn't even have to add any layers.


After snapping quite a few pictures I retraced my steps back to the upper logging road. I was thinking that the reason most people descend the East ridge is to avoid the unpleasant portion of the upclimb to the West ridge. I had a brilliant idea to avoid this by walking the road at 4000' until I was closer to my car. This in the end went well but not without some tense moments. I walked for about a half mile where there were some steep snow slopes of bullet proof snow that I quickly descended only to find a small 25' cliff barring any further progress. I am sure that I could have found a way but I instead climbed 200' back to the road above me and walked for another half mile where I spied a mostly snowless descent with some open rockslide beneath that all going straight to the car. I took off the crampons and made my way down to a small basin and know I needed to drop through a swath of pygmy trees to access the rock slide beneath me. The snow was hard as a rock and I didn't want to take the time to put my crampons back on. Thankfully I reached the rocks slide which I rode to it's end and entered the more mature forest which was much more open and quickly I popped out on the road just feet from my car. Just a stunning day that I was overjoyed to be able to make it out.






Also the Hansen Creek road can only be accessed by using exit 42 and heading East on road #55. The usual route is closed for a logging operation.



Approx 6 miles 2400' of climb 5 hours car to car

Mount Kent 2.15.10

I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to make it out this week, but as it worked out I had a half day. I had seen a post from Flow looking for a partner and we exchanged information and we had a plan. I had been doing some research about some South side of I-90 peaks and saw a great report from Justus on the Duke of Kent. While I wasn't planning on doing that climb I thought a bird's eye view of the gully would be interesting. Since Mount Kent was so close it seemed like a worthy alternative. I think the standard route uses the McClellan Butte trail and meets up with some logging roads and makes it way to Alice Lakes and summits from there. In Justus report I saw the open slopes of Kent's NE side and looked like an easy ascent. I picked up Flow at the Issaquah Park and Ride and we were off.




I thought since the snow level is quite hight right now I could bypass the McClellan Butte trail altogether by using the road past the Ollalie Campground. The road was in good shape and made the mistake of not going far enough before I turned around. Had I driven another 50' I would have seen Kent's impressive North face. After turning around again I finally reached the abrupt end of the road near the washout by Alice Creek. We packed up and headed up. I was happy to miss out on 800' of gain by starting here. I was surprised that there was some patchy glare ice from the onset and we reached snow at around 2300'. There was a well worn skin/snowshoe track so the going was easy. I noticed some fresh bootprints in the snow which again was unexpected. Soon we reached the end of the road and I marvelled at the steep gully to the North of The Duke of Kent. There was a solo climber just beginning his ascent of the gulley. We instead did a descending traverse to cross Alice Creek at around 3100'.

While the snow was not deep here is was pretty crusty and held Flow's weight but not mine. After we reached a small flat area I switched to snowshoes which I kept on for the entire ascent. Flow followed behind and just stayed in boots. As I led us up I angled to the West where I was able to connect with some mostly open slopes. While the sun was out the snow was mostly stable. It was however very wet and heavy making for slow going for me. There was enough tree cover to make me disregard some of the avalanche warning signs. As we climbed the views opened up to the East. Josh started to grow weary of my less than sonic pace and started to make his own way up. His steps weren't helpful for me so I made my own way up. The going was sapping but I managed to keep the elevation ticking and soon I popped out on the summit just minutes behind Josh. The weather was as nice as one could expect for mid Feb. The wind picked up so as my usual case I snapped some quick pics and beat a hasty retreat.




I managed some low speed glissades on the way down. I really had to laugh watching Josh bound down the slopes like a kangaroo. Oh to have 17 year old legs. With my 41st just around the corner it really highlighted the difference in our ages. We made good time back to the road and I saw signs of a couple more travellers. It is good to see the area being used for something more than target practice. Thanks to Justus for the picture that inspired this trip. It really is a wonderful way to do this peak. Thanks to Josh for spending the day with myself and my ever annoying dogs. It is good to see Josh taking that boundless enthusiasm for climbing and perfecting his craft.




Approx 8 miles 3500' of climb 5:45 car to car.

Humpback Mountain 2.8.10

As of late I haven't been feeling very well and this has now extended to my family. This has made getting any sleep nearly impossible. I only had a small window for the day so I needed something on the shorter side. When Bruce suggested Humpback I liked the idea since it is so close. After doing some research I realized that the length would fit my time frame as well. I read every Winter post I could find and decided that the NW ridge would be the way. I figured we might be able to drive far enough up Hansen Creek to bypass the ugly early part of the climb. When I awoke I felt horrible and I sat for 5 minutes debating on calling Bruce to bag the day. I instead decided that I didn't want to disrupt my current momentum and surely didn't want to miss out on a day that would be dry. I met Bruce in Preston and in short order we were making it up Hansen Creek. As I guessed there was very little snow and I was able to drive well past the crossing of Hansen Creek where I decided we had done enough site seeing. In retrospect I wish I hadn't continued because upon parking I noticed that I had a rock impedded deep into my tire and it was nearly flat. We preformed the fastest tire change short of a NASCAR race and shortly therafter we were off. I was very happy to be jumping off at the highest of the roads that intersect the NW ridge. Starting at 2800' I almost felt like we were cheating. The road was packed for some ways after the open mangled gate. The air temperature was above freezing but hadn't enough time to thaw, making for some slick walking. In short order we found the ridge trail and we started our way up. The lower portions were patchy ice and snow but very passable with no extra traction. Once we reached the more open forest the snow increased as well as the pace. I was thankful Bruce has done a ton of elevation this week keeping his pace down enough for me to keep up. I was really struggling with lack of sleep and being generally run down from being sick. We managed to keep plodding along and soon we were at the last steep portion before the summit. I had expected much more but since the way was pounded out it didn't seem very imposing. Once on the summit ridge we made our way to the true summit and snapped a few quick pictures. The sun was struggling to get out but had yet to win the battle so our views were mostly local. Since the wind had come up we didn't dwadle. I had some concern for the descent but my walking on the margin of the trail on the lower portions of the trail I was able to remain upright. Once we rejoined the road the sun finally won out and we had some bright sunshine for the remainder of the journey. Now all was left was to negotiate the ride home with the donut spare.




Approx 4miles 2400' of climb 3 hours car to car.

Bootalicious Peak 2.2.10

While the name is tongue in cheek I think it will work. I picked up Bruce at the Preston P&R and then Brian in North Bend and we made the short ways to the spur gate leading to the CCC road off the Middle Fork Road. I had used this approach for a casual hike last week and stumbled on a well worn trail where I hadn't seen one before. While the goal wasn't to use this trail I thought since the road had been brushed to point where the trail leaves the logging road that that might continue further. I was hoping that would allow a route to Green Mt. I wanted to try another route than the standard East Route. I couldn't' believe our good fortune weather wise it was absolutely stunning, sunny and warm..... what month is it? We made great time to where the trail leaves the road and was dismayed that the road degrades to a very unpleasant walk. I decided to bag this route and we left the road and started up the open forest. After a few hundred of climb we joined the new trail. We followed this easy to follow trail until we reached a snow filled landing. I had been on this road many years ago and we followed it until it reaches a gully with running water and less than desirable snow coverage. I crossed the creek and tried to stay on the margin of the trees where the snow was better for climbing. The going was strenuous and it took much vigilance to avoid the many voids in the snow. After 300' of climb I was able to find more stable snow and the pace increased greatly. Soon a point came into view with open slopes above. Since there was no way to make it across to Green Mt. this would have to do. After exiting the trees there was a nice stretch of 400' of great kick stepping snow. While I didn't set any speed times I was able to keep a mostly steady pace and I finally topped out. I dropped pack and waited for a short time for the remainder of the group. I walked the ridge for a short ways until I was certain I was at the highest point. We ate a hasty lunch because the wind came up and we were in the shade so it was uncomfortable. I was very concerned with the descent because of the poor conditions on the lower slopes so we all careful on the descent. On the way down I was thinking to myself I thought well this was much better than what I expected but resisted saying anything. Just as I took my last step before rejoining the road I blurted out "well that was easier than expected" and promptly wedged that step between two rocks. I guess by now I should know better. Soon after rejoining the trail we noticed a sign nailed to a tree with a scantily clad woman with the word Buttalicious on it. I took that for a sign because I was thinking at the time what to name the peak we just had climbed. I enjoyed the descent, since for once I had someone to converse with.




Approx 10 miles 3800' of climb 7 hours car to car