[TR] Tomyhoi Peak - 8/17/2016

canela · August 22, 2016

Trip: Tomyhoi Peak -

Date: 8/17/2016

Trip Report:

After the shitty choss pile proceeded by incredible trail run on Ptarmigan Ridge (from Artist Point) that was Coleman Pinnacle, Tomyhoi Peak was a welcome scramble. I debate posting a TR as it's not so much a climb/mountaineering adventure, but involves a pretty decent approach, an ice axe, and some 3rd class fun, so here it is.

Slept at Twin Lakes TH the night prior (highly recommended!) and started up from Yellow Aster Butte TH at 8am. Apparently the first one up as I cleared the cobwebs, but this and the views improved after about 1.5 miles at the trail junction. Gorgeous single-track would make for an awesome run if not carrying an ice axe. Trail easy to follow until tarns, which is an incredible camping spot, and hard to convince myself to keep going and not just lounge and swim all day with incredible views of Baker, Shuksan, Tomyhoi, and border peaks.

The trail from the tarns up towards Tomyhoi is very obvious, although getting there is not clear due to so many random trails, but easy enough. There are a number of false summits that then drop steeply to notches, some require a bit of easy 3rd class scrambling, and the snow is essentially nil (one place you can walk on snow if you want but not required) until the glacier before the last false summit. Not much water after 6500'.

Crossing the glacier (top of it at the moat) straightforward although you have to walk the ridge of the moat which is a bit of an awkward balancing act in trail runners, but the runout is huge, not super steep, so consequences low; I just took it slow. This leads to a small chossy gully that bypasses some of the gendarmes on the ridge that I read were terrible to navigate otherwise, although looking at them they seem ok to scramble if you forget an ice axe (but I have no evidence of this).

From the false summit, the drop down to the notch below the summit tower is steep and scrambly, and the real summit tower scramble looks more 5th class than 3rd, but SummitPost and Steph Abegg's descriptions were helpful in figuring the right line/gully to climb, and it really is quite easy scrambling on solid rock although maybe some would call it 4th class as a fall would have you tumbling down a gully. Pretty awesome though. Didn't see a soul above 5000', other than Canadian loggers down in the valley below, and a black hawk helicopter (border patrol?).

Definitely a worthwhile outing, a long day, but the views and scrambling are totally worth it.

Gear Notes:

Ice axe, trail runners

Microspikes (not necessary)

Approach Notes:

Pretty easy, follow beta from these:

http://www.summitpost.org/tomyhoi-peak/150463

http://www.stephabegg.com/home/tripreports/washington/northcascades/tomyhoi