aaronohn

We didn't get out that day for the skiing, that's for sure. In the alpine it was ok- soft snow. Below the trees it was mostly scrape-y survival skiing. Good climbing, subpar skiing.

I forgot those along with my gaiters😉

Trip: Trappers Peak - South Ridge Trip Date: 01/23/2021 Trip Report: The incredible weather window on Saturday (1-23-2021) coupled with low avalanche danger inspired @Alisse, Silvia, Rio, and myself to aim for something with a little more adventure than the ski tours we'd been enjoying around the passes for the last few weekends. Trappers Peak seemed to offer a good taste of all the requirements- Questionable forest service road, icy creek crossings, crusty tree skiing, steep enough snow to be fun, and incredible summit views. We found the forest road to be generally easy going despite recent wind events. Instead of blowdown it was snow on the road that stopped us about a mile from the trailhead. With one steeper section on the road and a few modest ruts to navigate I'd recommend a vehicle with more than a few inches of clearance though I'm sure @Alisse could have made it up with her off-roading Civic. We took off from the car in ski boots, carrying skis to the trailhead where we decided to start skinning. Of course this was short lived to the first of the creek crossings. The first two were a bit icy taking some care to not dunk the boots. A nice bridge got us over the third. After crossings to the north side of the valley we were forced to pack up our skis and start booting due to the inconsistent snow on the southern aspect. At about 3,500' we started skinning again on firm and at times icy snow. Conditions and terrain were a bit less consistent than expected and we ended up transitioning more times that I'd like admit before reaching the ridge proper. Continuing up was generally easy going. We followed the summer trail pretty close all the way to the ridge. The first bit of steep snow was encountered at about 5,200'. This open, south facing slope had old avalanche debris towards the bottom and on a warmer day could be a concern, especially on the descent. We topped out that slope to be greeted with ever improving views of the final stretch to the summit and beyond. The ridge was basically all corniced to the east and required some consideration and a little bit of route finding as to not creep too close to the edge. The snow was not too difficult to boot, postholing was generally minimal. Around 5,800' the ridge chokes up for less than 20'. The snow here felt shallower than in previous sections, we bottomed out down to rock on a few steps. The final step to the summit offered some fun moderate snow that steepened up enough that daggering the axe felt good for a little over a body length. The snow here had great purchase, solid footing. Summit! Mount Triumph Southern Pickets On the descent Trip Details: 13 miles, 3,800' gain, 10 hours Gear Notes: Skis, ski crampons, boot crampons, ice axe. A whippet or second tool could be useful for the final summit step if not super comfortable on steep snow, however it climbed fine with just an axe. Approach Notes: Typical forest road. Winter route generally follows summer trail.

Found a handsome rack at Surf City along Icicle Creek at Leavenworth. DM with details to claim, I hope to find the owner.

A story that keeps on giving and a formative adventure no doubt!

Sweet article! For a while I would try getting gear, shoes included, that I thought could be more well rounded so that I'd end up buying less gear. I would now agree with you that a shoe is good at one thing or nothing at all. Maybe thats a bit absolute as the lines can be blurred but there is definitely truth to it. Theres a good reason to have specialized equipment! I was happy to see the bit about using the Dart crampon front section with other Petzl dyneema crampons. I've got the Irvis which I'm sure would climb ice just fine but having vertical points would be preferred.

Looking for a pair of either or both Petzl Irvis Hybrid and Lynx crampons. Need something to fit my Maestrale touring boots. Thanks!

@Steve Roberts A partner and I were up there on Sunday the 8th. Conditions seemed pretty good. Snow from the day and night before was a bit loose on the top of the snowpack but offered good purchase with some solid kicks. The ice climbed well but there are areas of deterioration. More parties ahead than expected, so the path was maybe too obvious. At any rate, it went!

Super fun day, it had it all!

Yesterday (Sunday Aug 18th) I left my BD Distance Z trekking poles at the Blue Lake TH at WA Pass early afternoon. If anyone came across them please let me know, I'd be thrilled to get them back. Thanks!