[TR] Black Peak and Prime Rib - #methowmultisport 04/20/2024

[JasonG]

Trip: Black Peak and Prime Rib - #methowmultisport

Trip Date: 04/20/2024

Trip Report:

 

For those of us up here in the north sound, it is hard to ignore the gravitational pull when Hwy 20 opens for the year.  It is like someone pulls the plug in the backyard pool and we are inexorably pulled east into the vortex of Sprinters and Teslas.  But not this past weekend.  It was like older, mellower times.  Maybe it was the front moving through in the middle of the weekend.  Maybe everyone was like my brother and were caught unawares of the opening?  Whatever the reason, I'll take it. 

It was a good thing that the masses weren't up there though.   @geosean and I myself weren't terribly original with the plan- a ski of Black on Saturday followed by Prime Rib on Goat wall on Sunday.  We even brought bikes to enliven the descent from Goat Wall (this is a good bit more fun than rapping the route).  And, mostly it went off without a hitch.  And by that I mean we had fun, didn't get hurt, and came home friends.  However, we did stop a few feet shy of the true summit of Black due to the typical spring shenanigans of steep snow, exposed rock, and no climbing gear.  But, that slight disappointment was soon forgotten amidst the better than average corn skiing down to Lakes Ann and Wing.  I think it has been over 20 years since I've been up on Black and I can see that I need to return more frequently.

Thankfully the weather on Goat Creek Road was reasonable, though chilly, Saturday night.  We started early to beat the crowds the never arrived and shivered in the wind and snow squalls as a result.  It felt distinctly alpine, climbing in long johns and belaying in puffys all day. I'm sure it would be good training for something hard and high, if I still cared about those sorts of objectives.  Mostly though, I shivered and muttered.  But, it had been about 11 years since I had climbed the route, and so Prime Rib felt sort of like a new and interesting experience. This pronounced alpine amnesia is definitely one of the benefits of entering my "mature mountaineer" phase.  Maybe I need to climb things all over again. 

Except Nooksack Tower.

 

@geosean at Heather Pass:

@geosean and Black at Wing Lake:

I was not having this and turned us around:

#methowmultisport:

Dispersed camping views of Silverstar from Goat creek road:

@geosean living the alpine dream on Goat Wall:

The hordes will descend next weekend!

 

Gear Notes:
the full kit

Approach Notes:
Follow the herd