Enchantments - trail conditions to Snow Lakes

[Dustin_B]

I've never been to the Enchantments so I don't know what trail conditions would be like this time of year. Any one have any info? Would it be worth it to pack snowshoes, axe? Looking to make it to Lake Viviane, how much time should that take the average Joe with rack and overnight pack? The only info I have is about the route I want climb but I don't know much about the approach (except its about 5500 feet and 9 miles). Is it too early for alpine rock climbs in this area?

 

I've already done a search here and can't find anything so if this has been discussed recently can you point me to the thread. thanks

[JoshK]

You looking to do W ridge of prusik?

[erik]

lotsa snow up there still.

 

 

[klenke]

Here is what the Upper Enchantments looked like on April 26, 2003. As you can see, the upper lakes are still snowed over. Lake Viviane is also most likely still snowed over. It is located right of the dry South Face of Prusik Peak, which is just left of center in the middle panel. If there's no beaten down bootpath I definitely recommend snowshoes.

 

Panorama located here: Enchantments Panorama from Dragontail Peak

[Dustin_B]

JoshK said:

You looking to do W ridge of prusik?

Yep, before it gets crowded.

[erik]

PERSONLLY DUSTIN, I WOULD GO BACK WITH THE INTENT ON CLIMBING ATLEST TWO ROUTES....THE W RIDGE IS FUN, BUT ONLY TAKE LIKE 30 MINUTES TO CLIMB...MAYBE AN HOUR AT THE MOST.

 

WITCHES TOWER MAKES A GOOD 2ND OBJECTIVE AS WELL AS SOME OF THE OTHER FORMATIONS ALONG TEMPLE RIDGE.

 

LOSTA WALKING FOR A SHORT ROUTE!!!

 

HAVE FUN AND B SAFE!!!

 

 

[slothrop]

And watch out for the ticks! My partner and I flicked off a half dozen of the bloodsuckers last weekend while at Snow Creek Wall.

[klenke]

In addition to it being visible on the aforementioned panorama, here are two more pics of Witches Tower from April 26. Having never climbed it, I'm not sure where the routes are on it. But it looks like a fun scramble even in winter. I think the punter routes go up from the col.

[JoshK]

Eric's comment on WR prusik is the same as what I would say. It's a *very* short climb for walking all that way, and it's much easier than the 5.7 rating would have you believe, at least in summer. For that reason, I bet it would be fun with some snow on it combined with another climb in the area. There is some sort of 5.8ish chimney variation on the last pitch that I took which was pretty fun, but god knows what that would look like with snow in it.

[Szyjakowski]

JoshK said:

Eric's comment on WR prusik is the same as what I would say. It's a *very* short climb for walking all that way, and it's much easier than the 5.7 rating would have you believe, at least in summer. For that reason, I bet it would be fun with some snow on it combined with another climb in the area. There is some sort of 5.8ish chimney variation on the last pitch that I took which was pretty fun, but god knows what that would look like with snow in it.

that 5.8ish chimney is Beckey's original way....

West ridge is worth the hike.

don't push yourself to hard if first time up there... Enchanments are big!

Ticks don't live without Goats.... may be breeders though...

[mattp]

I'm with Sjyk - Prussik is worth the hike. So is Lake Viviane, especially in the fall.

[matt_warfield]

Definitely do it but I'd recommend summer if crowding is your main issue. The permit system

and long hike in keep the crowds down. Without those deterrents it would be a proverbial

cluster f*** most summer weekends. If you

go in the Fall, you can catch the larch colors and maybe a few snowflakes too.

[Alex]

no doubt Prussik would be the "Cathedral Peak" of the Cascades if if had anything less than a 10 mile approach!

[Szyjakowski]

Alex said:

no doubt Prussik would be the "Cathedral Peak" of the Cascades if if had anything less than a 10 mile approach!

the hike is 9.99miles so ha!

[Dustin_B]

Cool, thanks for the good enough. I think we are going to give it a go. It sounds like the 10 mile approach is worth it. This will be my first alpine rock climb of the season (and my first alpine rock climb to swing leads on). What kind of rack? I'm still new so I tend to over kill it. thanks.

[JoshK]

Dustin, Matt and co. are right. The approach is long for a short climb, but the area is so beautiful, and the overall experience so great it's definitely worth it.

 

In summer, I used only a few cams (mid range sizes), a couple of stoppers and a large hex or two. Go up or down based on your experience on rock of that difficulty. Again, snow may change things, so if it was me, personally, I'd err on the side of more gear.

 

One thing to consider is getting off. On the summer it's 3 or 4 easy repels off the north side off blocks that are already slung with enough webbing, etc. to choke a donkey. It's possible that some of that stuff is snowed over so you may have to get creative. Somebody who has climbed it during this time of the season could probably be of more help.

 

Have fun and bring a camera!

[erik]

dustin.

 

about 12 slings as there are lots of feature to use.

 

and a small rock of nuts and cams 2" is perfect. use the rock for pro!!

 

a 50m rope is more then enough. save the weight.

 

for the .8 chim, i think it took gear down low and is sper secure once you get into it.

 

have fun it is a great place!

 

i plan on living there this summer.

 

[Szyjakowski]

Dustin_B said:

Cool, thanks for the good enough. I think we are going to give it a go. It sounds like the 10 mile approach is worth it. This will be my first alpine rock climb of the season (and my first alpine rock climb to swing leads on). What kind of rack? I'm still new so I tend to over kill it. thanks.

standard rack will suffice

[Alpinfox]

Hey Dustin,

WR of Prusik was one of my first Alpine climbs when I did it a couple of years ago. It's a fantastic route and you will have a great time. The WR is definately worth the hike. I would recommend bringing lots of slings (plenty of features to use as pro) and a small rack up to 2". I don't remember using a lot of small stuff, mostly medium.

 

If there is a lot of snow on the rock, especially the slabby areas, that might be the only major obstacle for you assuming you are pretty comfortable up to 5.7ish rock. Personally I find snow over slabby rock to be the most sketchy terrain around. Snow? Great! Rock? Great! Snow on rock? Dear God save me....

 

Anyway, here is my TR from a couple of years ago:

 

Prussik Peak (8000ft) via West Ridge

6-2-01 – 6-3-01

Partner – A.S.

Route Description in “Selected Climbs in the Cascades”

 

 

Though early June is a bit early for this route, we decided to climb it the weekend of June 2,3 because permits are required to camp in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness after June 15th and they are in high demand and short supply. We chose to approach the climb via Asgard Pass rather than by the Snow Creek trail because we thought the former would be more scenic and starts a bit higher than the latter. In a continuing effort to go light, A- and I carried only the barest of essentials prompting me to leave my camera in the car. This turned out to be the biggest mistake I made during the whole weekend with the possible exception of leaving my ice axe sitting by the car at the trailhead on our way home on Sunday.

 

6-2-01 – We started hiking from the Stuart Lake-Colchuck Lake Trailhead (3400’) around 11:30am under cloudy skies. The hike along Mountaineer’s Creek was very pleasant. After crossing the creek a couple of times, we started climbing the steep trail up to Colchuck Lake. Around 5000’ (there was a sign) it started to snow. The snow and wind came in flurries for the rest of the night. From beautiful blue Colchuck Lake (time?, 5600’) we got our first view of the intimidating wall of Asgard Pass. During occasional cloud breaks we got views of balanced rock, Dragontail Peak, Mount Colchuck, and all the various spires surrounding the lake. We climbed the pass on large talus (low) and soft snow slopes (higher). We were lucky to climb the pass (and descend on Sunday) late in the day so that the snow was soft enough to not necessitate crampons. From the top of the pass (time?, 7800’) we hiked another ~2 miles following cairns wandering around the frozen “Enchanted” lakes being observed by a hoary marmot along the way. After hiking ~10 miles and gaining around 5000’ from the trailhead, we camped about half a mile below Prusik Pass near a small stand of trees that gave us some protection from the wind. Shortly before we crawled into bed, the sky cleared and we got our first view of Prusik Peak rising behind a hump on the East side of Prusik Pass like a Patagonian tower. It was breathtaking and intimidating. I must admit that due to the cold, wind, snow, and steep clean rock spectacle in front of me, I doubted our chances of a successful summit bid the next day, despite the forecast of clearing weather for Sunday. That night we were blasted by powerful, occasional blasts of wind interspersed with complete calm. After taking a couple of ibuprofen, I finally drifted off to sleep.

 

 

 

6-3-01 – The next morning we took our time so as to give the rock a chance to warm up. It was still quite chilly at 9am when we left the tent and I was not looking forward to putting on rock shoes. We quickly climbed the pass and traversed left (north) along ledges to what we thought was the base of the climb. We roped up and A- led the first pitch that after climbing we discovered was just a lump on the ridge that we could have walked around on the South side. After the first couple of pitches, the sun warmed us up and I began to feel very confident about our chances for success. The rock route was relatively straightforward, so I never ended up taking off my boots. There were only two sections I would not have felt comfortable leading in boots. The first was the famous “short but unprotected 5.7 friction slab” and the second was the “lie-back up a steep corner (10’)” that starts the final pitch. Before ascending the 15’ chimney to the summit, I noticed something shiny in the crack below me and using by nut-tool on a piece of webbing I was able to fish a carabiner out of the crack. Attached to the carabiner was another nut-tool! The views from the summit were wonderful. We could see Little Annapurna, Dragontail, Balanced Rock, and The Temple as well as all the enchanting frozen alpine lakes that give this area its name. Looking over the south side of the summit, we could see the awkward leaning corner of the top crux pitch (5.9+) of the South face route. I was happy we opted for the easier route.

It took a long time and about 6 rappels to get to snowy ledges on the north side of the peak. We then traversed back to Prussik Pass and down to our tent passing a few marmots on the way. We collected our stashed packs, ate lunch, and began the lengthy process of getting back to the car. Before we reached Asgard Pass, we stopped by a nice little spot where a stream ran over a clean and flat shelf of rock. We lay down on our bellies and drank directly from the stream. That was some of the best water I have ever tasted. We descended the pass very rapidly glissading on foot and butt making it to Colchuck Lake around 6:30pm. The hike out to the car was long and we finally reached the trailhead around 9:30pm. On the hike out, we were already talking about when and how we would come back. After a long drive down Hwy2 in the rain, we made it back to Seattle around 12:30 dreading having to go to work the next day. This was a marvelous trip in some of the most inspirational alpine terrain I have ever seen. It was almost dream-like. This poem (one of my favorites from a college literature class) kept coming to mind:

 

 

 

I dreamed I was a god

 

last night. Melting the winter snows

with my warm breath. Bending low over

snowy mountains with the black sharp

scattered fir and pine, breathing,

“Haaaaaaaah”

 

-Gary Snyder

 

Have fun and post a TR when you get back.

 

Cheers,

-Alpinfox

 

[Pencil_Pusher]

I can't remember which weekend it was, but we happened to climb this route before the permit season, in June 2001 too. That was my first attempt at going light and I froze my friggin ass off camping at Lake Vivianne. I agree with your gear assessment, we brought way too much as there were plenty of rocks to sling/girth. I had rock shoes the partner had boots, we both froze our asses off climbing that thing and it was the shoes that got us up both iffy sections you described. The little "unprotected" face above the piton wasn't much... For the last 20ft we went around to the right side and ascended a shove-yourself-in-a-big-crack to shimmy up. Thank god it warmed up. The descent had us guessing where the stupid slings were (both the descent off the top and the approach from camp were mostly snow). There wasn't snow on the route, just some ice in a crack or two including that bastard 10' crack that begins the final pitch (my first use of alpine aid). It's got a bomber fist jam for your left hand at the top of that crack.

This is why I'd second the dude that said go there in the summer. Just do it as a long day trip to avoid the permit schpeel, you'll enjoy it more.

[Dustin_B]

Nice TR Alpine Fox. On more question for the group. We may end up only having 3 people, would you recommend 1 rope or 2? That is, are there enough spots to belay from with only leading half a pitch each time? Thanks.

[erik]

DUSTIN YES ONE ROPE WOULD BE ENOUGH...THERE ARE TONS OF SPOTS TO BELAY FROM!!!!!

 

 

[Szyjakowski]

erik said:

DUSTIN YES ONE ROPE WOULD BE ENOUGH...THERE ARE TONS OF SPOTS TO BELAY FROM!!!!!

 

AND A ONE-MILLION PLACES TO RAPEL FROM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Alex]

Dustin_B said:

What kind of rack? I'm still new so I tend to over kill it. thanks.

 

You'll want a #2 camalot if you do the grunt-fest chimney the last 15 ft to the top. I also remember the 5.7 slab was easily protectable with a real small cam immediately after the slab, something like a green alien. Anyway, the crux sections are short, but if you are going to carry only one rope for 3 people, you might consider taking a longer one (like a 60m or 70m 9.4)

[crusty_climber]

If you're looking for more than a short climb on your trip and doing Prusik Peak I recommend climbing along Temple Ridge as far as you think you can traverse. There are numerous easy bail points on the south side of the ridge. The routes mostly go up to 5.8. and require a rack to 2 inches or so.