iluka Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Trip: Snowking Mountain - Kindy Ridge Date: 8/24/2008 Trip Report: Laurie, Heather, Dave, Brian and I headed off to climb Snowking this weekend hoping to get the summit in before the rains came on Sunday. The walk from the parking area to where the trail climbs to the ridge took about one hour. There is some brush in spots but it is easy travel. The guide books describe finding the trail at a clearcut around 2350 feet in elevation. The clearcut hillside is no longer obvious but theres an obvious clearing in the road with a bench made of logs and a fire ring in the road. Several pieces of flagging mark the entry point for the trail to Kindy Ridge. The trail was snow-free to Cyclone Lake and pretty easy to follow the entire way. Very steep for the first 1800 feet or so as advertised but pretty moderate after that. There are currently a few unappealing looking water collections but otherwise no water between the road and the area around Cyclone Lake. We made good time to the ridge above a small tarn between Lake 5442 and Cyclone Lake. With plenty of daylight left, sunny skies above us and the threat of rain for Sunday, we opted to make camp and head for the summit on Saturday. We came over Pt. 5860 and then gained the ridge that runs up and to the left of Cyclone Lake finding easy climbing on heather and rock-filled slopes. Up higher, the travel remained easy on the large granite slabs with scattered snow in spots. There are enough snow patches and seaps up here right now to make for some prime bivy spots with great views. After traveling along the ridge proper a bit, we jumped onto the snowfield that leads up to the summit block where we found straightforward Class 2 climbing (one or two areas of easy Class 3) on the way to the summit which afforded great views of El Dorado and Forbidden, the entire Ptarmigan Traverse and loads of other peaks. From the summit, we retraced our route and headed back to camp where we found loads of mosquitoes waiting for us. We awoke to a pretty sunrise on Sunday after which time the clouds rolled in. We then headed down the trail, arriving back at the cars in about 4.5 hours, just as the rains started. Car to Camp: 4.75 hours Camp to Summit: 2 hours Summit to Camp: Just under 2 hours Camp to Car: 4.5 hours Gear Notes: Axe Crampons (not needed) Approach Notes: Snow-free from the forest service road to Cyclone Lake. Straightforward navigation on easy-to-follow trail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belayerslayer Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 great! on my "to-do list"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plexus Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Thanks for the memories. Kindy Ridge was one of my favorite nights camping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarence Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Nice TR. Cyclone lake is one of my favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.