LukeShy Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 (edited) Trip: Big and West Craggy Peaks - Standard Traverse Date: 6/10/2012 Trip Report: There hasn't been a TR on these peaks besides the East Face of West Craggy so with the contest going on I figured I'd give a report. Here goes nothing... Seeing the crappy forecast for everywhere in the Cascades Josh R, Ryan M, and I elected for something that might be less suck weather wise. So we made the journey East to Winthrop Saturday afternoon and headed up to the Copper Glance TH to climb the Craggies. Figuring with the marginal forecast and the Winthrop Marathon there would be no one else at the TH we camped there and got an early start in the morning 5am. In short time we arrived at the abandoned mine and decided to head up a snow gully to the SE ridge of Big Craggy. It was a direct shot to the top from there, but as we got higher the snow got softer and the clouds more dense until we were in it for reals. Lots of fresh snow and low visibility made the talus and scree a bit challenging but we made the summit in no time. Josh on the SE ridge of Big Craggy Big Craggy Summit Ridge It's still cold and windy but we can see more than 10 feet! We didn't stay long on the summit, snapped a few pics of the amazing views and headed down for the traverse to West Craggy. This was a good test of the old navigation skillz in a whiteout. So with a few compass checks along the way we were on the right path. A bit of post holing action was encountered with the fresh snow on scree, not too bad. That's when the clouds started to break and we could finally see a bit further. Ryan mid traverse, starting to clear up! Sweet traverse action, some snow covered class 2-3ish gully sections were encountered further on in the fog. We found the big snow filled gully leading to the West Craggy summit ridge, as the clouds started to lift for good. The snow was a bit firm under the new 4-6", but you could make your way up without crampons. Heading up to West Craggy summit ridge With the fresh snow the final talus slope traverse was a bit slow going, but the views were getting nicer by the minute. Summit Ridge rime ice Isabella Ridge and Sherman Peak - looking South Big Craggy - Our traverse was just below the ridge on the back side West Craggy Summit Panoramic Some cool lines on Isabella Ridge, that might warrant a return trip with more gear The decent was uneventful and went fast in the quickly softening snow. We found the trail in no time and were headed back to Seattle. Not bad for a weekend forecast of suck. Flickr Photos Approach Notes: 10 hours of driving for 8 hours of climbing. Yes, there is something wrong with me. Edited June 19, 2012 by LukeShy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyclimber Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Looks like a really nice time out. I would drive that far for that. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Zephyr Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Nice trip! I was debating between the Craggys and the Gardners last weekend. I went for the Gardners to maximize my hiking time. This really just meant plodding along a trail for 21 miles. I think your short and sweet route up the Craggys for 8 hrs of awesome was the way to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonDowns Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Good work Luke! Im jealous! We were tent bound all day Saturday at the Eldo East Ridge camp waiting for a break to go after Dorado Needle...never came. Ended up calling it a day. Poured about two cups of water out of each boot by the time we got back to the TH. Nice job on getting some sun on an otherwise dreary weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devin27 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 We had the same thought about driving vs climbing down the road a bit on Raven Ridge. 9ish hours of driving to get nearly blown off the ridge. The things we do for a list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Zephyr Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 The things we do for a list. Haha! Yep, lots of people out there working on the Bulger list now. Speaking of which, have any of you tried the Cedar creek to Shelokum Creek valley approach for North Gardner? It's in the Beckey guide. I'm 0-2 on that one and I don't think I can do the long, boring Wolf Creek approach again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeShy Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 I haven't and I'm sure Devin hasn't either. I also looked at your approach on that, looks shorter but might be a bit of a schwack to get in. Shouldn't be too bad though. I'd say go for it, nothing like an adventure to a place that's not often traveled. I'm glad to hear there's others like me endlessly chasing the chossy slopes of the Cascades! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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