[TR] Pocket Peak - via Slesse Divide 8/11/2012

[G-spotter]

Trip: Pocket Peak - via Slesse Divide

 

Date: 8/11/2012

 

Trip Report:

I climbed Pocket Peak via the Slesse Memorial trail over the August 11-12 weekend. I originally planned to go all the way around Nesakwatch Creek and come out the Rexford trail but it turns out this is more like a 3-4 day outing at my present pace.

 

Day 1 I left the Slesse trailhead around 10:30 AM and made it to a bivi south of the border and pretty much due north of Pocket on the ridge crest by around 6 PM. Met one bear along the way. There were some spectacular views of Slesse, spectacular sunset and sunrise, spectacular meteors, but I had trouble seeing the latter thru the mosquito netting on my bivi due to the spectacular mosquitoes. Wow. I actually mistook one of them for John Scurlock's plane it was so large.

 

Day 2 I climbed Pocket. First attempted the east ridge but was stymied by a steep and loose gap 2 notches east of the summit. Then up the rock at the right edge of the couloir on left edge of the north face. Class 3-4 to summit. Found a summit register with a signature in Aug 2011 from Kevin Thurner. You can read his full TR on NWhikers.net with a Google search. Looks like he climbed the original Tabor route on the south side, which is very steep heather.

 

On the way out I met the same bear in the same spot. Think this dude is a frustrated skiier as he spent a long time playing on the snow, then took a massive blue shit before he left.

 

This was a cool little trip into an area that gets neglected because it's in WA but most easily accessed from BC. I ran into several old pieces of wire and metal that probably date back to the 1859 or 1904 border surveys.

 

Chinese Puzzle from the hike in.

 

Pocket from near Labour Day

 

Bear, day 1

 

Slesse group from the bivi

 

 

North face of Pocket. I climbed the rock just right of the left-hand finger of snow then up the skyline to summit.

 

This was supposed to be a shot of me busting a pole vault arch jump over the summit of Slesse like a dolphin show except that the camera went off too soon. Also, pictures look better if you smile.

 

Big Bosom Buttes, you make the rockin world go round. Somebody should get after that steep clean granite on the east face of the north Butte.

 

Same bear, day 2. I think this guy's been raiding the secret Canadian marijuana plantations behind the bomb range in Slesse Creek.

 

Rexford group on the hike out.

 

Gear Notes:

Ice axe, bivi sack, bear bangers.

 

Approach Notes:

From Slesse Memorial and Propellor Cairn then south. Cross ridge SE of Labour Day summit at lower of 2 notches then gain divide. Follow divide south. After lowest col, better to sidehill into basin below Pocket than to keep following ridge crest due to annoying krummholz on crest.

[Tyson.g]

That looks great!

Thanks for sharing that.

[JasonG]

Now that is an area you don't see photos from too often! Thanks for the Slesse shots, a great perspective on the peak. It is amazing how steep it is on all sides, I can't think of too many other peaks that compare locally.

 

It figures that Kevin was there, he has really sought out the most obscure recesses of the Cascades-usually solo.

[Pete_H]

Cool bear shots!

[Tom_Sjolseth]

Thanks for this excellent report on a seldom-climbed peak .

[mountainsloth]

so much granite!

[mountainsloth]

so much granite!