dpforestry Posted April 8, 2013 Posted April 8, 2013 Trip: Copper Mountain - Olympic Peninsula - Wagonwheel Lake trail to NW ridge Date: 4/7/2013 Trip Report: Copper Mountain Summit via Wagonwheel lake trail (Olympic National Park). On this day it was basic snow scramble with a little rock scramble under the summit. Lots of cornices that were easy to avoid. Approx. 4400ft gain, 5 miles and 7 hrs roundtrip. Started at 9am. Snow level at about 3500ft, breaking trail the rest of the way. Note, the staircase campground is open. There were no access issues at all. Route in Google Maps Great snow conditions and weather, despite the weather report. It didn't rain on us at all and we had a few flurries with sun breaks. Views of Lake Cushman and adjacent peaks. A few inches on new snow on a slippery crust at lower elevations with deep wet snow at the higher elevations. Gear Notes: Snowshoes, shovel, ice axe. Extra gloves! Approach Notes: We started our trip at the Staircase parking lot on the Wagonwheel lake trail (Wagonwheel trail is clearly marked with a permanent sign). At about 3900ft we turned east (well before Wagonwheen lake) and attained the ridge up to Copper mtn. We followed that all the way up to the summit. Came back the same way. Quote
OlympicMtnBoy Posted April 8, 2013 Posted April 8, 2013 Sounds like a fun trip with some good elevation there! Any pics? I need to get back out in the Olympics! Quote
wsj3 Posted April 9, 2013 Posted April 9, 2013 I'm going to do this next time I'm at staircase. Done wagon wheel climb many times. Would love to see pics!? Quote
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