JasonG Posted July 6, 2014 Posted July 6, 2014 (edited) Trip: Fernow and Seven Fingered Jack - Standard Scrambles Date: 6/21/2014 Trip Report: Conditions were pretty ideal on both Fernow and 7FJ around the solstice - enough snow to make travel efficient, a consolidated snowpack, and no bugs. My brother and I had been weathered off this trip five years ago and finally got around to getting back to it, along with his friend Brad. We camped at the scenic col to the west of 7FJ, which has space for a couple small tents and views that are hard to beat. Fernow turned out to be a surprisingly worthy adversary for a "class 2" scramble and while the Beckey description is more or less accurate, you should expect to use your hands and be ready for firm, steep snow. I went up 7FJ by myself (easy scrambling, minimal snow) in the evening after we climbed Fernow and enjoyed the sunset and summit all to myself. It was the last 9K peak for me in Cascades so that was a pretty fun way to end the trip. The Chelan Mountains are always beautiful, one of my favorite areas in the range. Crossing one of the creeks en route to the Leroy Basin trail: Camp! Unnamed gendarme on the ridge between 7FJ and Fernow: Glacier Peak at sunrise from camp: Hard snow in the morning, climbers take warning: NF of Maude: Scrambling near the top of Fernow: Skiers on the traverse to the NF of Maude: Skiers on the NF of Maude: Copper and beyond from the summit of Fernow: Exposed Class 3 on the way back to camp: Fernow from 7FJ: Sunset Panorama from 7FJ: Agnes, the dark horse of the Cascades. You can't resist her allure! Zak looking to Buck and beyond: Camp was sublime: Gear Notes: Crampons, ice axe, helmet. Approach Notes: Leroy Basin trail. Expect some major avi carnage in the forest on the Spider Meadow trail. The creek crossing may be high, but we didn't get our feet wet. Edited July 9, 2014 by JasonG Quote
trumpetsailor Posted July 7, 2014 Posted July 7, 2014 Beautiful photos, as always. Congratulations on ticking the niners! Quote
Phil K Posted July 9, 2014 Posted July 9, 2014 Well done, as always. Did you drop far down into the basin below the 7FJ/Fernow col as described in CAG (the Gloomy Glacier route), or were you traverse the basin without loosing too much elevation? We did the latter when making the same trip a few years back and it was quite reasonable, though snow dependent. Another good argument for doing this trip a bit early in the season. Quote
JasonG Posted July 9, 2014 Author Posted July 9, 2014 Glad you guys like the report! Hey Phil!!! We dropped low, since the snow was very firm and Zak and Brad weren't that excited about steep side hilling. It probably added a bit of time, but it was pretty fast both up and down with the snow. I agree that all options would be quite tedious without snow. And I have to give you many thanks for turning us on to the col camp years ago- one of my favorite camps, period! Quote
Russinthemountains Posted July 12, 2018 Posted July 12, 2018 On 7/8/2014 at 6:21 PM, Phil K said: Well done, as always. Did you drop far down into the basin below the 7FJ/Fernow col as described in CAG (the Gloomy Glacier route), or were you traverse the basin without loosing too much elevation? We did the latter when making the same trip a few years back and it was quite reasonable, though snow dependent. Another good argument for doing this trip a bit early in the season. On 7/8/2014 at 9:05 PM, JasonG said: Glad you guys like the report! Hey Phil!!! We dropped low, since the snow was very firm and Zak and Brad weren't that excited about steep side hilling. It probably added a bit of time, but it was pretty fast both up and down with the snow. I agree that all options would be quite tedious without snow. And I have to give you many thanks for turning us on to the col camp years ago- one of my favorite camps, period! Hey guys. I agree that col camp looks amazing! Where is it located? Quote
tanstaafl Posted July 12, 2018 Posted July 12, 2018 Heck yeah that is a nice camp spot! Gorgeous photos as always, Jason. I did those two last year as part of a loop trip with Rolf, so my photos mostly just look like this: Quote
JasonG Posted July 12, 2018 Author Posted July 12, 2018 Ha! That's classic @tanstaafl....actually this is a TR from 2014 that was dug up. @Russinthemountains...that camp is on the ridge west of 7FJ Quote
Kameron Posted July 13, 2018 Posted July 13, 2018 Cool to see this pop up. My friends and I still have to get back there and actually ski that thing. But now we know, firsthand, the price of entry. Quote
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.