[TR] Star, Courtney, Oval - The easiest way possible 10/6/2014

[JasonG]

Trip: Star, Courtney, Oval - The easiest way possible

 

Date: 10/6/2014

 

Trip Report:

The first week of October is known as the "Golden Week" for a very good reason. The larches in the alpine are typically at their peak, and often the window is narrow between peak colors and fall storms. This year, everything aligned (on a weekend no less!) and a few of us Skagitonians had the Fish Creek Pass area mostly to ourselves (save Joe? from Ballard on Star). Summits were obtained, whiskey and chocolate consumed, fuel loads reduced, and far too many photos taken. Fall perfection in the North Cascades.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gear Notes:

Halen, Hunter, Hops

 

Approach Notes:

West Fork Buttermilk Trail

[Tom_Sjolseth]

You might think about hanging onto at least a couple of those photos..

 

Nice!

[cfire]

Great looking trip Jason!

 

..and as usual, the photos are stellar.

 

 

Edited October 18, 2014 by cfire

[ivan]

 

how come cute chicks never wanna do long trips w/ me?

[sepultura]

Incredible photos J ! they say it all.

[Alex]

world class larches!!

[Stefan]

looks professional! good eye

Edited October 20, 2014 by Stefan

[JasonG]

Glad that everyone is enjoying the photos! Believe it or not, they actually don't do the larches justice. They were stunning, maybe some of the most intense color I've seen.

 

Also, I forgot to mention that an added bit of interest on this trip are the rock glaciers in the vicinity. There is a photo of the one on Oval, a few images from the bottom. I believe there is also one on Star that you can see from the summit of Oval. Cool landforms that I'm not sure I've seen before, at least up close.

 

Ivan- they've read too many of your TR's

[Otto]

Thanks for the beautiful trip report!

[mountainsloth]

Jason, your TRa always impress and inspire. I seem to step away from every one of your reports and think "I need to go there."

Way to keep ticking off those summits and. Enjoying every step of the way.

[mattp]

Thank you for the fabulous pictures.

 

The mention of a rock glacier reminds me of the one time I was on what I am guessing was a rock glacier below the Palisades NE of Sunrise at Mount Rainier. There is the most unstable rockpile in the basin below the Palisades that I have ever walked on, or maybe the second-most. It is clearly moving but there is no ice in sight. I've never heard it identified as a rock glacier but it must be something like that.

 

Anyway, the Sawtooth Range of Washington is a very nice area, often overlooked. Thanks again for reminding me of this place.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

 

Nice! I was hoping to get some colors like this on Windy Peak this weekend, but nothing came close to what your camera captured (we got some nice larch views on the drive out from the TH only)

[DPS]

Wow, this trip report had a bit of everything: photos of firey larches, posing pikas, sweeping ridge lines, serene lakes, and pretty girls. It all reminds me why September and early October are my favorite months to climb.

[kukuzka1]

nice fotos, can almost smell the mountain air looking at them

[trumpetsailor]

Awesome. The photos, esp #16, are winners. Thanks!

[JoshK]

I was in this area early in the summer (during that awkward few weeks between summer climbing and spring skiing) and did scramble peaks. I knew there was a ton of larch and returning in fall would be worthwhile, but I am now 100% committed to do so. Incredibly beautiful, and your pictures are fantastic!!

[JBo6]

It's looking pretty snowy up there right now. I wish I'd made it while the larches were in full color. I've never seen larches as large as the ones around West Oval lake.