Last Updated: December 4, 2024



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Reports in the queue for posting are coming soon!

Upcoming reports & photos:

Oh my! Quite the backlog here...

  • Isollilock Peak - scramble (October 2023)
  • Mount Manson - Mount Hatfield Traverse - scramble (October 2023)
  • The Gargoyles & Columnar Peak - scramble (October 2023)
  • Opal Cone and Lava Glacier - hike (October 2023)
  • Park Butte (WA) - hike (October 2023)
  • Trappers Peak (WA) - scramble (October 2023)
  • Rattlesnake Ledge (WA) - hike (November 2023)
  • Sauk Mountain (WA) - hike (November 2023)
  • Sunshine Coast (Mount Daniel, Pender Hill) - hike (November 2023)
  • Mount Dickerman (WA) - hike (November 2022)
  • Verona Peak AKA Winter's End - snowshoe (November 2023)
  • Dolomites (IT) - snowboard (December 2023)
  • Red Rock Canyon (NV) - scramble (January 2024)
  • Flute Summit & Oboe Summit - snowboard (February 2024)
  • Whistler Miscellaneous (Train Wreck, Loggers Lake, Shadow Lake and more) - hike (February 2024)
  • Mount Underhill - hike (March 2024)
  • Bombtram Mountain - snowshoe (March 2024)
  • Steep Peak - snowboard (March 2024)
  • Ruby Mountain (WA) - snowshoe (April 2024)
  • Blustry Mountain - hike (April 2024)
  • Sowerby Peak (Barr East) - snowshoe (April 2024)
  • Picacho Peak (AZ) - hike (April 2024)
  • Kitt Peak Observatory (AZ) - (April 2024)
  • Mount Wrightson (AZ) - hike (April 2024)
  • Saguaro National Park (AZ) - April 2024)
  • Superstition Peak/Benchmark (AZ) - scramble (April 2024)
  • Mount Humphreys (AZ) - hike (May 2024)
  • Petrified Forest National Park (AZ) - (May 2024)
  • Piestewa Peak (AZ) - hike (May 2024)
  • Channeled Scablands (WA | Columbia Gorge, Ancient Lakes, Potholes Lake, Palouse Falls and more) - hike (May 2024)
  • Rhododendron Mountain ("Pk. 2220") - snowshoe (June 2024)
  • Flora Peak - hike (June 2024)
  • Gibson Peak - snowshoe (June 2024)
  • Mount Urquhart - scramble (June 2024)
  • Rock Mountain (WA) - hike (July 2024)
  • Ladies Pass Quartet (WA | Cape Horn, Ladies Peak, Snowgrass NE Peak, Snowgrass Mountain) - scramble (July 2024)
  • Old Snowy (WA) - scramble (July 2024)
  • Dog Mountain (WA) - hike (July 2024)
  • Mount Ratney & Mount Bardean - scramble (July 2024)
  • Torrent Peak - scramble (July 2024)
  • Steep Peak - Darkside Peak Traverse - scramble (July 2024)
  • Silvertip Mountain - scramble (July 2024)
  • The Old Settler - scramble (July 2024)
  • Silent Hub Peak - scramble (August 2024)
  • Saint Jacobs Mountain - scramble (August 2024)
  • Mount David (WA) - scramble (August 2024)
  • Goat Mountain West Peak & Table Mountain (WA) - hike (August 2024)
  • Griswold Pass (Tuber Hill, Glacier View Peak, Subatomic Peaks: Baryon, Meson, Muon, Lepton) - scramble (September 2024)
  • Yellow Aster Butte (WA) - hike (September 2024)
  • Mazama Dome (WA) - hike (September 2024)
  • Ptarmigan Ridge - (WA | The Portals East Peak, Coleman Pinnacle) - hike (September 2024)
  • Tetrahedron Peak - scramble (September 2024)
  • Lone Cone & Peak 86 (Tofino) - hike (September 2024)
  • Mount Athelstan ("Pk. 2460") - scramble (September 2024)
  • Excelsior Peak and Cowap Peak (WA) - hike (October 2024)
  • Hollyburn Peak - hike (October 2024)
  • Cheam Peak - hike (October 2024)
  • Blanchard Needle - scramble (October 2024)
  • Debeck's Hill & 4 Lakes Loop - hike (October 2024)
  • Mount Hallowell - hike (November 2024)
  • Anderson Mountain (WA) - hike (December 2024)
  • Sumas Mountain (WA) - hike (December 2024)

*As of 12/04/2024


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Sunday, July 24, 2011

Mount Despair - East Ridge, July 2011



Paul and I enjoyed Independence Day triumph on Mount Despair, albeit not without a good dose of suffering I might add! To say it’s an out-of-the-way peak would be an understatement. But being that Despair was Fred Beckey’s initial first ascent kinda makes it an essential feather in the hat of any self-prescribed Cascade peak bagger. So here’s to you ‘ol Fred!

With a 5am Seattle departure we found ourselves sputtering on fumes by the time we reached Triumph Pass Saturday July 2nd and collapsed into the tent for the night. Rain all day Sunday made for a most boring 30+ hours of "sleep" and managing seeps and leaks in my tent. The rain ended around 4pm but alas it was too late to make an afternoon run for Despair. Fate had set us up for a BIG day on Monday!

It cleared up nicely that evening and night and we awoke Monday morning to a totally cloudless sky. We summited via the East Ridge about 4 hours after leaving camp. Worries about steep snow, difficult rock climbing and a lack of protection proved to be for naught. By and large, we managed to avoid the steep snow on the SE Face climbing reasonably solid yet somewhat vegetated class 3 and 4 rock on the ridge. The view from Despair's seldom visited summit is grand but my oh my, we had a long way to go still that day...

The HOT 2000-ft slog back up and out of Triumph Creek to Thornton Ridge later that afternoon could best be described as cruel and unusual punishment. All told it was about a 14 hour day Monday. It's been a long time since I last "enjoyed" a North Cascades ass-kicking like this and it took me a good couple days recover from it. This is an amazing part of the North Cascades and the East Ridge climb is worthy in its own right, but suffice to say that this isn't a peak or approach for that matter that I'm inclined to repeat anytime soon.





Saturday, July 8, 2011

Mount Pilchuck split/board, June 2011

OMG! I didn’t just post a report for Pilchuck did I? Certainly a peak bearing the not-so-proud distinction of being Snohomish County’s Mt. Si is undeserving of a blog post, right? But hey, at least this Si can be skied…and with this year’s snowpack quite nicely I might add. Put it this way – if you find yourself with a marginal spring day to burn and can’t quite get out of bed before noon, but still want to get out and climb and ride something resembling a mountain, dis be your ticket. A surprisingly satisfying loop tour following the route of the summer trail up over the summit and down the steep SE Chute finishing with a descent of the NW slopes seems to be the ideal way to experience this lowly but convenient peak.



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