Fortress Mountain - East Ridge, July 2012
Deep in the heart of the Glacier Peak Wilderness, 8760-ft Fortress Mountain is one of the highest non-volcanic peaks in the Washington Cascades. Fortress is an imposing massif with a distinct pyramidal shape, particularly when viewed from the south. At least that is the impression I got when gazing upon it from the summit of Buck Mountain last summer. And for a peak once considered “unscalable from any angle”, first impressions were incentive enough for me to go take a closer look. This closer look entailed a one-day (drive incl.) ascent via the East Ridge and descent via South Slope with a camp at Buck Creek Pass later that evening. Basically a carry-over and camp with merely a 9-mile hike out the following day, returning to the same trailhead we started from the day before. A pleasant outing somewhere in-between a day-trip suffer-fest and weekend-long lollygag…
