Last Updated: November 28, 2024



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Upcoming reports & photos:

Oh my! Quite the backlog here...

  • Lone Goat & Snow Camp Mountain - hike (September 2023)
  • 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 - 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)

*As of 11/28/2024


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Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Recourse Peak - ESE Ridge, July 2018



Unbelievably, 11 years have elapsed since my previous trip to the Chehalis Range. This time I was indifferent to going whole hog on the Viennese-Recourse-Clarke Traverse, as classic a route as it is reputed to be. Mount Clarke, the highest in the area (Grainger Peak to the north excepted) and typically the last of the three summits climbed on the traverse would be reward enough. Besides, the description in the Scrambles Guide speaks very favorably of Clarke's standard Southeast Ridge route, an endorsement worth acknowledging IMO. So, with all that said one might ask why this trip report is for Recourse Peak then?

Recourse is the middle of the three summits and the second highest. Unlike Clarke and to a lesser extent Viennese, the route to Viennese-Recourse Col and start of the ESE Ridge is by far the most direct of the three. Factor in especially warm weather, a brutally steep and somewhat brushy grunt up from Lower Statlu Lake the previous day and an ugly vertical bushwhack in order to gain the upper basin and suffice it to say that certain member of this party simply had had her fill. For the third consecutive outing I was to complete the climb solo, oh and "please hurry" because there's no shade (in the upper basin).

Recourse, as it turns out is a worthwhile climb unto itself and presents its own challenges and excitement, albeit short-lived ones. It's position and perspective on the knife-edge WSW Ridge of Viennese is incredible. I'd be lying if I said I didn't briefly consider running the ridge over to Clarke from Recourse's summit and back, a kind-of half-traverse, but then there would surely be hell to pay for such indulgence! All-in-all a beautiful place and well worth a visit, but I might be another decade before I attempt a Chehalis Range hat trick!

Click here to view.

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Mount Marriott - Southeast Ridge, July 2018



An outlier to a collection of crowded peaks ENE of Pemberton which include Cirque Peak and Cayoosh Mountain, Mount Marriott is a sprawling massif that also bears the distinction of being the highest in the Western Cayoosh Range. Just shy of the 9000-ft mark, Marriott is characterized by a long SE Ridge that offers a most pleasant ramble on granitic rock. The recently remodeled Wendy Thompson Hut, situated in the lake basin southeast of the peak makes for an ideal base from which to bag the peak, not to mention escape the swarming mosquitos.

We timed this one just right, taking full advantage of a still mostly snowbound basin well above the hut, sparing us from what would otherwise have been a lot of tedious boulder hopping. Some steep snow and hardpan had to be negotiated in order to gain ridge crest, after which a delightful stretch of sidewalk-in-the-sky ends with a descent to a large sandy saddle. I continued up from the saddle by passing a prominent gendarme to its left before regaining the blocky ridge crest for the remaining climb to the summit. If from any point along the ridge you find yourself thinking that the summit seems rather far away, rest assured that your eyes are not deceiving you. The SE Ridge does seem to go on forever!

Click here to view.

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Cayoosh Mountain - South Ridge, July 2018



Cayoosh Mountain is a prominent peak directly opposite the highway from the ever-popular Joffre Lakes Provincial Park. It stands relatively isolated and boasts a fantastic 360-degree summit panorama overlooking the southern portion of the Duffey Lake Valley and surrounding area. While it apparently makes for a popular ski touring objective in Winter, its Summertime popularity pales in comparison to the park just to the south.

The standard South Route I followed entailed a fair amount of route finding and travel over hardened scree, dirt, and rotten snow to eventually reach a pair of slanting snow fingers, and arguably the crux of the route. After some shenanigans following the upper finger and rock rib to its right, I finally reached the mostly horizontal South Ridge...think sidewalk-in-the-sky. A small saddle separates the ridge from the blocky slabs that make up the final summit block. Once up on top, I briefly exulted in the view and choked down an energy bar before returning the way I came to relieve Dan from his nap in the basin below. I'd give this one a 3.5 - 4 out of 5 stars, with the deduction for the tedious boulder hopping and overgrown forest road on the approach and return.

Click here to view.
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