Mount Washington-Olympic Nat'l Forest (6/03/06)

Taking advantage of some fine weather today, nine Kitsap climbers (including myself), step-kicked our way up "route 1", a steep climb up Mount Washington (6255 ft) in the Olympic National Forest.

We ascended to about the halfway point on the mountain (~5000 ft), and waited for two of our team to catch up. After enjoying the view from this rest point for some time (see pictures below), it became apparent that descending to join our fellow climbers was the best course of action.

On the descent, seven of us fanned out to perform a gridded search for the remaining two climbers. We joined up with them quite some distance back down the mountain, and all returned to the trailhead nearly unscathed.

It so happens that the descent presented the most challenging obstacles and hazards of this climb. We fanned-out into approximately four groups on descent, each group encountering different hazards and covering ground not normally tread.

As fortune would designate, Jerry, Ron, and myself descended a steep snow-covered creek, our boots periodically punching through the creek's thin snow covering while we managed to mostly stay atop the snowy surface and out of the ice-cold water running directly beneath us. We avoided dropping off of the creek's waterfall into a large hole by, well, just deciding not to go there. Instead, under John W's watchfull eye, we spotted a better line of descent with good snow and no creek/waterfall, then traversed/bushwacked over to it.

Taking yet another descent route, Cheryl and Willie negotiated a moat-filled slope. Slipping, then self arresting, Cheryl punched through a thin snow covering into a deep hole and twisted her ankle. Still relatively high on the mountain, Cheryl was able to descend unassisted - very impressive. I'm sure the sage advice she received from other climber's will contribute to her future quick recovery :-).

This was an interesting climb, casualties aside, which I view as reconnaissance for an inevitable return to the mountain - I am anxious to return and ascend Mount Washington's summit.

The pictures below depict a small portion of the approach, the climb, and views from our half-way point turnaround.

Note: Click picture for LARGER view.

Approach To Mt Washington 


Kitsap Climber on Mt Washington 


View Halfway Up Mountain 


View Halfway Up Mountain2 


View Halfway Up Mountain3 

Mount Ellinore-Olympic Nat'l Forest (5/13/06)

Today was a spectacularly beautiful day. To enjoy the undeniably awsesome views achievable ONLY from Mount Ellinore, I teamed up with hikers from the Peninsula Wilderness Club to climb Mt Ellinore (5944 ft) in the Olympic National Forest.

Most of us had summitted Mount Ellinore many times. Today I, as well as others, were climbing as conditioning for future, more rigorous mountaineering events. Even so, Mount Ellinore never dissappoints those lucky enough to summit on a clear, cool day.

As we huddled on the mountain's summit, one of the crew held a short birthday ceremony, complete with chocolate covered, candle laden cupcakes. After lunch, it was a long, fast glissade from the summit down the chute. An hour's worth of climbing took little more than three minutes to descend.

The pictures below start with a view of the summit route. This is followed by views of the chute leading to the summit, views of and from the summit, and a picture of possibly the world's most scenic birthday celebration.

Note: Click picture for LARGER view.

Mt Ellinore (Center Left) 


Climbing "The Chute"  


Hood Canal (Left) & Lake Cushman (Right)


Climbing To The Summit


Summit View of Olympic Mtns 


Olympic Mtns 


Mount Washington 


Hood Canal 


Paul on Summit 


Birthday Party Celebration 

Reflection Lakes 5/6/2006

Attempting to squeeze some adventure out of a not-too-promising weekend weather forecast, today I joined four Peninsula Wilderness Club skiers for a short trek through the snow field above Louise Lake and Reflection Lakes.

I did experience a fine, albeit brief glissade down the snowy bowl.

Afterwards we all enjoyed soaking in a hottub at the Wellspring Spa near Ashford, in the shadow of Mount Rainier . This was followed by a tasty Mexican dinner at a local restaurant, putting a nice touch on a rather pleasant day (and beating the rain by minutes).

The pictures below show the waterfalls near the trailhead and a view of Louise Lake from the snowfield up above.

Note on picture size: Click on picture for LARGER view.

Falls 


Falls 


Louise Lake 


Cross Country Lunch Break 

Mount Angeles - 5/4/2006

The weatherman was right! Today was a beautiful day for climbing rock and snow in the Olympics. RJ and I saw this as our God given duty to climb to the Mount Angeles summit (6454 feet) under such spectacular conditions.

With no one else in sight for most of the day, we climbed up a steep snow field to gain the ridge. Scrambling over large rocks and boulders littering the ridge, we arrived at the foot of a vertical rocky arete and commenced climbing until we reached the summit.

I have few words to add, the pictures below tell the story. This was very possibly the finest day for a scramble in the Olympics ever conceived.

The pictures below show the ridge, the arete, and several scenic views from the summit.

Note on picture size: Click on picture for LARGER view.

Ridge Leading To Mount Angeles 


Rocky Arete - The Climbing Route 


RJ Scrambling Up Rock Arete 


Ridge Window To Olympic View 


View From Summit - Olympic Mountains 


View From Summit - Olympic Mountains2 


Mount Angeles Summit (Paul Shown)