After waiting weeks for a good weather and  avalanche conditions window, we finally had our chance for a winter summit!

The road is completely clear of snow until you reach mile marker 19 (trailhead is at mile 20), but any four wheel drive can make it over.

We got off to a late start, leaving the car about 9am. We were not in too big of a hurry because we had already planned for an overnight. The river crossing wasn't bad and the water seemed to be pretty low. The hardest part was maneuvering through the extra tree branches with large packs on. We were carrying a bit more weight than normal do to the cold temperatures that we were expecting that night.

The climbers' trail was in great condition and was easy to navigate up until the boulder field, where we hit deep snow. Here we put on our snowshoes. It was very slow going through this area due to the deep snow and steep terrain. We were also mindful of avalanches in this area because we could see slide debris from earlier in the week. We tried to stay further to the right as to keep a distance from the rockface. 

Once above the snow covered boulder field, things got a bit easier and we made our way up to the ridge just above Inspiration Glacier. This is where we camped for the night as to avoid any slide danger. Plus the views of Glacier Peak, Johannesberg, Sahale, Boston, Torment, and Forbidden looked amazing! 

The next morning we started around 5am, making our way up the glacier to the summit. The snow was, once again, deep on the glacier which slowed things down a bit. Closer to the top we were worried about the possibility of large cornices around the Knife Ridge. We were surprised to find that was not the case but still took extra caution due to the large build up of snow. Only spent about 10 minutes on the summit due the cold and began to make our way back down. 

Beautiful weekend and a beautiful mountain!

We arrived at the parking lot on Friday evening and got some sleep in the car, and then headed up the trail on Saturday morning. The trail is pretty beat up for the most part, not to the extent of needing to bushwhack but its definitely not as established as anything else I've encountered this season. 

Taking our time up the enormous boulder fields proved wise, as we conserved our energy to use on the glacier and above. We ran into a party of 3 who summited without crampons (highly unadvisable) and were doing a car-to-car day hike. In retrospect this seems crazy - this is not an easy day hike, even if you have a light pack. 

The condition of the glacier heading up to the high camp is deteriorating quickly and was very exposed. We had a scary moment punching through a snow bridge here, but backed away quickly enough and managed to back track and go around. Must be roped through all glacial travel here at this time of year. 

We set up shop at a pretty crowded high camp, finding one last snow covered area on a rocky ridge overlooking the lake below. It was a cold windy night, but we woke up to beautiful clear skies and perfect conditions. 

The route is boot-packed all the way up, bouncing back and forth between glacier and rock, with two distinct snow bridges to cross - the first of these bridges being the most gnarly I've experienced (the crevasse on either side was far too deep to see the bottom of). 

Spending a few moments on the knife edge was amazing, taking in all the surrounding peaks and enjoying perfect conditions. 

All in all - had an incredible summit day and made it back to the car at sunset on Sunday. Best climb of the year!

This is a beautiful hike!!

Trip Summary, with more details below:

Road:  Passable for low-clearance vehicles, the road has a number of large washboards and it will punish your car a bit.

Bugs:  Horse Flies. All over the place.  Otherwise not too bad!

Trail:  Trail is in good condition all the way up to the glacier.  Heavily crevassed at this point, but manageable to find a route through.  For the summit push, see notes below.

Other Notes:  There are multiple water-sources along the route, pack a filter and save yourself some water weight.

The hike begins from an unmarked parking lot, 19.5 miles down the Cascade River Road (be advised, while the first 10 miles is paved, the last 9.5 is not and there are potholes and large washboards on the road). From the parking lot, travel down the road you just drove down for about 200-300 feet to find a hikers trail on the side of the road which uses a large log to cross the creek.  Continue following the log until you reach the trailhead marker for Eldorado Peak Wilderness.

The first part of the hike is a steep climb through the woods… I didn’t have a GPS on me, so I can’t account for the mileage. There are also no trail markers, or identifiable features of any kind to inform you of your progress.  You’ll emerge from the trees into a large boulder field at just over 4,000 feet of elevation.  From here, choose your best route through the boulders (trending up and to the right).  At the edge of this first boulder field you will encounter some brush for a few minutes, only to be deposited into a much larger boulder field.  Repeat the same steps as before, trending up and to the right (the trail appears and re-appears throughout the field, don’t worry about it – your goal is to cross the entire boulder field).

Upon exiting the boulder field, you walk through brush for a few minutes until reaching a small waterfall (1^st water-source), continue past the waterfall and up the hill until you reach a large and open valley. From here the route is simple, you aim for a notch in the ridgeline directly in front of you.  En route to this ridgeline you will encounter a 2^nd water-soruce and another opportunity to re-fill your water.  Upon gaining the ridgeline, trend to the left and look for a narrow gully which descends 100-200 feet into the basin on the far side.

In later months (like now for instance) your goal is to trend far right and stay close to the ridgeline.  The glacier is heavily crevassed and the right side has the least amount of ice/crevasse danger (on your way up to the glacier you encounter your 3^rd water-source).  As you continue up the glacier (staying mostly to the right side), you will come to a large ice wall just below a crest with numerous crevasses (avoid it by traveling either left or right doesn’t matter).  Upon reaching the top of the crest you will be at the edge of a large bowl, High Camp lies directly across the bowl, at the bottom of the ridgeline on the far-right side – even if your goal is the summit, trend towards and through the camp as that is the route.  There is a small (and final) water-source just past the high camp.

Pass through the camp and back onto snow. This time you trend to the left while avoiding large crevasses.  You will see glimpses of the summit, but don’t get too excited yet, you have a ways to go.

Here is where the route gets complicated. My team and I walked across two snow bridges (will likely be gone in the next 2 weeks) and elected to utilize the rocky ridge to make our summit attempt.  This turned out to be a fortuitous decision as there were no real technical bits along the rocks and it was mostly low level class 3 scrambles all the way up to the summit.  From there, we crossed the knife edge from the West side before returning to the rocks for lunch. 

Theoretically, the East Ridge trail takes you in the opposite direction, away from the rocks. On our way back down we decided to come down part of the way on the snow, but not knowing what lied beneath us, we ultimately decided to venture back to the boulders where we knew we could get down safely.  That said, if you head up about ¾ of a mile from the high camp… staying to the left side, you will come to the lip of a large, impassable crevasse.  From here (if staying on the snow is your preference) turn to the right, dip down and under another crevasse, and up around the far side towards the summit on the East side.  If you are comfortable with low-level rock scrambles, the rocky ridge route will take you safely to the summit also.

Descend via the route you came up. Let me know if there are questions, cheers!

Route times listed below for reference:

Trailhead Start:        0750
Enter Talus Fields:    0855
Leave Talus Fields:   1003   (small water-source present)
Waterfall on Trail:    1014   (moderate water-source present)
Creek(s) in Basin:     1028   (moderate water-source present)
Gained Ridgeline:     1056  
Roush Creek:            1119    (moderate, multiple water-source(s) present)
High Camp:              1300    (multiple tent sites, small water-source present)
Final Water-Source:  1347    (on the rocky ridgeline - near the summit)
Obtained Summit:    1412     

Began Descent:         1520
Arrive at TH:             1920

Total Time Up: 6 Hours, 21 Minutes
Time Down: 4 Hours

*****do not follow GPS coordinates above. As it will lead you to Hidden lake lookout trail head. Follow directions written below coordinate to end up in the right stop :) 

Finally did this climb as a 3 day trip with plenty of time to hang out and enjoy (and paint!). So glad, it was amazing!

Getting there: Road was fine and there was plenty of parking on Friday morning and then again Sunday evening. 

Trail: The forested bit is steep but easy to follow. The section through the talus is marked by cairns and is also pretty easy to follow. There are many waterfalls in this section and we stopped for water there. 

Heading down into the Roush Basin wasn't so bad. Heavy packs made the down climb a bit tougher and climbing back up on Sunday with heavy packs was also an extra challenge. There is a moat opening around the base and we took a few minutes to find the best place to cross. Other people went through this section much faster than our group.

Once we were in the basin, we headed up the snow, keeping nearish the cliff. We decided to rope up at around that point where we was signs of glacier/crevasses.

We camped at a rock site above inspiration Glacier. Many of these sites are melted out and very beautiful. The higher rock sites have amazing views. It was so warm we decided to sleep under the stars instead of pitching our tent in the snow.

We began making our way up to the summit at around 5 pm. The summit ridge is pretty wide and mellow compared to pictures I've seen of the knife ridge. We set a running belay anyway because we were climbing with a new climber. There were no issues. 

The summit is melted out enough for a few people to sit on the warm rocks and enjoy. We stayed through sunset and enjoyed the magical light show in all directions. Heading down at around 10pm, the snow was crunchy but fine with crampons. No headlamps needed because of the giant full moon. 

The views were amazing and this is a trip I will remember for a long time!