Silver Peak, Abiel Peak & Annette Lake — Sunday, May. 22, 2022

On a beautiful Sunday, I summited both Silver and Abiel Peak. I began at the Annette Lake Trailhead and first climbed Silver via the "Cwm" route, which is the safest path to the peak during the snow season. This was my second attempt on this route in two days. On Friday, I was thwarted by a white-out and the mountain's forecast had been overly optimistic, causing me to turn back as the summit and cornice-lined ridge were not visible. However, Sunday's weather report was more accurate, so I decided to give it another try and was successful.

The route to the 5200 elevation requires navigation, ideally with GPS, in its off-trail section. The gradual and safe ascent leads to a ridge at 5300 lined with cornices. However, there is always a clear gap for climbing. When I arrived, the sun had already softened the slope, and my microspikes and ice axe were sufficient for the brief climb. I reached the platform at 10 AM, approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes after starting.

After taking a short snack break and surveying the area, I swapped my microspikes for crampons and headed south towards SP while keeping as high an elevation as possible. The west side of the ridge was still frozen, so I had to stomp to make holes in the snow. I was fortunate to find a set of footprints, likely made by an unsung trailblazer on Saturday, which had been compressed and partially covered by snow debris. Despite this, the footprints saved me from having to break my own trail for the remaining 0.3 miles. A big thank you to the hiker who opened the tracks!

I reached the summit of Silver Peak at 10:50. My next objective was Abiel Peak, located approximately 1.2 miles to the south. The climb presented a new challenge as the snow had softened and each step required effort as it was nearly knee-deep. The steep ridge scrambling made it necessary to use all four limbs. At one point, I even fell into a tree well and found myself chest-deep. However, the struggle was finally over at 12:20 when I stood on the flat top of Abiel Peak.

On my descent from Abiel, I removed my crampons as they were no longer useful in the soft, deep snow and only caused inconvenience if my feet became stuck. I retraced my steps to the gap between Abiel and Silver and descended in a northwest direction. To navigate, I sought out tree cover and stayed close to the trees as much as possible. In the open snowfield sections, I remained calm and focused, moving at a steady and fast pace. By 2:20 PM, I safely reached the trail near the lake, feeling relieved. I re-attached my microspikes and set off for home.