Vesper Peak — Saturday, Apr. 30, 2016

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

Can someone rewrite the hike description for this page? It's obnoxious. We decided to head out and camp Saturday night with the climb being on Sunday, as we had no clue what the road conditions would be, if it was even open at all. We were prepared to hike in from the highway. The road is open, but rutted with a few washouts. No problem for the Jeep we were in, but it could pose problems for cars. That being said, there were at least 2 cars at the trailhead on our return. Getting a car there would require some slick driving or not caring about your oil pan and bumpers. The trail is rough, but not too bad. There are a few blowdowns to navigate. We were happy to not have had to hike in from the highway, so we set up camp a couple hundred yards off-trail about 3/4 mile up from the trailhead. We left our heavier packs behind and started the hike in the am at about 5:15. When you get to the South Fork of the river, we found the easiest way across was to get out to the large tree in the middle, walk that up maybe 40 feet, and then jump a few rocks to the other side. If you have skis or a large pack this might not be the best way. From there the trail is through an avy meadow with lots of step-ups, a few switchbacks, and a washout crossing. Past the meadow it's back into the woods for a bit before emerging into the Wirtz Basin. The summer trail skirts the right edge of the basin, but we were on snow for most of it and followed tracks nearly straight up the middle. There are creeks running under the snow, so be careful here, as we punched through small snow bridges a few times. Aim for the col at the head of the basin while keeping an eye up and to the right for Headlee Pass. You won't be able to see it until you're standing directly below it. The couloir going up to the pass is snow-filled and here's where your crampons and ice axe are needed. If you plan on glissading this on the way down like we did, scout for rocks or other hazards. There is a 6 foot deep moat near the top of the couloir. Skirt the left rock wall to avoid it. We couldn't find the sign for Headlee Pass at the top, but could definitely tell we were in the right spot from our topo map. Traverse the snow-covered scree field to the headwaters of Vesper Creek. We had no problems here on the way up, but when the snow was soft on the way down we punched through a few times down to the rocks. It's very possible to turn an ankle here if you don't have sturdy boots. From here go straight up Vesper - it's pretty easy to see where to go. Just stay on top of the ridge and you'll be at the summit in no time. Be careful at the top - my friend walked up to the edge of a sheer cliff and didn't realize it until he was on top of it. We were able to glissade down a significant portion of the descent, but brought down a lot of snow with us. The glissade down the couloir from Headlee Pass to Wirtz Basin was insanely fast, and honestly pretty reckless, but we were confident we had scouted out hazards well enough. Definitely the fastest I've glissaded before. Padded mountain biking shorts under the ski pants helps. I imagine it won't be long before there's too little snow cover to glissade this. I wish we would have started the hike earlier than 5:15, as the soft snow in Wirtz Basin made the going slow with lots of post-holing and falling through small snow bridges. Bring at least 3 liters of water and a filter to refill. Vesper Creek was still snow-covered, so the river before the avy meadow may be your last chance to top off. Ice axe and rock helmet are essential. We had crampons too. I can't imagine climbing the couloir w/o them, but I suppose it could be done.