Decided to try Blowdown Mountain for the first time today as avalanche danger is still pretty high and a lot of roads are still closed - definitely hard to avoid crowds. Snow starts at about 2.5 miles in on the the new Teneriffe trail, and no real need for snowshoes since the track is beaten down. The connector trail towards Blowdown/Mount Si was easy to find and there was a fresh path that was easy to follow. The rest of the way to the summit of Blowdown was typical scenery for this area - nothing special, but a nice different angle of Mount Si, typical Rainier views and views east to Teneriffe and beyond.
Walked around the summit for awhile trying to find a way down towards either Crater Lake Peak or Dixie Peak. There was a path on the ride side of the summit heading down, but the woods were dense, the snow was deep and didn't feel like fumbling around with the snowshoes. Enjoyed a snack below the summit in the sun facing south and headed back down as a group of 6 was coming up. The leader confirmed there is a route to the other peaks that is "sketchy" but doable, and apparently there is a summit register at the top of Blowdown which I couldn't find.
Coming down the Teneriffe trail there were plenty of people heading up to Teneriffe. Lot was about half full upon return. 2 hours 45 up 1 hour 45 down, 12 miles round trip.
Comments
Mark Garrett on Blowdown Mountain Road
I went up to Blowdown 2 years ago, but looking at my TR from 5/12/16, there was only a little snow. The way to get to Crater Lake Mtn is to go SW on an old road, just a bit until it starts heading down. Then jump into the foreboding woods and go NW. It thins out and quickly becomes a sharp ridge to follow. It might be a slog in deep snow for the first bit.
I was up there last Wed trying to find a route to the North peak of Mount Si. It's not straightforward, but should be possible.
Posted by:
Mark Garrett on Mar 12, 2018 09:04 PM
Thanks for the comment....
I actually read your trip report before I went up there and it inspired me to poke around and try to get to those other peaks. Thanks for the beta and I'll definitely be back to follow that road and bushwhack through there. Cheers!
Posted by:
BryHong8 on Mar 12, 2018 10:04 PM
Mark Garrett on Blowdown Mountain Road
Cool! It's so nice to know your trip reports are useful to someone. I still need to get Dixie and the Mt Si north peak. I'm curious about that one because all the topo maps show the elevation of Mt Si on that north peak, rather than the haystack, though I've seen descriptions that claim the south Haystack is actually higher. It must have been a mistake of the original USGS survey 100 years ago, to mark the North peak. Cheers!
Posted by:
Mark Garrett on Mar 13, 2018 11:36 AM
BryHong8 on Blowdown Mountain Road
Interesting how much there is to learn in our own backyard. I'm not even familiar with Mount Si North Peak . It must be the rocky outcropping at the top that is to the right as you scramble up the Haystack and normally veer left? It doesn't seem like there is anything very high between the Haystack and Blowdown - That's great you're able to get up there on a Wednesday to explore :-). Good time to be up there!
Posted by:
BryHong8 on Mar 14, 2018 10:54 AM