Vesper Peak, Headlee Pass and Vesper Lake — Saturday, Nov. 6, 1999

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

Began at 6:30am... large tree to get over, and an interesting stream crossing, but not difficult. Reached snow in the upper basin below Headlee Pass... it was soft and provided easy travel up the 35 degree gully to the pass. From there, a traverse on a scree slope brought us to an indistinct ridge which we followed up towards Vesper. Soon we were on fresh snowfields, sometimes postholing, but they provided a quick and easy method up to the final summit ridge. Amazing views. 4 hours up, 3 hours down. Saw two other parties as we were coming down. The crappy weather forecast ended up being incorrect... no precip, and a good amount of sunshine.