Kelly Butte — Saturday, Feb. 22, 2003

Mount Rainier Area > Chinook Pass - Hwy 410

It was the best possible year for a winter ascent of Kelly Butte. (Green Trails Lester and Greenwater). We drove up the Whistler Creek road to the 3 mile post. We soon put on snowshoes and walked a little over a mile to the Twin Camps junction turning left for a long road walk to approximately the summer trailhead. Since I had not done this peak before (too short for a summer trip) I had no idea where the trail actually began. However, it really didn't matter. From the road end we just headed up the steep south side winding between rocky outcrops until reaching the more gradual slopes to the lookout. The summit area was a wonderland of snow covered trees and wind sculpured snow patterns. It was a fabulous day except for the 40 or so mph wind blowing the spindrift horizontally into our faces and scouring off a layer or two of skin. Total gain with ups and downs was 3000', about 10-11 miles and 8 hours round trip. Almost every bit if the snow had fallen within the last day or two.