Blanca Lake — Monday, Jul. 21, 2003

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West

Kyes Peak in Monte Cristo area seemed like a long one day climb that would be a good barometer of my fitness level. Also, I wanted to do something closer to home. It was a beautiful day but another hot one, too hot for me! The 4 mile Blanca Lake trail is in perfect condition with no problems all the way to the lake. I started at 8 am and arrived at Blanca at 9:30. The rugged Monte Cristo Peaks and the turquoise glacial water of Blanca were spectacular in the morning light. After crossing the outlet stream I treversed around the west side of the lake; there is a boot path that can be followed here. Afterwards, I ascended to the Columbia Glacier. The south facing glacier is very dirty at its terminus. I walked along the edge of the glacier to avoid crevasses and reached the glacier flats at 5400 feet. From here a break in the cliff line affords a route up to the ridge crest on Kyes Peak. Some steep snow, scree, gravel, and sketchy rock/snow crossings brought me up to the ridge at about 6600. From here I ascended up the small glacier on Kyes' east flank and scrambled up to the summit. I reached the summit at 12:30 and then began my descent choosing the south ridge route as opposed to the Columbia Glacier. The final rock scramble to the 7227 ft summit seemed more intense than imagined, but that's the way a lota stuff goes. The views were well worth the effort. The south ridge seemed straight forward. There is a climbers path that can be picked up through most of the ridge. Point 5845 can be avoided by traversing on the west side to avoid needless elevation gain. Filthy Virgin lake was acutally a pleasant site to see on the way down! The final 3 miles of trail to the car were painful on the legs; I was already exhausted. The sun and arduous climb had gotten to me. I arrived at the car at 5 pm exhausted (9 hour total trip). A good one day trip in a beautiful area of the casades.