Mt. Benzarino (7720') — Wednesday, Jul. 12, 2006

Lage Wernstedt worked for the USFS in Oregon before going north to Washington. He climbed dozens of first ascents of major peaks in Washington while working as an Assistant Topographical Engineer for the USFS. He named Benzarino and its nearest neighbor, Corteo, but the origins of those names have eluded Cascade historians for years. Recently John Scurlock was researching information on Wernstedt in the archives at WWU. He reviewed an article written in the Bellingham Herald on Jan. 27, 1932 by June Burn (author of Living High). She had interviewed Wernstedt at his office in Bellingham where he revealed the names Benzarino and Corteo were the names of Basque sheepherders he encountered while working in the mountains. John Scurlock deserves our thanks for unearthing the answer to the mystery regarding the naming of these peaks. We parked our car at the trailhead for Rainy Pass. The cool morning air allowed us to hike quickly to Maple Pass three miles away. My partner, Don Beavon, and I saw our first view of Mt. Benzarino 2 1/2 miles away across the Maple Creek valley. We pulled out the map for the McGregor quad to determine our route. We opted for a high traverse toward Benzarino by skirting the flanks of Corteo Peak at ~6200'. The route was all alpine with small patches of sub-alpine forest and we drank in the views of the mile-wide Sandalee Glacier on McGregor Mtn. Benzarino is divided into two main summits with the SW peak being the tallest. We hiked to the lowest point on the connecting ridge between those peaks. When I reached the col at 7440' I shouted an expletive that translates ""We're in trouble!"" A north facing glacier has over eons of time excavated the granite rock to a 55-60 degree slope. There was only one possible line to explore. My partner waited at the col for the shouted results of my recon. Travelling with pack I ascended the narrow rocky ridge some 50 vertical feet and then began the slow traverse on the NW slope toward the summit. This involved sustained exposure on solid, but unprotectable rock for 300 feet of traversing. We connected with a gully and climbed the highpoint furthest SW per guidance from the Cascade Alpine Guide. It was an unpleasant surprise to find this point was a false summit with the true summit ten feet higher and an easy ten minute climb away. The route we took is not described in Beckey's CAG and I suspect it has never been done. It is doable as evidenced by its completion but has serious attendant risks. From Rainy Pass I believe it is the most direct route to the summit but our exit route (discussed below) is much safer. We rested a leisurely hour on the summit during which we savored the views as one would eat a sundae with a spoon. Goode, Black, McGregor, and Dome Peak were a treat. We also decided to take the much easier south ridge as our exit route. We descended to 6960' on the ridge and then entered twelve foot wide chimney which dropped to the NE. Then we traversed back toward Maple Pass on the beautiful heather/wildflower slopes. A grouse hen with silver dollar sized chicks shared their spectacular home in North Cascades National Park with us. Distance travelled; 11 miles. Elevation gain; 4,700'. Car-to-car; 11 hrs.