Before long the chute opened up to wide open slopes. Work your way up this talus slope following faint trails when possible. The Hidden starts off steep and remains so, all the way to the exit. FEATURING NEW Granite KITCHEN COUNT Washington Trails Association is 501(c)(3) nonprofit. | Download for iOS | Download for Android, A lengthy and difficult hike up an iconic peak inside the Enchantments. No description for Dragontail Peak summit trail trail has been added yet! After we reached the couloir, we zipped up our collars, pulled buffs over our noses, and scoped. Although this route is one of the easier routes for any high Bulger, it isn't a cakewalk and good fitness is required to make it happen. Alternatively, ~30 feet below Pandora's Box, exit left and scramble up Class 4 rock about 20 feet, then follow the ridge line left. On the approach, before the first pitch, a six-foot boulder barred her way. Some of us had to work this weekend, so thanks for the vicarious dose of alpine life. It was still fun climbing and goes in probably almost any condition. But yesterday was an exception, and I was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise and some great snow on humpback mountain. Dragontail Peak; Dragontail Peak Triple Couloirs; Dragontail Peak; Aasgard Pass Hike; Goose Egg Mountain. 10-20 feet of Class 2+ scrambling gets you to the top. Once at the notch, continue across a short ways and turn right. At Colchuck Lake, an easy going 1.1 miles travels the east and south shores. Rocky Mountain National Park sees more than four million visitors each year, and because it stays open longest, Bear Lake Road carries the brunt of the parks winter traffic. The summit ridge extends about 1/2 mile and includes several summit towers. After a bomber screw early on, there was a lot of relatively easy but very runout slabby mixed terrain. Ft. 3904 Shawnee Ridge St, Las Vegas, NV 89129. It was strange to see others with the same intent on the same day, conincidentally. If snow free, there is a climbers trail in the scree on the left side of the slope--look for cairns. This post may contain affiliate links. Its northwest face is almost a mile wide and 3000 feet high. Bing Maps has a collection of great trails with directions to trail heads as well as photos. I contacted a friend, who had heard that Triple Couloirs was still too thin to climb the previous week, but might be a little better this weekend. .GPX File. Hiking Dragontail Peak. There are two trailheads used to climb Dragontail. When the snow turned surfy, I opened the throttle a bitbefore banking a hard left into a safe zone. The trail initially follows the small creek which bisects the huge talus slope on the lower half of the ascent. This section of the trail has some exposed sections so use caution if wet. Dragontail Peak is seven miles east of the PCT. Stuart trail, but at around 2.5 miles go left towards Colchuck Lake (there will be a sign at the split in the trail). Thanks! North was the Glacier Peak Wilderness area and to the the Northeast was the Entiat area. The Both approaches are reached via the Icicle Creek road south of Leavenworth. This route is long and committing! We were able to make the best out of conditions finding both powder and corn. Rock on this peak is unusually sound and its expansive NW face is one of the finest walls in the Cascades. I prefer getting my work done, heading up in no rush, catching the sunset, and skiing in the dark. We crossed to a rock island and followed fourth class ledges up to a higher snow finger. Follow the well used boot path around the west side of Colchuck Lake and then continue through the bushes around its south shore. Required fields are marked *. I stuck more to the face, trusting my picks in super thin ice. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The easiest routes are scrambles from the south and / or the Colchuck Col at the top of the Colchuck Glacier to the east. Upon reaching the north side of Colchuck Lake, you will see the awe inspiring north face of Dragontail Peak directly across the lake. View Dragontail Peak Image Gallery - 363 Images. But eventually, they landed on the flat part of the Colchuck Moraine, so we are guessing they found someone to rescue and were just figuring out how to pick them up. Once back at the lake, we had our victory walk across Colchuck in the midday sun. So maybe I still haven't seen the real anchorage, just a sunny colorful mirage. Rock on this peak is unusually sound and its expansive NW face is one of the finest walls in the Cascades. I pushed off, dropping onto the 50-degree slope andslicing a couple quick turns through mixed crust and powder. Stuart. Copyright 2022 CascadeClimbers.com Contributions to WTA are tax deductible, and we are committed to making the best use of every donation to our mission. Thanks. It would be some of the best May conditions that we could think of as the snow was bottomless. I chimneyed with my feet on the rock and back and butt against the snow, scooting up the moat. We passed when we needed to, and everyone was cordial and having a great time. Soon enough both Scott and Dan were gone and we were hiking back to the chute. Shuksan (15 ascents via 3 routes) Slesse Mountain (Northeast Buttress) Eldorado Peak (NW Face Couloir, Northeast Face and East Ridge) Forbidden Peak (West Ridge, East Ridge, North Ridge, NW Face) Dragontail Peak (Triple Couloirs, Backbone Ridge, Serpentine Arete) Mailbox Peak. Fliegenfischen von Zpoicaegn aus dem Bereich Angeln gnstig bei JoggenOnline bestellen: Groe Auswahl Top Marken Beste Preise Winds decreasing (gales from the W on Thu night, light winds from the SE by Sun afternoon). The Serpentine Arte is a massive rock ridge that slithers (sorry) out of the Colchuck Glacier, weaving 2000 feet upward to the summit of Dragontail Peak. At the summit, we gained the familiar view of the Enchantments, Stuart Range, and greater Alpine Lakes Wilderness area. Yellow = Dragontail Peak, Triple Couloirs (III+ WI3 M3), Red = Dragontail Peak, Gerber-Sink (IV WI3+ M4), Green = Colchuck Peak, North Buttress Couoir (II). Couloirs. Located in one of the most popular areas in the state, solitude is hard to come by but the area is so beautiful it just has to be climbed. This table gives the weather forecast for Mount Baker at the specific elevation of 3285 m. As he approached Aasgard Pass, I ran down the slopes to catch up to him. A "wrinkle in the granite," Jeff called it. The choice depends on the climbing route desired. We had been told by the reporting party that the climbers were on the Serpentine Arete on Dragontail peak and that one was a competent 5.9 climber; the other climbed at 5.7. Traverse just below the summit ridge to its south side until you arrive at the highest point and scramble to the top. All around us, there was a maze of granite gendarmes and towers. This is a list of titles that represent the variations of trips searching for extra of your magnificent post. Even at the top, I struggled to find any belay anchor given the rotten snow and thin ice. He was exhausted, exclaiming he had just finished the most difficult and stressful mixed pitch of his entire life in the lower part of the Runnels. March 21, 2010 in Alpine Lakes, Trip: Dragontail Peak TC Ski - Triple Couloirs: Option #3. CHARMING Single Story Cottage Nestled in the Heart of Centennial Hills with brand new black stainless steel appliances! Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "ad55053c3c9eef4078fd4cce80ff31d1" );document.getElementById("e87bcfad71").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Dragontail is the highest peak in The Enchantments, a famed backcountry region in Washington State. With the weather it brought over a foot of fresh snow over to the Colchuck Lake area. Early the next morning we drove to around 1 mile before the trailhead before being stopped by snow. Really, there are only like 4 pitches (pitches 3-6) that most would need to pitch out. It is 4.5 miles one way to the lake with 2,000 feet of elevation gain. Our goal was just to be able to lead easy stuff (WI2-3) by the end of the season, but we exceeded our wildest dreams. It actually had a very nice, thick WI2 step of ice, which we soloed easily. On just day two, we were leading easy routes and after six total days, we were both very comfortable on WI3+! Close Earlier in the week I had been in this zone heading up Mount Aix. I'm too wussy to drop in blind, especially on a route like TC's. Standard alpine equipment including crampons. This notch is at 8,500 feet making the snow climb roughly 700 feet. Dragontail Peak is the second highest peak in the Stuart Range, exceeded only by 9,415 foot, . I guess it is almost summer. The exact pitch count is not essential as the upper 2/3rds of the route are low 5th class (with some mid-5th steps) and belays can be had at any time. It was supposed to be mostly 4th class ledges, but he went too far right and got into some legitimate mid 5th terrain. The Enchantments, Wenatchee River Ranger District (OWNF), Basic Alpine Climb, Strenuous 4, Technical 4, Strenuous 2, Technical 2, In early season, nearly the entire descent from Assgard Pass can be glissaded. For scramblers, a climb of Dragontail is a great addition to a backpacking trip to the Enchantment Lakes. Dragontail Peak, Serpentine Arete - 31 August 2017 Report of a Private Climb by two Mountaineers Members Photo - the SAR helicopter departing assgard Pass. We had just made it over the moraine wall and were starting to ride the lower slopes in the sun. Jacob led the first pitch. Gain: 7000' ish (cliffs really throw off the gps) Elapsed Time: 13:38. It was great watching you guys drop in (and then see you each in one piece coming out of the hidden couloir). Powered by Invision Community, [TR] Dragontail Peak TC Ski - Triple Couloirs: Option #3 3/21/2010, WELCOME TO THE CASCADECLIMBERS.COM FORUMS. Generally I'm not a fan of the dawn patrol. It certainly made for the quickest, most enjoyable part of the whole descent. Mileage: 21.4. Serpentine Arete rises out of Colchuck Glacier between the peaks. In addition to the stated desireable climbing season of July-October, Dragontail is also one of the more reasonable large backcountry peaks to be climbed in the early season. I managed to catch him right before he went the wrong (skiers left) way down Aasgard. This was definitely Jacobs pitch. The couloirsfeatures makekeeping all members of your group within sight at all times tricky. If you don't follow @brigettetakeuchi and her twin @kelsey.rt, you should consider it! We just got off route on the first pitch. Washington Scrambles Challenge. Continue reading, 93 Riding down we would work with the light kicking up snow in the sun. Aconcagua mountain page is a child of the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits.' Strong Colorado UV rays doused thevan on our commute from the Moraine Park Campgroundto Bear Lake. Beautiful 2000 square foot, 4-bedroom single-story home with a 3-car garage, granite kitchen counters, and tile throughout the wet areas. "This route follows a prominent ridge for about 2000 feet on the NW face of Dragontail Peak to just below the summit block. From Aasgard Pass (7,800 ft), ascend southwest up the slope to the saddle at 8,500 ft. From the saddle, ascend northwest about 300 feet to the summit. There is an easy walkup route on the south side of the peak. To the southwest you could see Mount Stuart and Sherpa Peak. This includes side trips, extensions -Stuart from the summit. % fr Mnner Top-Marken im Sale - Jetzt online kaufen! Challenges featuring Dragontail Peak. Thank you! and Ski Mountaineering Guides, as well as IFMGA Licensed Guides. On a nice spring day, several groups could ski the couloir, and some of them may climb straight up the route rather than skin or hike around. Instead of riding Mount Stuart we would go for some north facing slopes. 600 Sherbourne Leavenworth, WA 98826 (509)-548-6977. 2023 Climber Kyle. We packed our gear and were on the trail by 7:00 AM. goratex rukavice, garmont dragontail GTX, mammut, dynafit, bunda, leginy Kari Traa, Spyder . The snow had set up a few days and settled mostly, so we felt safe after a few turns. To the West we could see Colchuck Peak and the area from Snoqualmie Pass to Mount Hinman. Ski Sickness, chronologically. Box 329 Leavenworth, WA 98826 phone: 509-548-5823 fax: 320-388 . Descend the climbing route to Colchuck Col and then descend Colchuck Col to Colchuck Lake. Review, Green Trails Alpine Lakes East (Stuart Range) No. Seasonality. We were the first to make it this far recently, possibly even in the entire calendar year! Overview. You dropped in blind on Colchuck and that's got some commitment to it :-). Thank you! Your email address will not be published. Page edited to reflect that. If snow free, there is a climber's trail in the scree on . However, any time the Mountaineers Creek road is open, this route . Continue 3.8 miles to the trailhead (3,400 ft). All Rights Reserved. Below us was going to be an adventure as the trail was hard to find. The buttress rises steeply from between the start of the Triple Couloirs and the Northeast Couloir and flattens out as it meets the summit ridge at a prominent notch near 8500 feet. Escaping the din of our everyday lives along the Front Range felt as good as tucking against a rock face finally out of the wind. From the Mountaineer Creek trailhead at the end of the Eightmile Road, begin hiking up the trail towards Stuart and Colchuck Lakes. I'm stoked to be back in Alaska! Both the South Couloir of Dragontail Peak and the Colchuck glacier area were in great conditions. However the official USDA.gov page states that permit season ends in Oct 31. https://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/cs/recarea?ss=110308&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&navid=110240000000000&pnavid=null&position=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&recid=58717&ttype=recarea&pname=Colchuck%20Lake%20Trail%20 We got back to the car in the evening, logging a total time of about 13:45, pretty solid considering we were moving casually, dealt with the rescue, had to route find a lot, and I even went swimming! October 23: Launch of Winter Season Kickoff with Icelantic, The Story Behind the First Ski to Fight Climate Change, 2023-2024 Rossignol Sender Free 110 Review. ( Stuart Range ) no includes side trips, extensions -Stuart from the and. A maze of granite gendarmes and towers hike up an iconic Peak inside the Enchantments aconcagua page... Hills with brand new black stainless steel appliances after a bomber screw early on, there was lot! 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