Dragontail Peak
The short version: I woke at 4am on Saturday and hiked 15 miles up 6000' and took in expansive views.
On Friday afternoon, four of us departed from Redmond and drove east to Leavenworth. We arrived to watch the ranger station close, so on to grab dinner and then to find somewhere to camp. The third campground we visited had one space left, so we moved in. Tents were setup and we skipped rain flys. The sunset around 9pm and the Dulcimers began. By 10, we were asleep. Just before 4am, I stirred and then the beep of the alarm declared time to begin.
By 5:30am, we stood at the trailhead. On the drive there, bets were made as to the number of cars we would find. I guessed highest at 6, which was several orders of magnitude too low when faced with a count of 31! The sun had graced just enough of the sky that we skipped the head lamps and ventured forth into the woods. I took lead and set a pace close to 3mph. In gaps of the trees, we could see the sun clipping the peaks above.
After two hours of hiking and a final push up some steeper trail, we reached Colchuck Lake and could survey our remaining route on the far side. We would circle the lake to its right, then up the pass to the left, before approaching the central peak from its backside.
Aasgard Pass has a dreadful reputation, most of it deserved. Climbing the pass took ~90 minutes which gained 2200' of elevation over the 0.75 miles of distance. Little rockfall was observed, but it is just one of the many dangers with this route.
Finally gaining the pass, we were excited to finally see the legendary Enchantments. But to this part, there is desolation. Rock and snow, and a strong breeze that made scrambling difficult. We ducked behind some larger rocks and took food.
From our lunch, we surveyed the next leg of the climb. A snow / rock scramble up another 1000'. Katie and I chose rock. Mike and Ryan the snow. Rockfall was more common, though nothing alarming.
At the summit, the Cascades stretched unbroken from Rainier to Baker. Every major peak was visible. Yet the summit was but a tiny spire of stone, with a drop on the north of ~3000'. So we sat, finding what space we may to relax.
The goal achieved, we discussed the second peak, Colchuck. While less than a mile by the hummingbird (which I saw while on the snow), the route would still take a couple more hours. This would be acceptable, if we could descend its glacier rather than crossing back to the pass. Too late in the season, many gaping crevasses marred that route. Instead we elected for a respite in the sun.
Instead we descended. 3pm left the summit. We attempted glissades of the sun softened snow. Katie and I felt uncomfortable with the speed and flipped into arrest. After considerable time, we finally stepped back out of the trees into the parking lot. Headlamps now on, counting the climb elapsed from dawn to dusk.
In a final look back, we could see Aasgard Pass to the left, Dragontail Peak prominently in center, and Colchuck glacier flanking its right.
Full photo collection
On Friday afternoon, four of us departed from Redmond and drove east to Leavenworth. We arrived to watch the ranger station close, so on to grab dinner and then to find somewhere to camp. The third campground we visited had one space left, so we moved in. Tents were setup and we skipped rain flys. The sunset around 9pm and the Dulcimers began. By 10, we were asleep. Just before 4am, I stirred and then the beep of the alarm declared time to begin.
By 5:30am, we stood at the trailhead. On the drive there, bets were made as to the number of cars we would find. I guessed highest at 6, which was several orders of magnitude too low when faced with a count of 31! The sun had graced just enough of the sky that we skipped the head lamps and ventured forth into the woods. I took lead and set a pace close to 3mph. In gaps of the trees, we could see the sun clipping the peaks above.
After two hours of hiking and a final push up some steeper trail, we reached Colchuck Lake and could survey our remaining route on the far side. We would circle the lake to its right, then up the pass to the left, before approaching the central peak from its backside.
Aasgard Pass has a dreadful reputation, most of it deserved. Climbing the pass took ~90 minutes which gained 2200' of elevation over the 0.75 miles of distance. Little rockfall was observed, but it is just one of the many dangers with this route.
Finally gaining the pass, we were excited to finally see the legendary Enchantments. But to this part, there is desolation. Rock and snow, and a strong breeze that made scrambling difficult. We ducked behind some larger rocks and took food.
From our lunch, we surveyed the next leg of the climb. A snow / rock scramble up another 1000'. Katie and I chose rock. Mike and Ryan the snow. Rockfall was more common, though nothing alarming.
At the summit, the Cascades stretched unbroken from Rainier to Baker. Every major peak was visible. Yet the summit was but a tiny spire of stone, with a drop on the north of ~3000'. So we sat, finding what space we may to relax.
The goal achieved, we discussed the second peak, Colchuck. While less than a mile by the hummingbird (which I saw while on the snow), the route would still take a couple more hours. This would be acceptable, if we could descend its glacier rather than crossing back to the pass. Too late in the season, many gaping crevasses marred that route. Instead we elected for a respite in the sun.
Instead we descended. 3pm left the summit. We attempted glissades of the sun softened snow. Katie and I felt uncomfortable with the speed and flipped into arrest. After considerable time, we finally stepped back out of the trees into the parking lot. Headlamps now on, counting the climb elapsed from dawn to dusk.
In a final look back, we could see Aasgard Pass to the left, Dragontail Peak prominently in center, and Colchuck glacier flanking its right.
Full photo collection