9/5/2020 - 9/7/2020 The incredible Berdeen Lake requires a hefty price of admission There are some places in the Cascades that have a near magnetic pull on me. I love looking at maps of the mountains and dreaming of new places to visit and Berdeen Lake was near the top of my list. One look at a satellite image shows a large turquoise lake surrounded by rugged, glaciated peaks like Bacon and Blum. I had to see it with my own eyes! I had concocted a plan for Labor Day Weekend t

8/27/2020 - 8/30/2020 I had spent precious little time in the Pasayten Wilderness, and it was time to change that. The Pasayten is in the northeast corner of the Cascades and is drier and less glaciated than the rest of the North Cascades that are located further west. This doesn’t mean it is less interesting, necessarily, because the area is still home to many of the tallest mountains in Washington that are unique and rugged in their own right. It is filled with big ridgelin

8/8/2020-8/9/2020 Fern, Erik, and I set out to bag two more Bulgers in the beautiful part of the world that is the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Chiwawa and Fortress were on the menu this time. I had already been up Chiwawa once before, but we were interested in linking them with a big loop, hitting Chiwawa first, then carrying our gear up and over Fortress and back down the Buck Creek Valley. We got started from the familiar Trinity trailhead at around 9:30. The weather was overc

8/1/2020 - 8/2/2020 Snowfield Peak is a great glacier climb in the heart of the North Cascades. I was excited for my second ascent of the mountain, this time with Katie. Our journey started at the Pyramid Lake trailhead, which is just a pullout on the side of the North Cascades Highway before Diablo Lake. The trail up to the lake is moderately graded, and I’m always surprised by how dry the forest seems close to the highway. Our packs were heavy with glacier and overnight g

7/30/2020 Sloan Peak is called the Matterhorn of the Cascades. It is obvious why when viewed from a variety of different angles throughout the range. Its sheer cliffs make it hard to believe there is a scramble route, but there is! The corkscrew route is aptly named, winding its way almost entirely around the precipitous summit. All these reasons make Sloan an appealing climb, so I jumped on the opportunity to go when Fern suggested it. This would be worth a "sick" day from w

7/4/2020 - 7/6/2020 Big plans came together for an amazing mountain experience over the Fourth of July weekend. The Inspiration Traverse is a super beautiful, rugged traverse over some of the most glaciated terrain in the lower 48. Our plan was to get out and see some of it in an out and back fashion. We would not be completing the entirety of the traverse but would still get to see some of the most beautiful sights in the state. Our trip started on a not-so-glamorous note w

6/22/2020 - 6/23/2020 One of the most amazing parts of living in Washington state is to be bored one day and have the option to decide to go sleep on top of a glaciated mountain on a whim. This trip to Ruth Mountain was very last minute. Katie had just “learned the ropes” of glacier travel and we wanted to test out some of her new skills on a relatively safe glacier. We settled upon Ruth Mountain but weren’t sure when this trip might happen. I was checking the weather one da

7/27/2019 - 7/28/2019 The Ragged Ridge is an aptly named, rugged subrange of mountains in the North Cascades that rise sharply above the Fisher Creek Valley. Access to them is inconvenient, to say the least. The peaks are either reached by significant amounts of tedious side-hilling on steep and unforgiving terrain or by bashing your way straight up the valley via thick bushwhacking and steep, loose rock. Fern and I set off with the tentative goal of climbing all 4 Bulgers on

7/13/2019 - 7/14/2019 As masters of the alpine start, Fern and I got going from Rainy Pass at the impressive hour of 1:30 pm. The vast majority of our hike in would be gentle miles on the PCT, up and over Cutthroat Pass and into the Snowy Lakes basin, so we felt good about just hiking fast and hopefully getting to Golden Horn that evening. Thank goodness for long, summer days! After being stuck behind some slow horses (I didn’t know they were allowed here) we eventually were

6/30/2019 I make a pilgrimage to the Phelps Creek Trailhead about once a year. The area is home to some of the biggest peaks in Washington, complete with beautiful meadows, lakes, and larches in the fall. This particular trip was an early season venture into Spider Meadows with the hopes of climbing Dumbbell and Greenwood – Washington's 73rd and 74th tallest mountains respectively. These peaks are in an impressive location, with intimate views of Bonanza and the Fernow group

6/9/2019 Silver Star Mountain makes its presence known on Highway 20, rising dramatically above the Washington Pass area. It is a big mountain with many rugged sub-peaks including the Wine Spires, which contain Burgundy Spire, known to be one of the hardest mountains to climb in the state. Thankfully for me and Fern, the true summit of Silver Star is not as hard to reach but still presented a fun challenge. There are two options when climbing Silver Star – a quick and dirty a

6/1/2019 - 6/2/2019 What better place to try out a new splitboard than the summit of a stratovolcano? Baker is one of the most recognizable and striking summits in Washington, towering above its surroundings in the northwestern part of the state – only about 30 miles due east of the city of Bellingham. It is home to many glaciers, and the Mount Baker Ski area holds the world record for snowfall in a year at 1,140 inches! Needless to say, this one had to be climbed. Fern and

8/17/2018 The Pickets hold a special place in the lore of the North Cascades. They are ultra-remote, rugged and wild, and are guarded on all sides by deep, densely wooded valleys. Ever since our trip to Luna Peak a year prior, Fern and I had been hoping to make a return trip to the range. McMillan Spires reflection on a slightly hazy day We concocted a (perhaps foolish) plan to climb West McMillan Spire, the only non-technical summit in the southern Pickets, in a day. Althoug

7/28/2018 I have had a mild obsession with Mount Shuksan for as long as I can remember. It is a Pacific Northwest icon and is a perfect example of the ruggedness of the North Cascades. I love how it towers above the Mount Baker ski area and how its glaciers pour off it. When the opportunity arose to climb it, I jumped at the opportunity. Fern, Erik and I decided on the fun and varied route called the Fisher Chimneys. It is a bit more challenging than the standard Sulphide G

7/14/2018 - 7/16/2018 Fern and I had talked about sleeping on top of a volcano for years, and the opportunity finally presented itself in July of 2018. He had been dealing with a stomach bug for a while and hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days but was finally feeling better and said he was good to go despite the calorie deficit. What a hero climbing partner! The weather forecast was looking HOT (at least in the Puget Sound area) and was going to be clear and sunny in the mounta

7/1/2017 - 7/2/2017 Gothic Basin is a popular place for a reason. It is a high bowl dotted with lakes – the crown jewel of which is Foggy Lake – and surrounded by the rugged peaks of the Mountain Loop. Our goal was to get up there before the crowds of mid-summer to do some camping and peakbagging. Creek crossings were melted out Fern and I got a relaxed start in the early afternoon and before long were hoofing it up the steep hillside toward the basin. The creek crossings, wh