3/1/2026 Eric and I teamed up for a fun ascent of Oakes Peak, a summit that makes you work for the awesome views of the North Cascades from its summit. Bacon Creek Road (FS 1060) had some potholes as usual, but we were able to drive to nearly the starting point without any problems before our progress was blocked by flood debris that had spilled over the concrete pad that crosses Oakes Creek. I think this jumble of rocks and logs came down during the atmospheric river events

1/27/2026 Mineral Butte is a great winter climb that seems to be getting much more attention now that the Index-Galena Road has been repaired. The climb starts shortly after crossing the North Fork Skykomish River on Salmon Creek Road. The road is gated shortly after the crossing. There is an old, switchbacking logging road on the lower part of the mountain that is quickly being reclaimed by nature. This road can be used to make a gentle ascent up to about 3800’, but with the

1/14/2026 I took advantage of the persistent high-pressure system we’ve been having in Western Washington to stretch the legs and tag Frailey Mountain. This was a road walk the entire way, except for a short climb up to the old lookout site. There were spots with great views of Whitehorse, Three Fingers, and the North Fork Stillaguamish river valley, and only scant amounts of snow. 11 miles in total with nearly 2000 feet of gain coming up from Deer Creek Road at Lake Cavanaug

12/31/2025 I took advantage of a spectacular winter weather day to climb West Granite Mountain aka Tusk O’Granite, starting from the standard Pratt Lake/Granite Mountain Trailhead on a frosty morning at about 8 am. The whole parking lot was a sheet of ice (thankfully the road in from I-90 wasn’t too bad) so I wore microspikes from the car. Typical forest climbing I hiked up the very familiar trail, continuing past the Granite Mountain trail intersection for about 0.5 miles to

3/6/2025 I had been slowly knocking off summits in the Sultan Basin area, and it was time for Blue Mountain and its 1095 feet of prominence. I brought my trusty old bike, because I knew I could make quick work of the downhill on the road. The entirety of the ascent can be made via a logging road, which takes off shortly before Olney Pass. It was clear from the start that this section was way too steep for me to bike uphill, so I committed to pushing my bike, and did so for mo

2/26/2025 5 miles round trip road walking with some nice views of Pilchuck as well as Baring and Index. This one is accessed via Woods Creek Road north of Monroe and took me an hour and 16 minutes car to car. Sunrise behind Gunn, Baring, and Index Pilchuck Distant Mountain Loop peaks Typical road walking

2/9/2025 In honor of the Eagles playing in the Super Bowl, a morning ascent of Philadelphia Mountain seemed appropriate.   A recent spurt of cold weather had brought a bit of snow to the lowlands, so I wasn’t surprised to see the road to the Lake Serene Trailhead completely covered in a few inches of snow. I was there early in the morning and the road was icy, so I just opted to park in a wide pullout near the highway and save myself the headache of snow driving.  Microspikes

1/26/2025 Persis seems like it should be a popular winter climb. Proximity to the Seattle area, a safe winter route, and incredible views of Index and other peaks all make it a very appealing destination. The only problem? There is a locked gate on highway 2 that adds 5.5 miles one way of forest road to reach the trailhead.   Chasing cars up the icy road Our group consisted of Mike, Eric, and myself. Eric kindly offered me usage of one of his e-bikes, while Mike, an accomplis

1/19/2025 Enjoyed a pleasant snow hike out to Hurricane Hill with my dad and Katie. The drive up to Hurricane Ridge was easy, the weather was perfect, and the snow was perfectly compact for easy walking.   Olympics in the morning light Heading up on open slopes The summit ahead Good to be above the marine layer Heading down Final Stats: 6 miles / 1,021 feet of gain

1/17/2025 In search of a pre-work hike to a new place, I searched around the Sultan Basin for something that might have decent views. Baby Blue seemed to fit the bill.   Snowy road walking The ascent is made entirely on logging roads (there was no active logging this morning), but you actually get some nice views from the road out to the Skykomish River Valley and Puget Sound, as well as peek-a-boo views toward Vesper Peak.   Fog in Sultan Basin Trees that survived the clear

1/12/2025 Arrowhead is a great winter climb – steep, but avalanche-safe, with a fun and scenic route and great views. Eric and I set off from the unceremonious pullout on Highway 2 just east of a WSDOT maintenance yard. To start we walked back west on the shoulder of the highway and left the road shortly after crossing over Nason Creek. Parking on the side of Highway 2 I was wondering whether snowshoes would be necessary for the lower parts of the mountain, so I took an optim

1/7/2025 The Mailbox Peak Old Trail is infamous for a reason; it is steep and makes for a great training hike. I usually try to get up to the mailbox for a sunrise each winter and was treated to a great one this morning. Sun starting to rise Beautiful colors Microspikes were helpful near the summit Checking the mail Heading down There was some compact snow and ice that necessitated microspikes, but was otherwise smooth sailing.  Final Stats: 5.3 miles / 3910 feet of gain.

1/5/2025 This was a solid choice for a cloudy day with bad avalanche conditions. Despite being a forested hump on the south end of Lake Whatcom, Anderson Mountain boasts over 3000 feet of prominence. In fact, it’s Washington state’s 51st most prominent peak. Because of this, it does receive a bit of attention from peakbaggers.  Most ascents are made from highway 9 on the east side, but I chose to ascend from the north on a trail that is sometimes used by mountain bikers. I pa

3/17/2024 The 2023-2024 winter had been a relatively unexciting one for me in the mountains. A slow developing snowpack and other commitments had kept me on the sidelines, so I was excited to finally get out with Eric. The weather was more reminiscent of late spring than late winter, with temps soaring to the mid-70s in the western Washington lowlands. Because of this, we had major concerns for avalanche danger, as well just plain bad travel conditions, so we opted to play it

4/15/2023 Marissa was in town – so we had to get out on a fun adventure. Unfortunately, the weather for the weekend was not cooperating. Our original plans for a longer ski tour didn’t seem like they were in the cards, so we opted for a more conservative plan that we thought we could fit into our narrow weather window. Herman Saddle is a classic ski tour, and it provides access to a lot of terrain in a beautiful area in the Baker Backcountry. The views of Shuksan and Baker a

2/11/2023 Katie and I found ourselves in the land of sunshine, lava rocks, and volcanoes – aka Bend Oregon for the weekend. We had a perfect, cloudless day so ski touring to the top of Mount Bachelor with our friend Patrick was on the menu for the day. After a great “alpine” start that included 10 am brunch in town (shoutout to Sparrow Bakery!) we made the short drive up to the Mount Bachelor parking lot. Among the many great things about Bend is the quick access to outdoor

Somehow, I had never been to the Crystal Backcountry, and with the new year that had to change. The goal for these two trips was to check out Bullion Basin and the supposed wealth of backcountry skiing options that radiate out from the basin. 1/1/2023 Katie and I got a late start, so only had time for a quick tour. We started up from the C lot at Crystal and began touring up the Blue Bell Loop, a nice, groomed trail, which took us up to the start of the Bullion Basin Trail sy

12/3/2022 The Cascades had just received their first big snowfall of the year, and it was time to go play in the snow. Katie and I chose to go down to Paradise because of its open skiable terrain and beautiful scenery. It has also become something of an early season tradition to head down that way to knock the rust off before winter begins in earnest. The road from Longmire to Paradise wasn’t set to open until after 10 am, so we had a leisurely morning and were in no rush to

2/13/2022 Katie, Marissa, and I made the long drive down from Seattle on Saturday evening with nervous anticipation for what was bound to be a fun but challenging adventure the following day. I always seem to forget how far south you need to drive to get to the St. Helen’s climbing routes. We eventually pulled into the Marble Mountain Sno-Park at around 10 pm. The road was perfectly dry and clear all the way to the lot (FYI you need a Sno-Parks Permit to park here in the win

1/29/2022 Humpback Mountain is a solid winter destination close to Snoqualmie Pass. There are two viable approaches in the winter, either the northeast or northwest ridge. My dad and I opted to ascend the northeast ridge because it was closer to the “trailhead.” To get to this “trailhead”, merely take exit 47 on I-90 and park on the shoulder of NF-9034 on the north side of the freeway. To get started, we crossed back over the freeway on the exit 47 overpass and then proceeded