Tatoosh Traverse 2005
This trip was the culmination of one year's worth of 'trail and effort' on my part. In 2005, I led a group of Mountaineers to scramble seven peaks of the Tatoosh Range (yes, there are more to the east, for a total of 12 peaks, but that will have to wait until next year!)
 The start of a great day usually begins with a team eager to tackle the day. A short 1.3-mile hike to the Pinnacle-Plummer saddle brings Eric, Phil, Linda, Greg and myself to the first peak on our agenda - Pinnacle Peak. (Though for some reason I di... |
 From Pinnacle, we head to Plummer Peak, which is essentially a steep hike. Linda and Phil follow up a snow gully, which by-passes several switchbacks. |
 At the Plummer summit, Phil, Linda, me, Greg and Eric. Two peak down, three to go! |
 Fortunately, snow travel makes easy work of the descent, allowing us to go straight down the slopes. In the summer, we would stay on the trail, to minimize the impact of our passage. |
 After a steep descent to another saddle, we scramble some loose rock to a rounded peak with grasses and trees on the top. Peak number 3 -- Denman Peak. We made it here in just about three hours from the trailhead -- I felt we were moving quite well a... |
 This will be next, another descent, then a steep climb on a scree-covered path to the base of Lane, where we successfully chose the right gully to the top! See http://www.briankenison.com/picture/1912 for a shot of Lane Peak from Denman. |
 From Lane, we descend yet again and take a break at a picturesque pond at the base of the Wahpenayo massif. Images http://www.briankenison.com/picture/1913 to /picture/1922 show views leading to the top of Lane. |
 The setting gave us several great photo opportunities of Lane Peak, reflected in the shallow water. |
 Continuing on, and looking back, we see, L-R, Lane, Denman, Pinnacle, Plummer, Foss and Unicorn Peaks. |
 The day is getting warm, with no shade since our last break. Another nasty scree-traverse brings us just below a ridgeline leading to the Wahpenayo summit. |
 Another view of the beautiful eastern Tatoosh Range. Days like this, I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be. To think, all this was created for us to enjoy... |
 Linda gets ready to scramble up a short, but very loose and steep section up Wahpenayo. |
 Success on Tatoosh Peak Number Five! Linda proudly stands on top of Wahpenayo. |
 Our Wahpenayo summit photo: Greg, Eric, Linda, Phil and me. |
 Another view of the summit - this view shows that this is indeed. a summit, with steep drop-offs on both side. |
 Goat hair on the shrubbery at the Chutla-Wahpenayo saddle. (For a view of Chutla and the Chutla-Wahpenayo saddle from Wahpenayo, see image http://www.briankenison.com/picture/1938.) |
 We tried a route to the right of the saddle, to no avail. We then went left, traversing high on Chutla, looking for the route. Here Eric is scouting for a route, which he did not find. |
 Continuing the high traverse, we eventually arrive at the main trail leading to the junction of Eagle and Chutla Peaks. |
 We arrive at the junction just in time to see storm clouds, hear thunder and see lightning. I make the executive decision that we have time for only one more peak, which I decide is Eagle Peak (since it's the only one I haven't summited). |