Chair Pk Basin
 Our destination on this fine Spring day will be Chair Peak, located on the right, beneath the branches. |
 We follow the normal trail from Alpental. Then, when the trail begins a slow curve to the left, we wil head up the talus slope toward the rock wall, seen just under Chair Peak. |
 Nearing the top of the talus slope, we will encounter some ice-covered rocks. Notive the running water on the rocks. |
 We decided to follow the creek bed, thinking it would take us right to the basin -- wrong choice! Because of this, we ended up bush-whacking for an hour, but eventually found our route again. |
 Looking back, we see the valley called the Great Scott Bowl, with The Tooth keeping watch. |
 Nearing the rock wall seen earlier, our trail will approach the wall then skirt along the right. |
 Still bush-whacking through the vegetation, I notice colorful signs of Spring are all around. |
 As we continue gaining altitude, hanging ice are reminders that the temperatures remain below freezing for a good part of the day and night. |
 Finally, our destination for the day -- Chair Peak Basin. |
 In the middle of the basin is a snowfield. Looking back is the Snoqualmie Pass valley with Snoqualmie Mountain on the left. |
 Almost there, we will travers the snowfield toward the notch just behind me. Chair Peak dominates the background view. |
 The sun, though shining through cloudless skies, seems to offer little heat as it begins to move toward the west. |
 This is the West Face of Chair Peak, a 5.6 rock route. The NW Buttress is along the right skyline and just in the sunlight. |
 We take a short break as Chris ponders climbing the NW Buttress -- but not something we'll do today. |
 Behind the trees is the notch leading to the NW Buttress route and the classic North Face winter climb. |
 At the Notch, Chris steps into another world of shade and where the temperature suddenly drops several degrees. |
 Some interesting rock climbing opportunities on the left, and Snoqualmie Mountain in the background. |
 On days like this, beautiful views are all around us and we are in no big hurry to retun home. |
 But the sun drops behind Bryant Peak and signifies that we should be on our way. However, we'll have to come back to climb either the NW Buttress, or in Summer, the West Face. |
 Snoqualmie Mountain and peaks further on, beckon us to return. |