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 climbing mount washington - north ridge route july 12, 2003 sorry, but this page will load very slowly on dial-up!
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click photo to enlarge Glacier-carved Mount Washington from US 20 click photo to enlarge  The summit appears along the hiking trail click photo to enlarge  The ridge and scree slopes up to the summit click photo to enlarge  Big Lake, Hoodoo and Hayrick Butte from ridge click photo to enlarge  Lee hangs out beside an unusual rock formation click photo to enlarge  The team traverses over to the climbing base click photo to enlarge  A look down on the East Ridge from the base click photo to enlarge  Matt on the summit with the Three Sisters in back click photo to enlarge  The Link Fire explodes during the heat of the day click photo to enlarge  The Three Sisters tower South of the peak click photo to enlarge  Big Lake, Hoodoo and Hayrick Butte from summit click photo to enlarge  Rich and Steve descend from the summit pinnacle click photo to enlarge  The summit pinnacle and the descent route |
The Mountain: Mount Washington is far from the tallest Cascade Range peak. In fact, at 7,796 feet, it is barely in the Top 50 tallest peaks in the state of Oregon. Fortunately, the challenging nature of the climb makes up for the mountain's lack of height. The age of Mount Washington is estimated to be between 100,000 and 200,000 years, which is similar to nearby Black Butte. However, the peak is heavily scarred by glaciers, unlike the symmetrical cinder cone of Black Butte. Though there are no longer any glaciers on the mountain, it is obvious that the climate was significantly colder in this area during the past. (Black Butte sits on the Eastern side of the Cascade crest, so it garners less precipitation and probably never encountered glaciation.) The peak is an inactive basalt volcano that is crumbling around a solid lava plug that protrudes out of the center of the mountain. This plug makes up the steep Summit Pinnacle that provides a technically challenging route to the summit. The rest of the mountain is a relatively uninteresting hike on scree covered ridges and slopes. The Route: Mount Washington has five prominent ridges, but due to its remote location, only the North and West ridges are frequently scaled. The North Ridge is the easiest to hike and it leads to the easiest rock climbing routes to the summit. The West Ridge is a little more difficult to access and provides longer and more difficult rock climbing routes to the summit. View the climbing route! We chose to scale the North Ridge, as several members of our team were not regular rock climbers (myself included). Plus, four out of the five climbers on the team had never attempted Mount Washington before, so why get in over our heads? The Climb: Our five person team drove 3-1/2 hours from Portland to Central Oregon early on a Sunday morning. We drove back in to Big Lake (just South of Hoodoo and the Santiam Highway) and, after a little bit of searching, found the right road to our trailhead. We started at 4,675 feet on a little known trail near the Lake and wound through a mosquito infested forest before joining the famous Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). After about one mile on the PCT, the trail spurred off to the Southeast and became significantly steeper. Before long, we were out of the forest and at the base of the North Ridge, just below 6,300 feet in elevation. After a short break, we began the slow and boring slog up the scree and rock covered ridge. There were a few pockets of snow still left, but the low snow year of 2003 had all but assured us that the mid-July climb would be snow and ice free...and that was true. Along the way, we had panoramic views of the Black Butte and Hoodoo areas near the Santiam Highway, looking down on Big Lake, Hoodoo Butte and the uniquely shaped Hayrick Butte. Unfortunately, clouds were partially obscuring Three Fingered Jack and Mount Jefferson to the North. We did have a great look at the smoldering Link Fire, which was consuming the forest near Cache Mountain, only about 4-1/2 miles to the Northeast of Mount Washington. As the day wore on, the fire became increasingly intense as the temperatures grew hotter. After reaching the top of the North Ridge, we gained our first view of the Summit Pinnacle, which is a 300-foot plug of lava rock jutting up out of the rotten slopes of the mountain. This would be our quest shortly, but we had some more work to do first. After topping out on the ridge, the route traverses West along rotten scree slopes and this is a bit of a pain. After some inspired hiking, we came to a gully that led up to the climbing base where we would begin our rock climbing. The gully is very rotten and provides a challenging scramble where you need to avoid kicking garbage down on your teammates. Once we negotiated the gully, our team rested and geared up for the technical rock climb to the summit. We had originally intended to take the easy 5.1 route, but there was a large contingent of climbers from the Ptarmigan Climbing Club in Vancouver, Washington. For speed sake, we decided to take the 5.7 rated variation from the same base area. This turned out to be a great idea, because our leader, Steve Rollins, led a great route up to a ledge about 100 feet from the summit -- and well ahead of the Ptarmigan group. Once we reached the ledge, the route is a 4th class, albeit exposed, scramble to the summit. At one point, I happened to look back and notice that a single slip would mean certain death, as the drop down to the East Ridge was more than 700 feet straight down. Not an option. We made it to the summit in the mid afternoon and enjoyed a spectacular view! The Three Sisters were visible to the South and Three Fingered Jack and Mount Jefferson had finally emerged from their blanket of clouds. All around were the ancient volcanoes of Central Oregon, such as Belknap Crater, as well as cool lakes and lava flows. Oh, and then there was the Link Fire. The plum of smoke was rising well over 5,000 feet from the valley floor and it was a spectacular show for all to see. The summit was rather crowded, with over 20 people sharing the space. Accordingly, we didn't stay long. After scrambling down to the ledge, we setup a rappel line on a big rock that has permanent rappel rings. I donated one of my pieces of webbing since the existing webbing seemed a little worn for our comfort level. We quickly rappelled back to the climb base, collected our gear and began the descent down the gully. Instead of traversing back to the North Ridge, the descent route follows a steep scree slope on the Northwest side of the mountain. All the while making little rock slides, we skidded down this scree slope for what seemed an eternity! Eventually, we joined a hard packed trail that led back to the regular trail and out to Big Lake. Except for the mosquito-fest (or is that feast?) near Big Lake, the descent was relatively uneventful and we were on the way home before the early evening. Mount Washington was a challenging climb to do in one day from Portland - especially on a hot day - but we were up to the challenge. |
click photo to enlarge The hike rolls along the Pacific Crest Trail click photo to enlarge  The Link Fire begins to smolder in the AM hours click photo to enlarge  Matt poses in front of the North Ridge click photo to enlarge  The team takes a break along the North Ridge click photo to enlarge  The summit pinnacle appears along the ridge click photo to enlarge  The scramble up to the climbing base click photo to enlarge  Attacking the 5.7 pitch up to the summit click photo to enlarge  Three-Fingered Jack and Mt Jefferson to the North click photo to enlarge  The team triumphantly poses on the summit click photo to enlarge  Belknap Crater and The Husband to the South click photo to enlarge  Black Crater sits to the Southeast of the peak click photo to enlarge  Lee prepares to rappel down to the climbing base click photo to enlarge  A North Side scree slope allows a quick descent |