July 16, 2008, Vesper Peak

My First Trip Report!

After reading and enjoying everyones trip reports (and obsessing about where I want to go) I am finally going to add to the thread :)

We headed up from the Sunrise Mine Trailhead about 7am and quickly came across several downed trees that we had to crawl under or climb over (depending on how stubborn you are). We were able to manage, but they were still notable. Once past this, we came across our first real obstacle, crossing the Stillaguamish River. There had been a large avalanche at some point this winter and there was a ton on tree debris blocking the river and the path. We headed up hill a bit and found a crossing through the debris by balancing on the trees and brush. We managed to get through without getting too wet or banged up and found our way back to the trail. There were a few more trees down along the ascent, but they were manageable.  The switchback up the valley was hot and the bugs are really starting to bite so make sure you bring your bugspray! I would recommend long pants because the brush was quite grown in on this stretch. Once we got to Wirtz Basin below Headley pass, we stashed our hiking shoes on the large rock in the center on the way up and changed into our AT boots. We were able to skin part of the way up to Headley pass, though there was a lot of tree debris along the way. The last piece of the pass was too steep for skinning so we strapped our skis on our back and boot packed up.  Not too bad of a climb, but it was hot and the snow was starting to melt away from the rocks leaving large holes on either side of the climb that I kept imagining I would slide into. Once over Headley Pass, we traversed along to the outlet stream from Lake Elan. This stretch is a fun little balancing act in AT boots - the rocks are quite loose. Once we got back to the snow, we strapped our skis and skins on and headed toward the summit. The snow was continuous all the way to the top - very straightforward route. At the top we hung out and had lunch and enjoyed the views all around. Well, I had lunch since "Alpenho and White Thunder - aka Lucas and Ian" munched theirs down at a water stop. From the top we could see that the Vesper Glacier would have been really easy to access for a ski down, but time was too short to do that and climb back up before dark. We hope that someone will take advantage of that before the entrance gets too difficult! For our ski, we headed straight down from the peak and took the left (skiers left) chute toward Lake Elan. The snow was soft and the sun was glorious - all around just perfect summer skiing conditions! After much picture and video taking, we traversed back toward the rocks and the cross to Headley Pass. Getting back to the trail was a bit of a pain (loose rock field part II) but we found our way back to the pass eventually. The ski down from the pass was decidedly less graceful as the "sun-cups" were out in full force and it was a bit of a bumpy ride. Once we got out of that main chute, the rest of the ski down Wirtz Basin was not too bad - the snow was not as good as Vesper Peak, but still enjoyable. Though the debris at the bottom made it a bit bumpy and likely took a year off my skis. After finding our way back to our shoes, we packed up our skis and headed back down the valley without incident - well, except that Ian fell in the Stillaguamish River on the way back across, but he said that the cool water was a relief. I think he was just saving face, but hey what do I know :)
Anyway, a great route all around and from the looks of it, it will be available for a while. Enjoy!

Pics are - #1 - Boot pack up to Headley Pass, #2 - Our ski line down to Lake Elan #3 - Our ski line down from the top of Vesper Peak