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Gimpilator infinity/21M
Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics Location: Edmonds, WA |
Calm down. This is the Davis near Salmon la Sac, not the cool one on highway 20. I’ve been procrastinating this Davis for years because of a dispute regarding which of the 4 main peaks is the highest. It all sounded like a bit of a hassle, to be honest. I knew that to claim the peak it would require going to all the various high points. Yesterday the forecast was better there than anywhere else.
annotated route
To summarize our findings, the west peak and southeast lookout site are visibly lower as is generally accepted. The surveyors made a mistake on the west peak which is at least 50 feet lower than the central peak. The central peak is definitely a contender for the true summit, however the north peak is extremely close. The north peak could be the highest, but most folks do not climb it because it’s harder to get to. To further summarize, prominence people should do the central and north peaks while anyone else could be satisfied with the officially named southeast lookout site.
Cle Elum River bridge Point 5988 on the right you can see the scramble ridge between the west and central peaks of Davis
Enough conjecture. Now for the report. We hiked the trail up to the ridge south of the west peak. Snow had hidden the trail which descends into the basin between the peaks and we scrambled up the south ridge by mistake. I realized my error but decided to see if the ridge would go, rather than back-track. We were blocked by a cliff at 6200 feet. Traversing around the west side we found a steep loose gully and scrambled back up to the ridge crest and on to the summit.
Lake Terrence below Daniel and Cathedral Rock we scrambled this ridge to the central peak central peak summit
From the west peak we scrambled a pleasant and occasionally exposed ridge to the central peak. We then backtracked to the last notch and scrambled down the north side to some snow slopes. We traversed a short distance to the pass between the central and north peak and then scrambled down some steep loose rock to the upper Opal Lake basin.
the pass between central and north peaks 1 label Goat still a long way to the north Summit Chief group and Bears Breast above Waptus Lake north peak south face scrambling down from the pass traverse above Opal Lake
To our pleasant surprise we found numerous easy gullies and ledges on the east side of the north peak. The only real scrambling was right below the summit. After the north peak, it was time to traverse to Goat which is a P2k. This traverse route seems seldom done.
central and west peaks seen from the north peak north peak summit nice ledges
We crossed over the rib into the basin north of Opal Lake and then had to drop 300 feet to cross over another rocky rib before coming to the 6060 foot pass directly north of an unnamed lake. In the next basin we traversed northeast below another small lake to reach the pass north of Point 6539.
Goat Mountain and the intimidating red scree
We descended 150 feet and traversed north on scree and talus. We could see the steep red scree slope ahead of us. This junky slope is the only feasible way to climb Goat from the south. It looked pretty ugly, but as we got closer we could see it wasn’t as serious as it appears from afar. Class 2+ with some loose footing. We scrambled up and then followed the last ridge to the summit. I was disappointed that no register was present.
actually not that bad 1 label summit cairn but no register Stuart and Ingalls peaks Davis peaks now a long way away Goat summit crags descending the red scree
The clouds were building and looking more ominous all the time. We could see it was raining to the south and the west. On the hike out we took a final break at the lookout site. Thankfully it cleared up a little again after that. Back at the car we did a tick check and I discovered a wriggling monster embedded in my leg. This was my very first tick bite. I had been checking regularly during the hike, so it couldn’t have been there very long. It also came off very easily.
nearing the southeast lookout site lookout site
Heather and I agree that this traverse is not all that pleasant. Also, for the record, we carried crampons and axes but did not use them.
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RichP Member
Joined: 13 Jul 2006 Posts: 5628 | TRs | Pics Location: here |
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RichP
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Thu Jun 09, 2016 9:54 am
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Fletcher Member
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Posts: 1870 | TRs | Pics Location: kirkland |
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Fletcher
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Thu Jun 09, 2016 3:20 pm
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Looks like a fun day, even if the traverse was not all that pleasant!
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Redwic Unlisted Free Agent
Joined: 23 Feb 2009 Posts: 3292 | TRs | Pics Location: Going to the Prom(inence) |
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Redwic
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Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:39 pm
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Nice! What about cumulative mileage and elevation gain for this route?
60 pounds lighter but not 60 points brighter.
60 pounds lighter but not 60 points brighter.
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Foist Sultan of Sweat
Joined: 08 May 2006 Posts: 3974 | TRs | Pics Location: Back! |
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Foist
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Fri Jun 10, 2016 10:25 am
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How was the trail route through the basin to the lookout site, which you did on the way back? Getting off that southern ridge can be really annoying in early season because of the big cornice that hangs around there. If I go there this weekend will I need an ice axe?
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Gimpilator infinity/21M
Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics Location: Edmonds, WA |
RichP wrote: | Interesting report. I've been curious about this route since reading Klenke's summitpost page on it. |
That page is where I originally got the idea for this route, however a few other reports out there showed how some variations are possible. For instance, we did not drop down and traverse around the long rib above Opal Lake. It was easy enough to pass over it. I'm not familiar with the Lake Michael route, but I know one person who timed out on the Davis traverse route did return via that route and was successful.
Redwic wrote: | Nice! What about cumulative mileage and elevation gain for this route? |
I estimate between 13 and 14 miles and roughly 5300 feet of accumulative gain.
Foist wrote: | How was the trail route through the basin to the lookout site ... If I go there this weekend will I need an ice axe? |
The cornice is gone. The trail was partially covered with snow, but not once during the day did we feel the need to use the crampons and axes we were carrying. Have fun out there and watch for ticks!
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Foist Sultan of Sweat
Joined: 08 May 2006 Posts: 3974 | TRs | Pics Location: Back! |
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Foist
Sultan of Sweat
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Fri Jun 10, 2016 11:45 am
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Thanks! Trust me, I got the message about the ticks loud and clear!
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Matt Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 4307 | TRs | Pics Location: Shoreline |
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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
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Sat Jun 11, 2016 10:56 pm
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Looks much better without all the damn cornices blocking the route.
Davis Lookout viewed from Goat, 4/3/2016 More cornices in the way Goat from near Point 6340 Looking from Davis North to Davis Central
“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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Chief Joseph Member
Joined: 10 Nov 2007 Posts: 7676 | TRs | Pics Location: Verlot-Priest Lake |
Anyone else spend a minute looking for the goat in the photo before they realized....? lol
Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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Gimpilator infinity/21M
Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics Location: Edmonds, WA |
Thanks for sharing the photos Matt. Looks much prettier with more snow. It's good to know that others use this route.
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