[Matt]

Dates: December 9-10, 2017 Destination: Green Mtn 6500 & Is People 6665 (USGS Downey Mtn) Party: Matt, Carla Note: this report is from back in December, when there was far less snow. A persistent inversion had brought warm temperatures and stable snow. We decided to make an overnight trip by camping near the Green Mtn lookout, and then day tripping out to Point 6675, and unnamed 1295P peak. By association with Green Mtn, I had named that peak "Soylent." However, Soylent turned out to be too far and difficult, so we aimed instead for the closer Point 6665, which lacked prominence due to its 10-foot lesser height. As we were hiking across the bright snow dunes under the hot inversion sun, suddenly Carla exclaimed: "izpeepl." Matt: "What?" Carla, louder "Izpeepl!" Matt: "What did you say?" Carla, looking very pleased with herself: "itziz peepl" Matt, fearing that Carla has become delusional from the heat: "What are you saying?" Carla, more emphatically: "IT'S IS PEOPLE." Matt, being rather dull, asks: "I don't get it. What do you mean?" Carla: "That's the name of this peak." Pointing to the peak ahead of us, "Soylent." Pointing to the peak behind us, "Green." Pointing to the peak we're climbing, "Is People." Enlightenment dawns on Matt as clearly as the inversion haze: "Huh? Oh. Ok."

GPS Track

IsPeople Route viewed from Green Mtn

Saturday Green Mtn Road to Green Mtn Lookout We were able to drive to half a mile from summer trailhead. Because of the inversion, it got warmer and warmer as we ascended, feeling more like a summer day. There were old ski and snowshoe tracks on the trail, but no fresh tracks higher up. The lookout itself is locked during winter, so we brought our tent for camping on the crest.

Basin below the lookout

Going up the final crest toward the lookout

Stats: 4.9 miles, 3270 gain, 160 loss, 5:00 hours I had hoped for sunset alpenglow lighting up all the peaks east of us, but thickening haze out west caused the light to mostly fade out. As the sun descended to set near Whitechuck, it made a weird outline behind the clouds, with just one edge burning bright through a gap.

Faint alpenglow on Dome Peak

Pastel colors from Glacier to Sloan

Sun descending toward Whitechuck

Sunday Morning at Green Mtn I arose early to watch the sun rise. Clouds again blocked much of the light, but provided some dramatic bits of shadow and color.

Glacier Peak before sunrise

Pre-dawn glow getting brighter, 7:43am

When the sun came up, its light blazed upward into the inversion haze like a bonfire.

Sunrise bonfire in the inversion haze, 8:03am

Sunrise & Glacier Peak

Wider panorama for sunrise

IsPeople Peak The route to IsPeople had 4 parts: 1. Traverse along the east side of Green Mtn, staying on moderate slopes around 6100-5600 feet. 2. Get around the steeper corner below Point 6082 to the col at about 5700 feet. 3. Get onto IsPeople's south ridge, bypassing some steep rocky parts at the bottom. 4. Follow the ridge crest to the summit. We went back down Green's crest to about 6100 feet, where a cornice-free spot let us get onto the east slopes and then begin a descending traverse. This was the best part of the day. The slope was full of small contours, so that our path just rolled downward, curving from one to another. With the hot hazy sun overhead, it felt like we were hiking across a desert of snow dunes. The inversion haze had mixed with smoke from California fires to tint everything smoky brownish-pink tone. It was also fun to lay the first human tracks across the snow, intersecting lines of small animal tracks along the way.

Animal tracks ahead of us on the traverse of Green's east slope

Hiking across the snowy heat wave

More tracks leading us onward

Shadows in the inversion haze

Carla hiking across the dunes

Closer below Point 6082 was a steeper section that also faced more southward, and thus more prone to avalanche activity. Fortunately, previous sunny days had already stripped snow off the trees and rocks and released the snow above our path, so we could walk across the bottom of the slide runouts without much risk of anything more coming down. A brief steep bit upward brought us to the ridge east of Point 6082, and then we curved back down into moderate terrain below the Green – IsPeople col.

Carla kicking the truck tire sized snow wheel that had come down a couple days earlier

A view back to our tracks on the snow dune slope, and the steeper slope that had already been heat-released

At the base of IsPeople's south rib, we had to get around steep corner where the crest was blocked by outcrops. This area had been our biggest concern, since it was potentially a steeper slide zone, but we were happy to discover that we could go up a relatively protected path right next to the rocks that kept us out of the looser areas. Circa 5800 feet we were back on the crest, which was blown almost snow-free and made easy ridge-top walking up the base of the summit area. At 6400 feet a flat saddle provided a view of the rocky summit block.

Back on the crest of IsPeople's south ridge.

Looking up to the summit area from the 6400-foot saddle (looks like an animal stopped its tracks at the same place)

Carla decided to wait at the saddle, while I switched to crampons and continued to the top. The finish was easier than it looked below. It was a mix of brief rock steps and hard packed snow, with nothing requiring more than a few brief rock scrambling moves.

My tracks up the summit block

Looking back from the summit down to Carla waiting at the 6400-foot saddle

Views from the IsPeople summit were expansive, but shrouded by haze for more distant peaks.

Panoramic view northwest to east to south (best viewed full size)

Looking northwest, Chaval & Baker

Looking NNW, Snowking & Mutschler

The Lord of the Rings Spires (west end of the Buckindy Range)

Looking north, Buckindy & Misch, (with Soylent's summit at far right)

Looking northeast to east, the Ptarmigan Traverse

Formidable & Spider, with Soylent's rocky summit in the foreground

Spire Point & Dome

Looking southeast, Downey Peak & Glacier, almost hidden in the haze

Looking south, Green Mtn Lookout

Our hike back to Green Mtn had the disadvantage of needing to gain 900 feet back uphill from our low point to the packs we had left tucked in by the lookout. Going back up the snow dunes had us hiking straight into the big hot sun.

Carla waiting at the 6400-foot saddle

Hiking back up the snow dunes into the sun

Round trip: 4.3 miles, 2200 cumulative gain and loss, 6:50 hours Exit & Sunset Sunday evening brought somewhat clearer light, though still hazy in the west. As we descended, the skies softened to pastels and then deeper shadows. We made it down to the forest on the lower trail before needing headlamps.

Late afternoon light on the peak we visited

Ready to head down

Soft evening light in the basin south of Green Mtn

Hazy silhouettes descending the trail

Descent 4.9 miles, 160 gain, 3270 loss Total Trip: 14.1 miles, 5630 cumulative gain Some Extra Notes The Peak Not Visited I especially like to visit summits that are rarely travelled. Thus my interest in Soylent. The Buckindy Traverse route runs past the 5371-foot tarn below it, but snow and gullies in the basin above looked too steep and loose in present conditions. The crest running from IsPeople has too many rocky outcrops. Contours on the west and north side look like they, but there was no way to get a view of the north. I wonder who has ever been there. Maybe Roper?

the ridge running from IsPeople to Soylent (it’s the farther rocky summit, not the closer one)

the steep basins below Soylent

view of Soylent from farther back

A Note on Protecting the Lookout The balconies of the Green Mtn Lookout provide great views and a worthy destination. Its interior, however, is closed except for times when it is staffed during the summer. When we were there, we found that someone broken the padlocked latches that hold down the storm shutters over the door. Please don't damage the lookouts this way. If the shutters are unsecured during storms, it can cause extensive damage, especially during winter, where it may be months before its accessible again for repairs. In this case, we reported the damage to the ranger station, who said they'd organize some volunteers to fix it before the next storm. A Note on Avalanche Potential This trip crosses many avalanche zones. Please don't attempt even Green Mtn unless snow conditions are stable. The very reason that Green looks green, is because avalanches keep many of its slopes bare of trees. In particular, the trail to Green crosses some huge avalanche zones starting at about 4600 feet.

[Stefan]

Nice white undulation pictures, getting that!

[Matt]

[Kascadia]

That traverse looks a lot better done as a snow dune traverse than as "succulent hellebore"! Amazing conditions for December and spectacular photos of a wild and rugged area. Green Mt - Mt. Buckindy - Snow King, circa ~1990

[puzzlr]

Using this rainy spell to catch up on TRs? It's nice to see another report from beyond the lookout.

[EastKing]

Incredible!!!