[Ice Girl]

i was interested in knowing if anyone has ever been to the (i, call it the other valley), but most tec. climbers go up this way to climb to the top of B4. So i am looking for any info on this part of the mountain. Thanks, Ice Girl

[Mike Collins]

Ice Girl, Are you talking about Big Four? I don't know what B4 is but I have been to the top of Big Four.

[Mike Collins]

I have only been into the Dry Creek approach to Big Four. You might be referring to the Sultan drainage. For Dry Creek drive 200 feet past the 27 mile mark on the Mountain Loop Highway and park your car on the shoulder. Drop immediately down to the river to find a log crossing. Follow Beckeys description to get around the beaver ponds and bogs. Dry creek will easily be found as the smooth stones for a stream bed is there but no water. Follow this to the avalanche fan area. This late in season the route higher will be along a rock wall several hundred feet to your right as you approach. Avoid the waterfall areas.

[MounTAIN Woman]

We tried Big Four two years ago, but it was a bit earlier in the year. Mike Collins is right, Beckey has a good description of getting around the wetlands to the Dry Creek. When we attempted an ascent, the mountain kept launching sliding snow slabs at us, so we bailed! I wrote up a trip report on WTA - enter search string "Big Four Mountain". Good luck!

[Mike Collins]

I summited Big Four on my third attempt. Early in season, May or June, might be the better time to attempt the peak. Later on the route is slabby rock with dirt covering it. Having said that let me also say that when there is snow the route up from Dry Creek is in the throat of an large avalanche gully. It faces the sun in the early morning so the snow warms up quickly. And it comes down right where you are climbing. We heard a crack and jumped out to watch an avalanche roar past. It was time to go home. My second attempt was tried as a solo venture. I started from the road at 0515. When I got up to the icy section (the gully is scraped clean of any snow) the sun was already hitting the slope. I could hear the ice cracking from the warmth of the sun. Was it expanding, contracting, I don't know. But it involved movement and change. There were cornices above hanging on by their fingernails. It was again time to go home. The summit register revealed this peak to be climbed about once a year. It is enticing to look at from the parking area but at the same time is trickier than you might think.