Forum Index > Trip Reports > Summit Chief Mountain - 9/1/02
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Randy
Cube Rat



Joined: 18 Dec 2001
Posts: 2910 | TRs | Pics
Location: Near the Siamangs
Randy
Cube Rat
PostMon Sep 02, 2002 5:32 pm 
Although there are several routes to the top of Summit Chief, we chose to ascend via the Pete Lake trailhead (elevation 2800'). At 7464', Summit Chief is the highest of the "Chief" peaks also including "Middle Chief" (7120') and "Little Big Chief" (7225'). The views from the summit are surely incredible looking out over the Cle Elum drainage and back down the MFK Snoqualmie valley; however, we saw a lot of drizzle and low clouds and not much else this day. Craig and I got a reasonable start (or so we thought) at 8:15 and leisurely made our way up the painfully flat (more on this later) trail toward Pete Lake. From Pete Lake we continued around to its far end coming to a 3-way intersection at Lemah Creek. We went NW is search of the PCT finally reaching it at 5.5 miles from the trailhead, elevation 3200'. As we headed north, there were good views over to the watercourses coming off the small glaciers at the base of Chimney Rock, but everything above 5500' was socked in by a sea of mist and fog. We spent the next 1.5-2 hours hauling ourselves up the endless, long switchbacks toward "Vista Lakes" which are the two small tarns at 5450' just off of the PCT. Elevation gain on this route is a long time in coming and it was a relief to finally stomp out a couple thousand. We reached the lakes about 4 hours after starting which seemed reasonable considering we were moving at less than our normal "hurry up" pace. Amongst the fog and drizzle, the lakes made for a fine spot to tank up on food and water and ponder the last stretch of our route to Summit Chief. We headed NW up to a pass just SE of point 5965'. We traversed around and to the north of this point and then dropped slightly to the pass above Summit Chief Lake. From here we had a lot of fun, easy scrambling on polished granite just east of the ridge crest. We followed the line of the ridge (more or less) to about 6400' where we dropped into a snow field just above the lower of two distinct basins on the SE slopes of the mountain. We ascended the medium-steep snow to the upper basin (entirely snow) at 6700'. This is where things got "fun" for us. We still had not had a single look at the mountain or any of its immediate ridgelines, so where to gain the SE (more south at this point) ridge was not entirely obvious. We watched as the high winds swirled the fog in and out of the basin and every now and then, for a brief second, the ridge would peak out. Well, after several minutes of this we essentially guessed at a route to the top in the general direction we knew we needed to head. We ascended snow to the ridgeline and then walked along toward the summit a bit until we got to a high point above a notch. We couldn't down-climb to the notch (class 5), so we walked back down the ridge and I ended up skirting below some cliffs to get to the notch. I again hopped on the ridge and after a little class 3 rock I once again found myself stuck on top of a high point just above another notch. From here I could make out the summit and the route we needed to take, but this time it was an exposed, class 4 down-climb. I was uncomfortable making the unbalanced moves with the wind knocking me around and the crappy rock giving me no support. I retreated again. I found Craig waiting for me back at the first notch and we discussed options. We were well past any logical turn around time and 12.5 miles from anywhere, but we decided since we were here that we'd give it another try. Next, we traversed steep snow in an attempt to gain the ridge near the second notch I had gotten stuck above. This time we ran into moat problems and could not access the rock just a few feet below the notch! Frustrated, we glissaded back down into the basin. Feeling rejected by Summit Chief, we searched one last time for a way to access the ridge. At this point things had cleared up enough that we noticed a subtle shelf going along the SE face of the mountain that looked like it would take us up near that darned second notch. It did. After nearly 2 hours we had finally puzzled this one out. Craig, had decided to sit the rest of the route out as it was still unsure whether the route would go and given the last 2 hours I don't blame him. After some steep scree and ugly dirt sections I accessed the shelf and ran it over to the notch. I punched through and looped around to the other side where an easy gully took me all the way up to the summit ridge. From here it was 60 ft or so of class 2 rock to the top. It had taken 9 long hours to summit this thing, but it was well worth it and I was happy to be there. I stayed maybe 5-10 minutes before the wet and windy conditions forced me off. I descended back to the notch and then into the basin where Craig was waiting. We started back for Vista Lakes around 6:00 PM and finally made it just before dark around 8:15. With all the off trail travel behind us, we took a comfortable break at the southern most of the lakes and I finally decided to eat something more than a Clif Bar. We departed at 9:00 under complete darkness with only 10 miles between us and the trailhead. Things went fine on the way out and we kept a steady conversation going to make the miles go by that much faster. Upon reaching the Pete Lake trail at the 3-way intersection near Lemah Creek, I started realizing how tired I was and the fact that the both of us had only a few hours of sleep the night before wasn't helping matters. Around midnight, we sprawled out along the trail to rest the feet awhile before pushing out the last 5 miles. After about 20 minutes we were both on the brink of passing out, so we decided we'd better get moving or we'd still be here when horses and people were stomping through in a few hours. It was all I could do to stay on my feet those last 5 miles. I hobbled and stumbled my way along seemingly asleep on my feet, but we finally made it back at 2:15 AM, 18 hours after we'd started! We’d planned on climbing Daniel the next day, but given our condition that idea was, well, out. Instead we opted to drive back to Seattle and all it took to make the drive work were two cans of Red Bull and a large cup of coffee! Back in Seattle at 4:30 AM, 24 hours after starting . Although it was a spectacular outing on several accounts, I cannot recommend doing Summit Chief as a "day trip" at least via Pete Lake. In the end, this turned into 26 miles and 5600' of gain. Next time I'm bringing a tent!

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Allison
Feckless Swooner



Joined: 17 Dec 2001
Posts: 12287 | TRs | Pics
Location: putting on my Nikes before the comet comes
Allison
Feckless Swooner
PostMon Sep 02, 2002 6:47 pm 
Jesus H. Christ, you guys are animals! dizzy.gif

www.allisonoutside.com follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
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Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker



Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 23956 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cle Elum
Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
PostMon Sep 02, 2002 8:58 pm 
And I thought that there were times when I was hard core!!! Sure buddy. No thank you. TB

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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Randy
Cube Rat



Joined: 18 Dec 2001
Posts: 2910 | TRs | Pics
Location: Near the Siamangs
Randy
Cube Rat
PostFri Sep 06, 2002 7:26 pm 
A couple shots from the trip. Craig ascending the snowfield into the upper basin and looking back on the mountain as things started to clear up a bit. Enjoy....

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