[Opus]

Hooray, two peak monkeys off my back! I came close but missed the summit of Hex last year. Back again for another shot and this time we hit the top with spectacular views and weather. Getting stuck in avalanche control work at the pass, parking in the wrong spot, and starting on the wrong road - none of those stopped us. We drove up a short plowed road just beyond Newport Creek and parked by a snowed in bulldozer and pump house. I'd though this was where we started last year but was wrong. There was enough space for our two Outbacks but not much else. Luckily we didn't get tickets. From there we promptly got lost, myself still sure we were starting at the correct spot. Eventually we figured it out and went up and over the little bump between us and the logging road and were on our way. From there we chugged along the road which was rock hard from snowmobiles. Surprisingly we were able to find the trailhead sign poking out of the snow. Some steep uphill on soft snow and we gained the ridge. Fantastic views everywhere! Along the way we marveled at the wind sculpted snow and huge cornices. There was also a running crack where the snow was breaking away from the ridge similar to what Bryan saw in his trip. We poked around it a bit and found some quite deep. At one point our adventurous little dog Noey got too close and slipped in. We quickly fished her out before she fell deeper and she was no worse for wear. A bit later Bingram poked his pole deep into a crack and the crack poked back in his next step, sucking in his leg. After our fun we pushed on to the top. Great views everywhere. Stuart and the whole Enchantment range were out. Even Rainier was visilble down to its base. We took a leisurely lunch with the other large group who summited first and then made a quick descent on sun softened snow. This time we followed the road to its end to prove I parked in the wrong spot. The start of the road had several bulldozers deeply snowed in and was not plowed. It was a simple five minute walk up to our parking spot. I dont know if this is an allowable spot to park but we didn't see any signs. Everyone else was parked up the road a ways in a pull out. Hex Mountain trip photos

Parking

Trailhead

Ridgewalk

Dog rescue

Poking the crack

On top

Stuart range

Summit view

Crowded summit

Rainier

Heading down

On the ridge

Fran

[bobbi]

great pics......that is a crowded summit! were they with you? glad the snow packed down some to read the trailhead sign!

[wildernessed]

Nice Pics. That's close enough I'll have to get up there at some time.

[Gabigabs]

Gorgeous day for Hex. Great pics.

[Sir Hikes-A-Lot]

Glad you made it this time. Gorgeous place.

[Opus]

Yep, it was a fantastic trip! No idea who the others were though, they just beat us to the top. They certainly knew their peaks, we listened to them tick off a list of what we could see. I like the effect of this photo Bingram took.

Clones!

[loper]

Beautiful pictures. We must have just missed you. We were alone on the summit around noon and then headed up along Sasse Ridge a little ways. Didn't see anyone all day until we got to the car. Beautiful day. L

[Bryan K]

Looks like another beautiful day on Hex. Watch out for those cracks, they'll get ya