[Redwic]

[Editor's Note: I would certainly appreciate labels for the various peaks shown (but not referenced) in the photos included with this TR.] FZTE and I each did not have to work on President's Day, so I suggested a hike in Wild Sky Wilderness. I had been wanting to summit Beckler Peak and Alpine Baldy for a while, but I kept putting them on the backburner of my hiking aspirations. After checking the weather forecast and projected snow conditions, we agreed to attempt at least Beckler Peak, and possibly also Alpine Baldy if time and conditions allowed. When we arrived at the parking area at the end of the driveable portion of FS-6066, we looked up at the hillsides above us and saw no snow in the lower portions, so we did not want to have overkill gear on these traditionally "non-technical" peaks. Having heard about favorable snow conditions in the area, we both decided to leave behind my microspikes and his crampons. We began our hike at 7:30 AM. We traversed up the decommissioned section of road, turning left at the first road intersection, until reaching a creek at ~3350' elevation. We could see frozen footprints in the snow leading up the forested hillside, which we assumed must have been from the Beckler Peak trip involving "Sultan Guy" only nine days prior. The footprints assisted our ascent, although the steep icy lower-southeast slopes of Beckler Peak took us a little by surprise. The icy portions of the terrain were not too difficult to traverse, as long as we kick-stepped and used caution. During some spots that seemed extra-slick, I had FZTE take the lead because he had his heavy-duty boots on that he will use for Mount Everest that were known to be great for kick-stepping. But even with his big-time boots we both took our time during the ascent. Fortunately, the icy sections were randomly spotted throughout the southeast slopes so there was plenty of dirt sections mixed in-between them. We could have each used an ice axe but the conditions were not serious enough for that measure, so our trekking poles were sufficient for this section.

At the parking area...

FZTE looks at the stream crossing...

FZTE ascends a steep lower SE slope of Beckler Peak...

At ~4200' elevation, we reached what appeared to be a snow-covered trail, which I assumed was the old fisherman's trail I had heard about that basically leads (when actually visible) from the west side of Beckler Peak to the summit of Alpine Baldy (and beyond). We passed through the trail, opting to continue ascending northward until reaching the ridgetop. From there, I put on my snowshoes for an easier ridgetop traverse. Shortly after arriving at the ridgetop, we stopped for a while for some lunch and photos. I kept looking at my GPS, and I was shocked how far the East Peak still seemed to be from our location. We went over some minor snow bumps en route to the summit, including one small location that had some good views between the trees. When we began ascending what appeared to be the final steep snowy slope I removed my snowshoes and decided to posthole the rest of the way up. It was fun!

The snow-cover starts becoming commonplace...

A nice open area to stop for a snack!

FZTE traverses west along the Beckler Peak ridgetop...

We reached the summit only a few hours after starting our trek. Heading into the trip, I believed the West Peak was the highest of the several possible "true" summit contenders (with the others being the highly-technical Middle Peak and the East Peak), despite maps showing the East Peak as the highest point. There is also a snow-covered bump immediately east of the Middle Peak, but was definitely lower and not technical (unlike its solid-rock counterpart). Honestly, after reaching the East Peak summit, I was still not certain. I had previously seen, and taken photos of, Beckler Peak from other locations south of the mountain and it appeared the East Peak was the highest point (although I had thought the West Peak was higher). My standard altimeter and GPS altimeter both showed an elevation at or slightly above the official elevation of Beckler Peak (5062'). FZTE also made some compelling statements as to why the East Peak was probably the true highest point. However, neither of us believed the Middle Peak was the highest after having been nearby and seen each of the contenders. It probably ultimately does not matter, and we decided to default to the map's assertion for this particular trip. To each their own, we figured.

2 labels

The West & Middle Peaks of Beckler

Mount Fernow (6190'), as seen from Beckler Peak

Glacier Peak

Monte Cristo Peaks, Sloan, Frog...

"I'll be coming for you, soon!"

Mount Fernow and Alpine Baldy

The views from the East Peak summit were SPECTACULAR!!! Highly recommended!!! Great vantage point for Glacier Peak, Monte Cristo Peaks, Beckler River valley, Frog Mountain, Evergreen Mountain, Mount Fernow, and the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Mount Fernow, in particular, caught my attention. We soon left the East Peak summit and headed back east along the ridgetop, with me putting on my snowshoes once again. Seeing that there was plenty of time, daylight, and good weather in our favor, we decided to attempt Alpine Baldy. Rather than head south to the old trail we had seen on our ascent, we continued east down ~1100' elevation from the East Peak summit to the saddle (~3900' elevation) between the two mountains. The terrain on the Beckler Peak slope west of the saddle was similar to its southeast slope we had originally ascended; soft dirt mixed with spotty soft icy patches. However, the terrain would soon change for us. We took a short break at the saddle. Looking at the task ahead, lower-to-mid west slopes of Alpine Baldy appeared to be very steep so I removed my snowshoes. It was not long before we had our ice axes out. As we began our ascent, the slopes went from spotty icy patches to slick icy patches to solid frozen snow/ice areas to a solid sheet of icy ground. I was using what FZTE noticed as the "Gimpilator Technique"... having an ice axe in one hand and a trekking pole in the other hand, but occasionally I needed to lodge my pole into the ground to use a much-needed free hand. I had FZTE retake the lead during the ascent of the forested western slope, as his Mount Everest-caliber boots were better-designed for hard kick-stepping than my LaSportivas. There were moments when the icy ground was so solid that even his boots could not even crack the surface. If only we had microspikes or crampons...

Walking through forest on Alpine Baldy...

Entering open terrain on Alpine Baldy (finally)...

A good place to avoid (due to avalanche danger)

We were shocked at the extent of the icy ground on the slopes. But we weighed our options and discussed the pros and cons of each idea. We realized that going up was probably less dangerous for us than going back down, as going down took too much chance of slippage. Knowing the general area of where open terrain might be on the mountain, I had us angle up the slopes in a southeast direction. Our route also headed in the direction of orange ribbons tied to tree branches, although eventually those became intermixed with pink ribbons and seemed to be all over the slopes. When possible, we would aim for areas above us where sunlight was shining through the thick forest cover, hoping for softer snowier terrain. That idea occasionally was true, but those soft areas of the hillside were few and far between. Knowing that I had previously seen a lot of powdery snow on the south slopes (not including the large avalanche-prone meadowy areas), I had confidence that once we got to the ridgetop we would find an easier descent route than our ascent.

Beckler Peak, as seen from Alpine Baldy

Wowsers!!!

Someday...

Once we reached the western edge of the steep snow-covered south-facing meadow slopes from which Alpine Baldy gets its name, we began ascending the ridgetop along the edge between forest and open terrain. We not once considered travelling across the open terrain, as the snow conditions looked to be very unfavorable in regards to avalanche danger. It was surprising to see snow conditions vary so much between Alpine Baldy and Beckler Peak. We finally reached the top of Alpine Baldy at 2:00 PM. The false summit has better views than the true summit, but neither view can compare to the views from the East Peak summit of Beckler Peak.

Sweet view!!!

Simply gorgeous!!!

Snow cone, anyone?

Shortly after beginning our descent, I had us go down the western side of the open terrain/forest edge on the southwest side of the mountain. With my GPS and map as a guide, I had us go south down the mountain towards a seasonal stream, and then basically followed the mostly snow-covered streambed until reaching an original end-point of decommissioned road FS-6066 at 3800' elevation. We then headed down the road east, then west, on a few road switchbacks until reaching the road intersection referenced earlier in the report and heading west from there along FS-6066 to the car.

Mount Baring, as seen from Alpine Baldy

FZTE descends south on Alpine Baldy...

Heading down a snow-covered seasonal stream...

Overall, it turned out to be a great trip. The weather was perfect for February. The icy conditions on the slopes of Beckler Peak and Alpine Baldy, but especially on the west slopes of Alpine Baldy, caused us to utilize technical gear and knowledge that we had not expected on the typically-considered "non-technical" treks. But that only enhanced our experience. FZTE's special Mount Everest boots saved the day with its ability to do good kick-steps, and a big reason we were successful for both peaks. The trip helped FZTE train a little better for an upcoming trip to Mount Baker, and it helped me regain some focus and drive that I had not needed since this past September. Plus, the views of nearby peaks made me anxious for some other future summit trips in the region. Special kudos to FZTE, who is becoming a quick-study and good partner in terms of mountaineering. If he keeps it up, he has a bright future ahead.

[fzte]

[Eric]

Thanks for the TR. As for as the topic of which peak is highest on Beckler, the GPS and altimeter info is nice but I don't think you can put too much stock in it. Since you have one 5062 contour and 3x 5040-5080 contours you are talking about vertical differences of <22 feet between them (if the map is correct). Those sorts of margins are really less than what a commercial GPS or altimeter can be relied upon to accurately measure. Now if it were 100 feet or more difference then that is good evidence but at that point you could probably tell by sight anyway.

[Scrooge]

Lots of good beta, Redwic, the kind of thing that makes nwhikers such a good resource. Great pics, both of you.

FZTE, (belated) welcome to the forum. Glad to see that this group of old fogy hikers is continuing to attract the youngest generation of hikers and climbers. Okay, nwhikers, I know some of you are still pretty young, but you're definitely working on the fogy.

[Highwalker's Daughter]

Beautiful shots

[Quark]

FZTE, can you tell us about yourself again, and the The Moyer Foundation sign. (I know what the Moyer Fdn is, but is this a fund-raising thing) You've done some really nice trips.

[EastKing]

Great TR and pics! Wish I did not have to work that day.

[fzte]

[Redwic]

[Eric]

Yeah the USGS could have solved all of these with more spot elevations. The easiest thing is probably just to tag all possibilities in most cases and then you are covered. This case is expecptional, in that one of the possibilities it tricky enough that doing so takes more. A small sight level of 8x or 16x or 32x can help with this sort of thing. But ideally you still want to sight in both directions which means tagging all possibilities which means you've been to the summit anyway so what is the point? Just curiosity I guess. But it can confirm what your eyes see a bit more objectively. Another option it is to get on what you think is the highest peak and get your eye level at the summit level. Then look at the other summit. Identify background peaks. If you can find something in the background with a known elevation that is lower than your contending summits and if it appears higher than the other summit then that means your other summit is lower. Curvature of the earth distorts things but will always "harm" a more distant peak by a greater amount so it still works. Provided you've done everything right. Things get pretty silly if you want to be anal retentive. Or you can always just pick a summit, call it good and move on to the next one.

[Redwic]

Gimpilator went up to Beckler Peak on Thursday. Then, on Friday, we talked about this very subject. He had his own opinions about things, so he used some sort of method using maps, known information, and photos, to create a trigonometry equation to determine the highest point. I think he used the Middle Peak as his highpoint of choice. The result? Inconclusive, as the elevation(s) he came up with were well within the margin of error (i.e. a few feet of 5062'). As what Eric suggested, the best way might be to just go up each of the points, just to be certain. But the lack of exact fact-based knowledge rather than speculative knowledge makes me very interested to determine the exact "true" summit. I think a future trip might be worthwhile, to put this to rest (at least in my mind).

[Conrad]

This all begs the question: Why do you care if you touched the exact highest point? I mean, really.

[Eric]

If you haven't touched the highest point, you haven't been to the summit. It's anal, but it's the obvious and fair way to prerequisite for considering a summit ascended. At least for those us who like to play these dirty games in the mtns. Edward Earl has done something software wise that I think more or less matches what it sounds like Gimpilator was trying to do. He created a pixel analysis tool that plays around with that geometry and tries to calculate unknown elevations off of that. He's much more interested in discovering the HP, whereas I have more of a practical interest in doing enough to get the peak. I can't seem to find the link for that at the moment. One other thing that I saw Edward do once, on Indian Rock, is to use a hose level. Basically, a ~500 hose filled with water and the combination of water and gravity can give a fairly good estimate using that. More info on that setup: http://www.cohp.org/hose_level.html