[puzzlr]

I've been scared of Chair Peak for years, ever since my friend told me about his search and rescue team's retrieval of a hiker's body killed by a large loose rock. But I saw Yana and Dicey's TR in 2009 which followed a route Boo and friends did in 2008. While not a walk up, the route looked doable without necessarily putting one's life at risk from rock fall. So as the weekend of Oct 2, 2010 shaped up as one of those perfect fall days, I lined up a willing partner to tackle Chair Peak and lived to tell the tale! My partner had to be back in town early on our summit day, so we hiked up to the Snow Lake divide on Friday evening, stumbling through the bush in the dark by head lamp, but finding a reasonably flat spot for our minimal overnight gear. The next morning was clear skies above, with a sea of clouds below.

Heading up the trail at dusk, about 7:30 pm on Friday.

Our minimal camp in a small clearing on the Snow Lake divide

Next morning dawned clear, with the sunrise lighting up Chair Peak

It's only 1800' of gain from the Snow Lake divide to the top of Chair Peak, but the scramble route is somewhat circuitous and requires route finding and cautious moves in some areas. We took our time climbing up the talus slopes to the ridge line, relishing the perfect conditions.

The first big talus field out of camp. This descends all the way down to the source lake trail, and would be a good route for a one-day climb.

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In Chair Peak basin near the Thumbtack

We've come up the ramp are heading up the talus slope south of Chair Peak basin

Nearing the ridge top

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Chair Peak and basin. In a while we'll be in that upward slanting gully with the dark shadow.

The terrain changes dramatically on the west side of the ridge. Loose rocks sloping the wrong way are the rule. We tried hard to follow Yana's careful instructions, but didn't really identify all the key spots until we were coming back. In particular, we didn't see any need to compare our girth to hers or Dicey's by forcing our bodies past the "squeeze tree". (some pictures taken on the way back).

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After crossing the ridge the route traverses and descends below the rock ribs.

Returning to the ridge crossing. We chose not to experience Yana's squeeze, instead heading directly for the bigger tree.

Blueberries turning red

The notch proved to be the crux. Doug started across lower down then turned back. We dropped a rope for a hand line, but ended up not using it because the rock at that spot proved to be solid with bomber holds. But as Dicey said, "Don't fall here".

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After a little confusion and route finding we finally got to the notch and this small cliff. Doug first tried to cross lower down on the red rock, but found it insecure.

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Doug thought he saw more solid rock above. I wanted to throw down a hand line because it looked steep. It turned out he was right, and the scramble down to the notch where the rope lays is easy and solid enough to not need it.

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The scramble route down/up the steep side of the notch. This is the crux of the entire climb. The rope is there for safety, but we didn't use it.

After the notch there's really only one way to go, and the rock is in general more solid. However we did manage to trigger a barrage of rocks under the branches of a hemlock that were poised to fall. Stay close together in this gully -- the ricochets could be deadly. Summit shots ...

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Across from the notch is the big gully that leads most of the way to the summit from the notch.

Doug on top

Snow Lake from Chair Peak

Gem Lake from Chair Peak

I can't believe I'm finally on Chair Peak!

Melakwa Lake from Chair Peak

Rock climbers on the West Ridge route

Approximate route from the ridge crossing to the notch (by red rock)

On the way down and out we continued to enjoy the fine fall weather by playing around on the Thumbtack, and taking the source lake trail out.

The Thumbtack

Playing around on the Thumbtack

Fall colors, Chair Peak, and the moon

Crashing through colorful bushes down to the Source Lake trail

Source Lake

[Yana]

[Dayhike Mike]

Gorgeous pics! Wish I'd made it up there that day.

[Bernardo]

Thanks for the detailed report including references, pictures and labels. Glad the weather held out for you.

[cmurph]

Nice work puzzlr looks like a great day up there