[Jeb]

View larger size in new window After an awesome peak bagging backpack trip to Gem Lake last weekend, Colin and I were left with a lingering summit fever. We have both been looking at Mount Stuart for years and conditions could not have been better for a summit bid. We hoped to camp in the Ingalls Creek valley or somewhere along the climb but when we arrived at the trailhead at 1030 pm we chose instead to sleep in the truck and make an alpine start. We were on the trail at 245 am and off to Long's Pass by 4. Stuart was well enough lit by moonlight to make out the wide Cascade Couloir from the pass. The morning light appeared before we reached Ingalls Creek. We both mistakenly believed the trail followed the South side of the creek and we made it about a half mile East before we decided to leave our overgrown path and push through brush and over the creek to the real trail. The trail that leads to the beginning of the Cascade Couloir Route begins at the West edge of a clearing just after a small creek crossing with the remains of an old footbridge.

Sunrise in Ingalls Creek Valley

Sunrise in Ingalls Creek Valley

Several tents were set up in the camp just south of the clearing below the col. We returned to the creek after climbing 200' of the trail and refilled our water, as it is the last reliable source. Several tents were set up in the camp just across the trail from this clearing. The wide open Cascade Couloir came into view around 5500' after a very short section of meadows. The next 2500' or so was through small loose talus and sand, with decent bootpaths through vegetation along either edge of the couloir.

Colin at the base of the Cascade Couloir

twisted tree

Tahoma

Tahoma

Silouettes

Ingalls Peak, Lake Ingalls

Cascade Couloir

Cascade Couloir

At 7000' we stopped for a break at a small landing with a few excellent bivy spots and views into the valley below and up towards the false summit. Above that the talus began to grow quickly, with the occasional massive boulder or three strewn about. We were both having a blast rock-hopping our way up the mountain when suddenly Sherpa Peak came into view to the East. Colin knew Sherpa to be about 8600' which meant we had less than one thousand feet to go.

Sherpa Peak

Looking South from Mount Stuart

Wenatchee Wildfire

Cascade Couloir

Longs Pass

Cascade Couloir

Bills Peak

Koppen Mountain

Esmeralda Peak

Mount Stuart Bivy

The next landmark along the route was the large snowfield situated just below the false summit. The snow had melted out enough near the top to expose what looked like a decent scramble route above it, so we chose to save the trouble of donning crampons. We climbed up inside the moat until it appeared sketchier than the solid rock above. Clean handholds were everywhere, I have never had so much fun climbing!

Mount Stuart False Summit

Ice Cliff Glacier

Colin below the false summit

Colin on the false summit

At the top of the snow field we used ice axes to carefully cross 15 feet of snow where it curled over to the north, becoming the top of the Ice Cliff Glacier. A short scramble later we were standing on the fase summit with our destination finally in view.

Colin on the false summit

Looking North from the False Summit

Looking North from the False Summit

Climbers ascending the North Ridge

Colin poses by a window in the rock

Mom on Stuart

False Summit, our route

On the way to the true summit I heard voices. We were fairly certain that nobody was ascending behind us, and soon Colin noticed a few distant climbers on the North Ridge. We enjoyed more scrambling along the ridge, pausing often to admire dozens of bivy spots and imagine the countless adventures they had been a part of. As we were examining the Stuart Glacier from above we noticed two climbers from the North Ridge attain the summit.

Mom on Stuart

On the false summit of Mount Stuart

Stuart Glacier

The summit of Mount Stuart is without a doubt my favorite place yet to view the Cascades. Nearly every peak I have ever climbed was in view, not to mention hundreds more that I've never laid eyes on. A lot of our route up was visible, the switchbacks down from Longs Pass looked unreal. The summit register's container is a metal(aluminum?) briefcase, seemingly custom made though I'm not sure what "MAZAMAS" is supposed to mean. We found two notebooks inside with logs going back to 1997.

Summit Register

Summit Register

Ingalls Peak, Ingalls Lake from Mount Stuart

Looking down at our route over Long's Pass from the summit of Mount Stuart

Enchantments

Mount Daniels

Longs Peak

Stuart Glacier

Stuart Glacier

Cashmere Mountain

Mount Adams

Scrambling down

Rainier

Rainier over our route

Sherpa Peak, Enchantments

Colin and a massive boulder

After staying to enjoy the summit as long as possible, we packed up and headed down with about 6 hours of light remaining. It took us 9.5 hours to reach the top and we hoped to make it over Longs Pass without headlamps so we would need to make good time. Following our ascent route down with some modifications thanks to hindsight proved to be quicker than I hoped, and a few hundred feet of glissades didn't hurt our time either. At least 500' of deep sand allowed for plunge stepping like I have never experienced outside of a snowy slope, and was conveniently situated in the middle of 4000' of knee-busting fun.

Sherpa Peak

Rainier and rocky sillouettes

Colin and a massive boulder

Giant Ape watching over Hibox

Lady on a throne - Mount Stuart's West Ridge

Sun setting on Mount Stuart

North of Mount Stuart

Reaching the Summit of Mount Stuart

From False Summit

Mount Stuart

Ice Cliff Glacier

We had time for a dinner break back at the creek and still made it to the pass just as the sun began to set behind Fortune Peak. We watched the remaining light leave Stuart and celebrated the accomplishment with a little toast before returning to the trailhead under twilight.

From Mount Stuart Summit

False Summit Pano

Mount Stuart Summit Pano

Mount Stuart

2:45am - Leave TH 4:00am - @ Longs Pass 5:00am - @ base of CC 12:20pm - @ Mount Stuart Summit 2:20pm - Leave Summit 5:30pm - @ base of CC 7:30pm - @ Longs Pass 8:15pm - back @ TH 14 miles ~9000' elevation

[Magellan]

Way to tear it up!

[mbs5380]

Great Pics! I did it last year and it was unforgettable. Mount Stuart is one of the most awesome peaks you can stand on without the need for technical skills or climbing gear. It's got a unique combination of incredible relief on almost all sides and a very airy feeling due to the summit poking well above a lot of the nearby surrounding peaks. The big volcanoes just don't give you the same feeling. The only downside is it's such a grueling slog that you don't ever get to spend as much time on the summit as you'd like.

[Jetlag]

Nice TR! I have never climbed the Cascadian this time of year, so it was good to read about the conditions and see the pictures. The word "Mazamas" is probably from the Oregon Climbing Club, organized somewhat like the Seattle Mountaineers. They are still active in Washington's Cascades. I believe they were the first climbers of many of the peaks, including Glacier, and I have run into large parties of Mazamas on the other volcanoes as well.

[ericande]

Thanks for the TR, it's good timing as we are probably heading there this weekend. Do you have photos of the bivy sites at 7000'? Easy to find? If so, I think we may head up early Saturday, make camp there and head up and then out Sunday which would work much better with our work schedules this week.

[Magellan]

In case you aren't joking about the Mazamas...Mazamas history

[n16ht5]

love the panos

[Jeb]

The bivy site on the prominent knob in one of my pics above is around 7000, but from 6000 up there is no shortage of options.

[Fletcher]

Nice job, Stuart in a day makes for a long day.

[Jeb]

Thanks! If anyone needs me I"ll be on wikipedia