[Gimpilator]

I began packing for this unplanned trip when I woke up, and didn't get to the trailhead until 9:15 am. I passed 56 people on the way to Mount Roosevelt but didn't see anyone once I was past Gem Lake.

first view of Roosevelt

Snow Lake

Kaleetan

Along the ridge leading over to Roosevelt there are many side trails and a few times I had to backtrack to stay on the right boot path. I came to the tiny basin between the north peak and the main peak and the diagonal ramp was visible.

Wright above Gem Lake

Gem

Gem

Roosevelt

Kaleetan

Snow Lake

Wright

8 labels

ramp visible

I dropped my pack to enable better balance and put on my helmet. I scrambled up the ramp and came to the notorious steep dirt section. What makes this part of the route dangerous is that it is above cliffs and there are few good holds aside from bunches of heather. Furthermore, on this morning the dirt was wet and I was wearing trail-runners with very little traction. Fortunately I brought microspikes and my ice axe and with these tools I able able to climb safely. I noted that there were several rappel slings here around trees.

steep dirt section above cliffs

summit

Mt. Logan?

Kaleetan Lake

Kaleetan

Snow Lake

Snow Lake

Above the dirt section I ascended around to the southeast and then scrambled up an open book formation to the summit. The mountaineers register was labeled Mt. Logan. WTF? I was the 4th ascent of the year. Views were mighty fine, especially of Chair Peak sandwiched between the two lakes.

Gem

Overcoat, Chimney, Lemah

Caroline

Preacher

Chair

Roosevelt north peak summit

Rainier

Chair and Kaleetan

Chair

I descended back to Snow Lake, climbing Roosevelt's north peak along the way. I was hoping to have enough daylight to give Avalanche Mountain a shot. I didn't have any route information aside from a map. From the east end of Snow Lake I followed the boot path to the eastern most of the 3 small lakes and the path ended there.

small lake

Avalanche above the eastern most lake

talus slope

Snoqualmie

on the south ridge

south ridge

The brush east of the lakes was thick at times and I momentarily regretted adding this peak onto my itinerary. At the base of the south ridge I came to a talus slope. I skirted this around to the right (south) and ascended toward the saddle. I could see several cliff sections above near the ridge crest, but by weaving back and forth I was able to reach the saddle without any exposed scrambling.

Snoqualmie

summit block

I followed the ridge north, following the path of least resistance. There were a lot of small trees to push through and some definite class 3 moves which might have been avoidable with more exploration. On the summit I was rewarded with sweet views of Mount Garfield and the impressive northwest face of Snoqualmie Mountain. I halfheartedly searched for a register but did not find one. I did notice several people signed the summit rocks by etching and the oldest was from 1977.

summit

Price

summit etchings

Garfield

I retraced my route to Snow Lake and then hiked back over the pass. Darkness was falling fast and I got to play my game of "let's see if I can get back to the car without using my headlamp, and without falling down". Kind of stupid, but a hell of a lot of fun.

Roosevelt above a small lake

At the parking lot I noticed two headlamps half way up on the west face of Guye Peak. They appeared to be making slow rappels. I felt bad for them and wished them a safe descent.

[mehitabel]

Nice photos! Thank you for the Roosevelt beta. I wouldn't have thought of bringing crampons for dirt. Ours are heavy full length. Do you have a microspike brand recommendation? Or do you think hiking boots + ice axes would be fine? Supposedly this is on our list but we haven't felt motivated to do it since two years ago when we had a frustrating time with getting turned around and separated and had to settle for Wright, because of the Snow Lake trail crowds, and because if we have a full day we usually go farther away.

[Gimpilator]

Good question. If the dirt is dry, then an ice axe and boots would be enough. But if you're looking for microspikes anyway, then Kahtoola makes the best ones.

[mehitabel]

Thanks. I am trying to decide whether microspikes are worth it. 13 oz versus 28 oz for the crampons. I have yak trak which are even lighter that i have used for icy snow that is not too steep. But usually when I have worn the crampons I have been very glad that they were crampons and not microspikes. On times when I brought the crampons for a climb but decided they were not needed I wish I had brought something lighter. I guess microspikes are good for this specific situation of not wanting the weight of hiking boots.

[puzzlr]

Roosevelt alone wore me out, so I'm impressed you had the energy to tackle Avalanche as well. Great work.

[Redwic]

Congratulations, Adam! I know you have wanted to visit Mount Roosevelt for a long time. Sorry I was not able to join you on this trip.

[furthur]

A few weeks ago, we visited Roosevelt, at first unsure of the actual peak. But after lunching on the north peak, a goat beckoned us over the talus to the ascending trail to the south. It was dry for us, but even so, we used a hand line for my tentative descent down the heather. Wet conditions would certainly turn me back.