[Paul M]

Katie and Patrick came to the west side this weekend for a visit and to climb something together on Saturday. I picked Bedal Peak for the good workout, great terrain variety, and fantastic views. Joining us on the outing were Craig W and Bill H. While the weather did its best to thwart the views we had a great time none the less. We left the vehicles at 9 am and proceeded up the fisherman/climber’s path through magnificent timbers, hitting solid snow at approximately 4,400 ft. The “crux” gully at ~5,100 ft was a bit sketchy with a thin finger of snow reaching the rock and a well formed moat below. Once past this section the route was met with good step kicking snow all the way to the summit which was playing peak a boo in the passing clouds. We spent an hour on top waiting to see if the clouds would clear enough for the views I hoped for but had to settle for occasional teases. The temps were pleasant but we relished the added warmth when the sun did shine through. Our descent was marked by some nice glissades. All in all another great day in the mountains with the kids and good climbing friends. 6.2 miles RT and 4,300 ft elevation gain Some pictures follow:

Bill at the "Trail Head"

Trail tree gymnastics

Snow line rest stop (approx 4,400 ft)

Hidden Gully crux at approx. 5100ft

Katie and Patrick putting in the track

Nice step kicking conditions in the basin below the summit

Summit register

Bedal Benchmark

Bill reaching the summit

Katie topping out

Katie and Patrick on Bedal summit

Indian Head from Bedal

Sloan Peak lurking in the clouds

Katie and Patrick all smiles on Bedal Peak

Mountain Acro

Glissade time below Bedal Peak

Beautiful Forest on Bedal Peak approach

[Backpacker Joe]

Mountain acro is really cool! Nice work you two.

[Redwic]

This was a fun trip with a fun team.

The hike begins...

Ascending one of several boulder slopes

Katie on steep forest slope

From dry ground to snowbound

Approaching the crux ramp...

Where snow ramp meets steep dirt

Wide open snowy terrain

Thick low clouds moving in...

Getting closer...

Summit gathering

Sloan Peak, hiding...

Acro-cadabra!

Downclimbing the crux ramp

Last people through crux ramp

[Redwic]

There was no avalanche debris but I saw a couple of small pinwheels that looked like they had been there for a while. Some of the snow sloughed-off in a few sections, and there was a time during our descent that one of our partners slid downhill about seven feet (but self-arrested). Otherwise, most of the snow cooperated when we needed it to do so. However, that short ramp might have dangerous conditions soon, as I am concerned that the top lip of it is thinning-out and could easily break away. UPDATE (6/8/17): I have added photos to my first post...

[olderthanIusedtobe]

[pschlais]

I picked up a single trekking pole on the lower portion of the trail today and it looked like a recent drop. Did someone in your group lose one on this trip?

[Redwic]

Not that we are aware of.

[Magellan]

That route may be shortish, but it absolutely kicked my butt. Nice get!