[gray matter]

Black Peak has been on the list for a while. With the North Cascades highway open and the snow still covering the talus, I figured this was the perfect objective. I did not have an alpine start on Friday, but got to Rainy Pass around 11:00 am.

I brought snow shoes, but would have been better off leaving them at home. Heck, if I was smart, I would have an alpine touring setup and would have skied this route. The hike in to Wing Lake was a bunch of side hill.

Since the snow was already soft, the slog up to the lake took a bit of time. But I had the whole basin to myself. So, I made a bivy site near a tree and a rock and settled in for the evening.

I decided to retire early and get an alpine start.

Unfortunately, the area is so beautiful and the clouds were dancing around the summit that I just laid down and watched nature for a couple hours. It was serene.

The alarm got me up at 3:00 am. The good news is that it froze over night. I was looking forward to firm snow, and that's what I got.

I made good time up to the South ridge and enjoyed first light.

I continued up a series of gullies on the south ridge, and transitioned a few times from ground to snow. The snow is melting out pretty quickly. The route is well-cairned, and it was good to take my time to be sure I was on the right track.

Up near the summit block, I saw an area of what appeared to be well-traveled rock.

After scoping it a bit, I decided that this was definitely not an area I was going to climb (and down climb) without protection. So, I had a look around the corner.

And the route became clear.

It was a great day to be standing on top of a mountain!!

There were a couple of rappel slings on a somewhat sketchy looking flake, so I had been looking at the rappel route from down below. It seems to me that the risk of rappeling off an uncertain anchor would have been greater than down climbing the standard route. I found the descent to be very straightforward. By the time I got back down to the south ridge, the snow down to Wing Lake had softened enough for perfect plunge stepping. I got back to the lake, packed my pack, and headed back out. I spoke to several other parties on this trip, most of whom were on skis. I didn't see the guy (or gal) who made these tracks, but it looks like someone else was on route. These were seen between Wing Lake and Heather Pass

This was a great trip at the right time of year for the route, and my 50th bulger peak.

[RichP]

Congrats on making the half way point.

[Fletcher]

Congrats on 50 Matt! That’s a great accomplishment.

[Secret Agent Man]

This is one of my favorite scrambling peaks. Nice trip!

[geyer]