[Beave]

Met Randy B in Issaquah at the relaxed and well-rested time of 8:30am; Destination unknown. Rain automatically meant we were headed over the pass. I had programmed some FS Road directions into my GPS for Goat Peak, just S of Lake Easton. The rain followed us there and though we were able to drive to 3500' on the W side of the peak, we decided to continue E on I-90 in search of more favorable weather. We wound up in the Teanaway area, heading towards the Iron Peak TH. Soon after pavement turned into dirt, dirt turned into snowy ruts. The trusty Toyota brought us all the way to about 3600' and we parked under one of the peaks SW ridges. We were quite surprised to see a Subaru Outback had made it this far and not lost any of it's undercarriage. After another few warm weeks, the last couple miles of road should be passable to most cars. The weather was still rainy and gray, but we bit the bullet and started working up into the woods. Very easy going, albeit soft snow and sinking with each step just enough to be annoying. Snowshoes went on at 4500' and greatly eased travel. At some point we gained the peaks S ridge and followed it to the summit, passing a few easy outcroppings and cornices en route. Although the weather had cleared, we didn't stay long, but I did get a chance to review past ascents of Fortune, S Ingalls, Volcanic Neck, Koppen, Goldwater, Earl, Hawkins and Esmerelda Peaks. (Not chestbeating, just reminiscing!) Our descent was counterclockwise, first heading NW then SW back to the road. Halfway down the mtn, we stopped and practiced some crevasse rescue skills and snow anchor placements. Good times. Although a repeat for Randy, I was happy to tick another one off the list. Stats: About 3000' gained and 5 miles RT

[Randy]

Dude, pictures!

[Beave]

Nope, no good pictures worth resizing and uploading. =(

[Jeff R]

Any picture from the "teanaway" is a good one! Thanks for the great report though!