[ngie]

Rampart Ridge SE Peak according to Peakbagger is a seldom climbed peak. There wasn't a super clear path, unlike Rampart Ridge proper, and the seemingly easiest way (the north ridge spine) wasn't super walkable. I went up the shortest path from Laura Lake Backdoor Trail with a lighter pack than usual, expecting some snow based on a recent WTA trip report claiming a person skied around Lake Lillian. (I'm going to skip over the road and general trail report, since others have likely covered that elsewhere in some detail) At the junction to Lake Margaret/Mount Margaret I turned south and followed the trail towards the Margarets. I got to the bottom of a boulder field, spotted some snow over the boulder field, some hoppable boulders, and a cairn, so I went off the beaten path heading up to the snow. The boulder field transitioned to a mixed scree/boulder field, with some sections wiped clean. I kick stepped up easily, but life got a bit difficult once I hopped off the snow (it was like a steep hard gravel road). I took a break partway up because it looked like a rough journey if I continued uphill. Looking for some easier travel, I went off to the right through the trees, leveraging snow wherever possible (there was plenty when I went up). I ended up heading up some wet/slippery roots in a section, going a bit too far to one side (the only real iffy part I encountered on that route), then kept on going up to the ridge. Once I got up to the ridge spine it was an easy walk up to the summit. The views were awesome: I got a great shot of Tahoma, Rampart Ridge, Alta, Hibox, Three Queens, and a lot of other area mountains. It was absolutely wonderful! Being adventurous and wanting to get down via Lake Lillian, I decided to walk the ridge. Silly choice: lots of brush bashing through trees along the spine, steep drop-offs on the east, and steep duff to the west. It was a nightmare. I tried getting down/bypassing gendarmes, but it was a horrible idea with super iffy terrain. After losing a pair of sunglasses (ARGGHHH), brush bashing enough through the trees, and doing some class 2/3 scrambling, I finally got to a nice snowy patch on the east side of the widened ridge. After pushing through the snow a bit, I ran into the trail and went down to the lake. It was still largely frozen over at the time and I was shocked that some folks were crossing the lake in the morning (!).. I decided to traverse around instead. The way down wasn't terrible -- just a bit buggy near the bottom in the more muddy section.

• Peakbagger