Forum Index > Trip Reports > Wolf Peak + Sperry Peak 03 oct 2020
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kitya
Fortune Cookie



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Location: Duvall, WA
kitya
Fortune Cookie
PostSun Oct 04, 2020 12:07 pm 
I read sunrise mine road was finally re-opened after repairs and wanted to check it out. Apparently everyone else also had the same idea. They did repair one section of the road quite well, but also very strategically. Other parts of the road still have huge prius eating potholes, washout damage and a small rock slide. It is all manageable, but I don't get it why repair just one small section instead of all problematic spots at the same time. Saturday early morning I already couldn't find parking at the trailhead and had to drive ways back down to find a spot along the road. When I came back almost all the road was filled with cars parking on both sides and leaving very narrow space for driving. It was surprising to see lake 22 level of parking insanity. It seems however almost all people either go to Vesper peak or to camp at lake Elan and me and Cookie had Wolf peak and Sperry peak all to ourselves! On the way we passed by some lycoperdon mushrooms (very appropriate since their scientific name literally means farts-of-the-wolf) and some chanterelles.
Going to Sperry peak scramble was rather long and a bit intense due to some exposure and a lot of steepness and trees obscuring the view of what is up. Me and Cookie didn't find the right way going up and mostly tried to follow the ridge. On the way down thankfully we found cairns that guided us to an easier way.
Wolf peak is very easy granite slab walking similar to Vesper. Except the very last short pointy top where there is an exposed narrow rock arête. I didn't see any register on Wolf. The views in the distance were somewhat smokey, but not too bad.
On the way back down I tied Cookie to a rock near lake Elan and went for a swim. The water was quite cold, but the weather is still very surprising, never before I remember such hot sunny days suitable for high alpine lakes swimming in October! Also surprisingly still bity bugs around. We heard many pikas and some marmots, but actually spotted only a few.
Some autumn colors and fireweeds
Just as we came back to the trailhead, we saw a search helicopter flying above and trucks from Everett Mountain Rescue and Snohomish Search and Rescue driving in. Hopefully nothing bad happened.

~*CutebutChossy69*~
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KascadeFlat
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KascadeFlat
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PostSun Oct 04, 2020 5:23 pm 
Glad to hear the road is open again and that you were able to find some solitude in the Lake 22-esque insanity. smile.gif I really love this area and never get tired of seeing photos of Vesper - there is just something about all of that white granite that's irresistible!

For a good time call: 1-800-SLD-ALDR.
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Anne Elk
BrontosaurusTheorist



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Anne Elk
BrontosaurusTheorist
PostThu Oct 08, 2020 8:37 pm 
I love this photo set, Kitya! up.gif So many new views of a familiar place (I've only ever been up Vesper), great composition, and of course, great pics of Cookie the wonder dog, who I'm now convinced must be part mountain goat. biggrin.gif It's clear from that one photo that she has no fear at all of precipices. This is the first time I've ever seen photos of Lake Elan with an island - must be record low water levels this year.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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kitya
Fortune Cookie



Joined: 15 Mar 2010
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Location: Duvall, WA
kitya
Fortune Cookie
PostThu Oct 08, 2020 9:25 pm 
Thank you Anne Elk! Cookie has a principal of only being afraid of stupid things (like a vacuum cleaner), but never being scared of anything in the wilderness!

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anonwums
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anonwums
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PostWed May 31, 2023 10:35 pm 
For people who have climbed Sperry, I have read wildly different descriptions. Some say it is easily class 2 with minimal exposure. Others say it has very intense exposure. It's hard to reconcile these two unless it's very route dependent. For those who think it's fairly tame, what are the tips to avoid exposure?

mosey
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neek
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neek
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PostThu Jun 01, 2023 6:03 am 
anonwums wrote:
For people who have climbed Sperry, I have read wildly different descriptions. Some say it is easily class 2 with minimal exposure. Others say it has very intense exposure. It's hard to reconcile these two unless it's very route dependent. For those who think it's fairly tame, what are the tips to avoid exposure?
It depends on when you go, the route you take (as mentioned above), and your comfort level. We went 1 month after this report and there was patchy snow. I recall one tricky spot near the top (up and around a snow covered corner) that had some exposure. Didn't bother me but one of our party opted for a brutal 'shwack to get around it. Imagine it would have been better dry but can't say for sure.

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~*CutebutChossy69*~
bluebagprincess



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~*CutebutChossy69*~
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PostFri Jun 02, 2023 12:19 am 
I love the pictures of Cookie rolling around in the snow- so cute!

Choss is a girl's best friend

kitya
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anonwums
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anonwums
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PostSun Jun 04, 2023 10:08 pm 
Managed to bag Sperry today. I think we found the "class 2" route. It was pretty much Beckey class 2, ie bordering and sometimes entering class 3. There was a tremendous amount of veggie belaying and grabbing the occasional boulder. Some of the veggie belays were challenging because you had to lower yourself down some pretty steep stuff. There were a handful of big steps requiring some care. Parts were quite brushy, and my ice axe got stuck on a branch and my friend had to help me extricate it. Someone tied webbing around a tree, so I assume they put a handline on it at some point. I wouldn't trust that webbing. I saved the photo from Summitpost showing the routes on my phone, which were obvious from Lake Elan but a bit obscured from the start of the climb at the talus field (which was snow covered). A trip report said the final climb to the top was easy class 2. That's simply not true. It's solidly class 3 with large boulders to scramble over, requiring hands for progress. That being said, it wasn't particularly hard. As others noted, there was essentially no exposure at all, with the exception of a very short section in which didn't really have a sheer drop off but had a steepish gulley below the route. It had solid handholds and footholds, and I think even calling it exposure is a stretch. There were tons of skiers on Vesper. Headlee Pass was quite dicey with hard snow covered with slush. There were glissade chutes on it, but it had substantial moats on each side so it would be quite dangerous. We accidentally ascended the gulley adjacent to Headlee. With snow on it, it was fine. I do wonder if it was actually easier than Headlee. Once below Headlee, there was a phenomenal glissade. Overall, the entire trip took way longer than expected, most of it for route finding. The views rom the top were quite nice. It was cool to see the tiny little ants ascending and descending Vesper.

neek, Lightning_bug
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