Harts Pass & Trappers Peak
September 30 – October 1, 2023
The cold was starting to set in around the coast mountains, and lots of photos on various friends’ instagram stories showed their latest early winter adventures. Summer is my favourite season though, and I really really wanted to find at least one more alpine climb before calling it winter. Seeing as Washington had no precip forecasted, Francis and Brittany were both on board to give it a shot. Our plan was to climb Cutthroat peak, and then if weather was still looking good, to go for Burgundy spire the following day. We did plan a few backup hike ideas incase there really was snow, but we figured what’s the worst that could happen from just going into Washington pass to check it out?
We met Brittany at the Cutthroat peak trailhead at 6am, meaning we had to leave Vancouver around 2:30. The sky was still getting light as we parked since sunrise is so late now, making it hard to see whether or not our climb still had snow. We were very sure that the Northern aspects of every route were snowy, meaning Burgundy spire was already off the list, but we had some hope that the sunny South Buttress of Cutthroat would be dry for us. Despite being very tired, and very cold, we got ourselves together and began our hike. We’d at least walk to the base of the climb, touch some rock, and make a decision from there.
My dorky cold-weather outfit
Francis & Brittany headed up to Cutthroat
The extra cold weather and frost on the ground meant I probably should have packed full on winter pants, so I wore the sweats I intended to sleep in over my leggings. It looked ridiculous but it worked well. As we hiked up into the valley, I stayed the perfect temperature.
The hike up was not too challenging despite how much elevation we needed to gain. I think the reason it felt so relaxed is that you spend very little time in the trees, and the grind up through the meadows passes quickly with amazing views all around.Â
From the meadows, we skipped the “left-most gully” that all the trip reports seem to mention, and went for the farthest right gully with efficiency in mind. We made it to the start of the route in just a couple hours, and we finally stood looking up at the rock.Â
At this point, the clouds were thick, and it was snowing very lightly. Only standing up there for a few minutes with every single one of my layers plus one of Brittany’s, I was already starting to shiver. We were super back and forth since of course we all wanted to climb, but Brittany and I (especially after Forbidden Peak) were not super keen on another cold epic. I was also worried about the descent route down the West ridge, since there’s some unroped and exposed sections that looked like they might be snowy. I was pretty bummed to disappoint everyone, but in the end I made the final call to turn back, and there were no objections to this since the day really was… cold.
Brittany looking extra cute with her favourite fall colours all around
Surrounded by snow. The choice is hard lol
Making a hard choice to climb or not to climb….
Francis and I heading back down (sad)
Francis despises matching. With me wearing Brittany’s extra layer we noticed our strikingly similar outfits. hehehe
Back down through the meadows
As we reversed our short hike up, we discussed where to go hiking for the day. We were all super keen to be outside still, see some pretty views and snowy larches, so we settled on one of the backup options at Harts Pass.
This area is part of the Pacific Crest Trail, so it is beautifully maintained and offers some fantastic hiking and views. After having a quick mid-morning lunch, we dumped the climbing gear from our packs and drove over through Mazama to start our hike.
We first summitted Cone Mountain by following a random larch-filled riverbed, and then descended some loose sand and rocks to meet up with the official PCT trail towards Tatie peak.Â
Summit views from Cone Mountain
Entering Harts pass
Francis and I heading to Tatie peak
The ridgeline towards Tatie peak was pretty awesome and surprisingly easy walking. The cold wind continued to bite, and I was still happy to have all my layers with me. From the ridgeline and from the summit of Tatie peak, we could see out towards Washington pass where we were supposed to be climbing. It looked cold.. and pretty snowy. We were happy to be on a hike where at least we could keep moving when the chill started to set in!
Brittany (and Francis behind) walking the ridgeline
Some snow headed our way..
The three of us on Tatie peak
Snow behind us and questionable clouds.. confirming we made the right call not to climb!
Francis looking over at our next objective
A somewhat warmer looking selfie on Tatie peak!
After Tatie Peak, we continued down the ridge towards Syncline Mountain. However when we crested the edge where we were supposed to start going up, the wind bit down extra hard and I was suddenly feeling a little tired and unenthused about getting this last summit. Brittany was on the fence so I asked Francis how long he thought it would take him to get to the top if we didn’t come with him. He gave me an estimate of 15 minutes. “No way!” I said. It looks so far, for sure it would take me double that! But now that there was a challenge on the table, he was keen on beating it so I set my timer and off he went. Brittany and I were more than happy to hang out and explore some beautiful yellow larch forest!
Francis & Brittany headed toward Syncline
A look up at Syncline Mountain from a larch covered ridgeline
Francis taking off on his solo speed mission
I immediately found a very cute puppy on the trail! 😀
My vote for “best larch of the day”
Brittany with her chosen “best larch of the day”
Amazing larches with Tatie peak in the background
Brittany hiking out on the well travelled PCT trail
Brittany and I spent our time walking through the trees and decided to see who could find the best larch tree. Let me know who’s you think is better 😉 I like mine a little orange and fluffy, but hers is a very cute yellow Christmas tree. It would be a toss up! After exactly 33 minutes, Francis jogged back to us in a sweat. I was impressed! He really did take 15 minutes up and 15 down haha, plus only 3 minutes. What a little crusher! We all filled up on snacks and gummies, before heading back on the well groomed PCT trail to the car. We passed many cute doggies on our way, and marveled at all the lovely colors of the fall season.
The weather for the following day was also looking questionable, and Brittany decided her best call would be to start her long drive home in the morning. Because we had no major plans, we settled into a nearby campsite for an early evening. We were all totally keen to eat and get some good rest after getting up so early the previous morning! Dinner consisted of random boiled noodle packets, pasta, miso soup and chocolate almonds. After dinner, Francis built us a lovely fire and we played monopoly deal with some blankets until the sun went down.
Francis starting up a bonfire for us
Playing monopoly deal by the fire 🙂
Cozy fire selfie 🙂
The next morning we headed into Mazama for coffee and pastries before saying our goodbyes to Brittany. From Mazama, Francis and I drove back through Washington pass to the Trappers Peak trailhead just past Newhalem (an almost-nothing small town). It was mid afternoon when we set off at a brisk pace along the trail. It was soon clear that I’d packed far too many layers for what was shaping up to be a perfect blue-sky fall day. We kept our quick pace for almost the entire hike, and made the entire 7km journey in under 3 hours.Â
The summit was beautiful, with fantastic views of the Picket range, as well as back towards Forbidden peak (Eldorado, Sahale) and all of that group. We were able to see quite a few mountains that we’d both summitted, but we were most inspired by the jagged peaks of the Pickets….. I think a trip will have to be in order for that one next year!!
Some pretty fall colours and big trees while heading up to Trappers peak
Cute orange mushrooms I found!
Amazing views of the pickets from the summit…. feeling inspired!!
Views of the epic looking Mount Triumph
The hike down was uneventful, and before getting back to the border we caved and went out for our favourite… Mexican dinner :’) Despite the snow, it turned out to be a lovely weekend. I am of course sad about not climbing Cutthroat peak, but we will be back!! It looks fantastic and like something I’d enjoy when my fingers aren’t freezing 🙂