Enchantments

Mount Stuart is probably my favorite mountain in Washington. Tall, prominent, steep, visible from everywhere, and composed of beautiful black & white granite. After failing to summit via the Cascadian Couloir back in 2019 I was determined to flex my newfound trad climbing skills on the famous West Ridge route. However, there were some factors that made me nervous: I’d moved to Atlanta in June of 2020, and was a few hundred million years too late to experience the Appalachians as much more than rolling hills. [Read More]

Republished from the WTA website here. Put car snacks in a critter-proof container! We had some nice victory snacks stashed in the trunk at the Snow Lakes trailhead, but returned to find mice had gotten into them! Imagine me, stumbling down the endless Snow Lakes trail, wanting nothing more than chocolate peanut butter cups & white cheddar popcorn, only to have my dreams shattered. Parked at Snow Lakes trailhead then took a shuttle up to Colchuck trailhead. [Read More]

Republished from the WTA website here. Attempted summit of Mount Stuart via Cascadian Couloir route, parking as Esmerelda Trailhead and approaching via Long’s Pass. Main takeaways: Bring crampons Consider summiting later in the day when the snow has softened The summit will probably be covered in cloud until it burns off around noon You need a national forest pass (or equivalent) to park at Esmerelda Trailhead Began hiking at noon Saturday, intending to bivy around 7800-8200 feet then summit Sunday. [Read More]

Loved this route so much I had to go back and do it again. Some friends had heard of our ascent the year prior and appreciated having me as a guide. Went two weeks earlier in the season this time, so dodged the snow but the larches weren’t fully turned. Since much of the route was the same as the last trip I’ll spare most of those details, covering only the differences. [Read More]

The Enchantments is a wildly popular hiking & climbing area in Washington, just outside the town of Leavenworth. The standard hike starts from Colchuck Lake trailhead, past the eponymous lake, up Aasgard Pass, through the upper then lower Enchantments, then slogs out to the Snow Lakes trailhead. We decided to take a different route: starting from Colchuck Lake trailhead, we’d follow the trail for several miles along the flat section until hitting the bridge to cross over the river. [Read More]