Eldorado Peak/W. Arete

So the climbing season has finally arrived with warmer temperatures and decent conditions.

On June 17th and 18th Lori and I went on a Mountaineers Basic Climb to Eldorado Peak. This is undoubtadly my favorite peak so far in the N. Cascades. Good, solid climbing with a major approach and impecable views from the summit. Stephen McKim led this climb and the 10 of us ended up meeting at the Marblemount Ranger Station at approximately 7:00am. The morning was fairly cloudy and filled with precipitation. Because of this, we all decided to go down the street to the local, family-owned slop house for some Breakfast. The food ended up being mediocre at best. However that didn't matter since we all were ready to climb.

We took a two cars to the trailhead and parked, sorted gear, and headed out to cross the river. We ended up crossing the river via a different log than what I used before. It proved to be a definite balancing act with a heavy pack. One slip and your gonna go in and be carried down-stream. Everyone moved at a fairly decent pace working their way up through the forrest as the trail steepened. We could see periodic sunbreaks through the trees that kept teasing us. Once out of the woods, we congregated at the start of the main boulder field.

The weather ended up clearing and we established camp and had a nice sunset. The next morning we woke up to clear skies and made our way up the Eldorado Glacier. The route was in great shape and we countoured right and went up the backside of the Inspiration as most parties end up doing. There was a small bergshrund that forms in the usual spot, but it was easily avoided.

I ended up taking all of the pickets from the various rope teams and led the Knife Arete that leads to the true summit. The snow was in good condition. I got yelled at because I didn't place enough pro on the final ridge walk, oops. Everyone summitted, and we began our descent back down the mountain. We got back to the cars at a reasonable time and ended up going to "Good Food" where I stuffed my face with a well deserved Mountain Burger.