West McMillan – Southern Pickets

10/6-7/08

It seems to have been a pretty good summer.  I was finally able to check a few off the tick list…  A trip into the Pickets was one of em.  Ever since first opening Selected Climbs and reading the W. McMillan Spire climb, I was hooked.  Something about the difficulty of the approach, the quoted fears, the questions of “why?”, the challenging weather all made the idea of a full fledged “Sufferfest” seem……good.

Now, I’ve been trying to drag people up here for a while.  This trip has been on my radar for almost 6 years; I’ve thought about bringing significant others, strangers and friends…but somehow I get John to go along with it.  He’s been itching to get his ass-kicked for a while, so the Pickets are ideal.  We head out at 5:30am and arrive at the TH and ready to hike at 9am.  The first 4.5 miles are relatively flat, gaining 1000′, along an extremely overgrown logging road.  We fly through it and arrive at the trail turn-off in about 1hr.  We take a break and I ask John “so, you ready for this?”.  The climbers trail takes off and rises 3600′ in less than 3 miles….that’s STEEP.  We’re at the heather benches and grabbing a break after 3hrs of climbing.

The next 3 miles or so are amazing!  Basically a long traverse through gorgeous heather & boulder gardens, everywhere around you are amazing landscapes and terraces.  Our hike in, with continuos clouds, wasn’t nearly as amazing as the hike out.  6hrs from the car and we were arriving in camp, not bad for an approach recommended for 2 days!  Select our bivy spots, take out the sleeping pads and its time for a nap.

The clouds drifted in and out, just like us…  Soon enough it was time for dinner and time for a little sunset.

Another couple joined us and i was able to get this shot, it was too bad we didn’t get their email…

After debating about setting up the tarp or taking our chances with rain, we pass out.  Somewhere around 10pm, the clouds broke apart and left us with crystal clear skies all night.  It was hard to sleep, knowing that a night so filled with the stars is a rare and cherished opportunity so I spent as many wake-ups as I could gazing upward.

5am came and went and neither of us heard our alarms.  The lack of stars woke me up and I roused John for a little breakfast & coffee.  Out of camp by 7am, traversing more heather and granite slab terraces.  Arriving at the snow slope at 9am.

Set up our crampons and charging up the snow finger as quick as possible; knowing full well the long day we were in for.

We made pretty good time getting to the notch.  John had a little dizzy spell that put a damper on the mood, but it was still a fun little part of the climb.  Charged up the class 3 scramble as fast as I could and only spent a few moments on the summit.  The wind was freezing and I didn’t want to spend too much time up there.  I was finally at my spot, my pinnacle within the views that I’ve always wanted and the battery light on my camera was flashing, the wind was almost blowing me down and my partner wasn’t feeling well.  I did get a few shots and had a few moments to talk to peaks like Mt Fury, Luna, Terror, Shuksan……and of course, my baby, my obsession; Mt Redoubt.

I took off down the loose route and almost ran back to the moat.  We had a little snack break and started our descent.  We climbed down the moat for a while before finally hoping on the snow for a super fun glissade down to the rocks.  It was hilarious, neither of us could see a thing as the snow filled our eyes.  I was wondering when I would actually get some “turns” and snow face shots in Sept.  We cruised on back to camp, and took a much needed hydration and food break, packed up our gear and got going.

Going back across the heather traverse was more than perfect.  The skies were clear, the wind was gone and temps were perfect.  We flew through it, trying to get ourselves back down but still making time for pictures and view absorbtion.

4 hrs after leaving camp, we pulled up to the car and raised our arms in victory!  Sure our feet were sore and my quads stung for a few days afterward, but the ice cold Guiness took all that pain away.  It was the traditional stop at Good Food for the mediocre burgers and fries Gut Bomb before finally making it back to Seattle around 9:30pm.

The Pickets.  Sure its one of the most challenging places to get into in Washington…but I CAN’T wait to get in there again.  Can anyone say winter!!!???