During a rainy weekend this winter, I’d been scanning maps of Washington State, looking for areas I hadn’t yet explored. In one satellite image a massive glacier near Diablo Lake stood out. As I looked more closely and did some research, I realized that The Neve Glacier on Snowfield Peak was in Classic Climbs of the Cascades, Volume II and had likely not made my earlier lists given its long approach and 3rd class route. After months of lockdown and looking for some solitude, the route sounded much more appealing.
Erica and I originally planned to head in on the Friday holiday to give us two nights for bagging as many of the peaks nearby as possible, but the forecast deteriorated significantly and we decided to pull a day. We left Seattle at 5:30am on Saturday morning and decided getting a permit was the right thing to do. It took a while in Marblemount with only one person working the permits, but we eventually got our official documentation and cruised up to the Pyramid Lake Trailhead, leaving the car at 9am. The clouds were hanging low in the valley and we hoped they would burn off as the forecast predicted.
We expected a long, steep approach and we got it. After an easy 2-mile section to Pyramid lake, the trail kicked straight up the ridge, gaining vertical feet with reckless abandon. The trail was faint in a few places and visibility wasn’t great, but we never strayed far and made good time in our trail runners. At 1:15pm, we had made it to the base of Pyramid Peak’s rock face and began the traverse to the Colonial Glacier. All of the peaks were still socked in, but visibility was good enough to catch glimpses every so often.
We traversed around the East side of the Colonial Glacier tarn and then switchbacked our way up to the Colonial-Neve Glacier col, where we arrived at 3pm. With all of the peaks still socked in, it didn’t make sense to continue on, so we set up camp in the thankfully available campsite and proceeded to have a very leisurely afternoon, complete with soup and tea before a nap. Things hadn’t improved enough in the evening to venture out, so we stayed hunkered down, had dinner before a brief moment of sunset aura, and then went to bed at 9pm.
At 5am, the sky was perfectly clear and the air was breathless. We watched as the sunrise bathed Pyramid, Pinnacle, and Paul Bunyon’s Stump in shades of purple and orange. We started down from camp at 6am, right around when a party of 5 was also heading up. We traded pleasantries and took in the amazing views of The Pickets as we traversed the expansive Neve Glacier. At about 7:20am, we reached the edge of the glacier and were able to take off our crampons and rope since the ridge was sufficiently melted.
The initial walk went easily and then things got a bit more interesting in the gully, which held quite a bit of snow, rime ice, and verglas for early July. We gingerly made our way upwards, climbing up and over the left edge of the gully near its end, then down onto a ramp system, which also held some snow and verglas. At the end of the ramp, we stayed right on the ridge for a few airy steps. At this point, all options looked steeper and higher-consequence, so we short roped together for a brief traverse, going one at a time leaving one person in a secure stance as the other moved. Another 50 feet of easier scrambling got us to the top by 8:30am.
As promised, the summit views did not disappoint. What an amazing position to be on a perfectly clear day! To the South, Eldorado, Forbidden, Boston, Sahale, Buckner, Logan, and all of the other peaks were prominent and crisp. To the Northwest, Baker, Shuksan, and the entire Picket Range were stretched out clearly as well. Some clouds hung in a few of the valleys for extra ambiance, but the views were otherwise crystal clear all the way down to Rainier. We enjoyed it for a while on our own and then with the party of 5 before heading down a little after 9am.
The descent didn’t feel as nerve wracking as the climb and we reached the bottom of the ridge around 9:45am. Our triumphant cruise back down the Neve Glacier was easy and the snow wasn’t too soft at that point. We made it up the rise back to our camp before 11am. Over an early lunch and as we packed up camp, we considered heading up to Pyramid Peak as a detour on our descent, but the snow was getting really sloppy in the bright sun and we decided that we’d rather get back to town with enough time for our first burgers in 4 months, so we headed straight down after packing up just shy of noon. The descent went without incident, though the lower parts of the ridge seemed to go on for much longer than they did on the way up. We got to the car a little after 4:30pm with some creaky joints.
I wish we’d been able to get onto The Needle, Paul Bunyon’s Stump, Pinnacle, and Pyramid, but I’ll just have to come back. I’m holding Colonial in reserve for Watusi Rodeo in the winter/spring one of these years. The approach and descent were monotonous and unsavory, but the payoff was there. What a gorgeous area tucked back there with no signs of civilization.