Ever since I'd done a fun ascent of the Backbone Ridge with Greg and Goran in June of 2013, I'd been interested in checking out the other classic rock ridge on Dragontail. With a stellar (albeit hot) forecast and another great pair of partners to share the fun with, I headed back out to Leavenworth on Saturday morning. My last time on the mountain had been to climb the Gerber-Sink Route with Dale in mid April. Things had transitioned completely to summer mode in the meantime.

*Dale on the last few moves before the summit*

With a leisurely start from Seattle, we didn't leave the car until around 11am. It was a quick trip past Colchuck Lake and up the moraine to the base of the route. Lots of scrambling and one short pitch of mid-fifth class got us to a short traverse around the tower in order to access the 5.8 section, which was quite fun. A bit more roped climbing brought us to the upper section, which was mostly 4th class, which we soloed to the summit.

We were on the top with plenty of time to set up our bivy and make dinner before the sun went down in a brilliant display of Cascade glory. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes were out in force and we spent the night hiding away from them in our sleeping bags and also warding off a family of mountain goats who seemed upset that we'd stolen their favorite sleeping spot.