Includes classic peaks in 3 groups of the Washington Cascades: Darrington, Monte Cristo, and Index. Awarded by the Everett Branch of the Mountaineers Club. Bronze pin given for any 6 peaks climbed in one group, silver for any 6 in each of two groups, and gold for any 6 in each of all 3 groups. See more at https://www.mountaineers.org/about/branches-committees/seattle-branch/committees/seattle-climbing-committee/seattle-climbing-website/peak-pins
Highest peak
Sloan Peak
7,835 ft / 2,388 m
Most prominent peak
Three Fingers
4,490 ft / 1,368 m prom
Most summited peak
Vesper Peak
34 summits
Most difficult peak
Del Campo Peak
Class 3
Difficulty breakdown
Class 3/4 2 peaks
Highlights
Latest summits
"A really cool climb. Took the standard route to the summit in socked-in and snowy conditions, which did get a little sketchy in places but doable. Overall rating 8/10, with the views on a clear day, and if you enjoy a little exciting class 2-3 scrambling, this is the mountain for you" — MountainQuest • Jun 21, 2023
"Benson and I headed up to Vesper today for our first attempt and for me besides Mount Pilchuck, the first peak on the Mountain Loop Highway. We met the people who wrote the prior two trip reports today (we were slow and hiked out in the dark) NodR and his climbing partner on the way down and Comma - passed us up and down. How embarrassing, or more a compliment to your fitness and skill on the trail. Both NodR's and Comma's trip reports are very comprehensive and accurate. Snow level was about 4000 feet on the way up and 3400 on the way down. I estimate up to 6 inches of new snow from the past few days. Maybe 2-4 new inches today. Very dry and powdery - Too much snow to grip the granite on the final summit push. Too fluffy for spikes and axe. Not ideal. We followed someone's tracks up the final 500 feet of the summit. This was not ideal as they ambled a bit, but avoided some exposure. This section was no joke in these conditions. There was frozen water ice on much of the granite slabs, covered in 6 inches of fluffy, unstable snow. I had to ice axe arrest a couple of times, as with or without crampons, you either lost purchase or risked punching through the snow into a rock..." — markhadland • Nov 7, 2020
"Bluebird day. 8:30 to 6:30 car-to-car, with a bike ride to the trailhead. I did not adequately factor in how much the ride to the trailhead was gonna gas me--haven't been biking much lately! I brought crampons and ice axe, but things were melted enough that there was no need for either. The first snowfield has a narrow four-step stretch of firm snow to cross (with an "ok" runout) with well-worn steps. That went fine in my trail runners. The south-facing snowfield near the summit was soft enough in the afternoon to simply walk up (and glissade down). The summit ladders creaked enough to get me slightly puckered. Still lots of Vaccinium deliciosum berries. Also got to watch a young goat frolicking like an idiot while the nanny looked on disapprovingly." — TynanRammGranberg • Oct 6, 2020
"The climb is very straightforward for a north cascade area peak. The trail is well cut all the way to Silver Lake. The biggest navigation challenge is finding the trail along the ridge. Once you have found the tail getting to the summit block is easy.
While I was able to free climb the last scramble section, it does have a considerable amount of exposure. Some parties may want a rope. Either way, bring a rope for the descent. Downclimbing this peak looks like a dangerous endeavor. The rappel was easy and a 30m rope took care of the 4th class section.
I did remove the strand of rope that was left for the rappel. It was frayed and damaged in multiple areas. It was also brittle. There is a great spot to attach a nylon runner and I left the rappel rings since they were fine along with one of my runners attached to several others." — Waterboy • Aug 1, 2020
"From Terrence's WTA Report:
We are the Mountain Goats, Terrence (13) and Nathan (16), and today one of us (Terrence) climbed Baring Mountain.
The climber's trail behind the bathrooms was easy enough to find and follow. The cutoff to the right came much sooner expected, and we ended up going by it about 1,000 feet before we realized our mistake and turned around. Look for the pink where the creek is coming down the slope. The first mile is everything that you have read - very, very, steep. In fact, according to SummitPost, Baring Mountain is the third steepest mountain/hike in Washington State. It is straight up, and the dirt, mud and vegetation (with a few large rocks to go up) make it slippery and a challenging. Heading straight up the the ridge (first mile) you gain nearly 2,000 feet. The trail is relatively easy to follow, with the pink tape helping out.
Once at the ridge, the next mile is the easiest part of the route. Relatively flat, with some elevation loss and regain. After another 3/4s of a mile, it's back up, up and up, through the woods towards the boulder field. We took a wrong right turn and ended on the south side of the boulder filed, so we had to..." — BryHong8 • Nov 2, 2019