Kendall Peak

This morning I went out with some members of the Mountaineers group. We set out as a group of 10 with a goal to summit Kendall Peak near Snoqualmie Pass. We started out at commonwealth campground and vaguely followed the Pacific Crest Trail for the first part in the snow. Then we made our own path straight up the mountain aiming for the peak paying no attention to the much longer route of the PCT. 

After we cleared the forest we tried to take a bearing on the peak but it was a complete white out. The snow was white, the clouds were white and low; visibility was very poor. So we headed in what we thought was the direction of Kendall Peak. Trudging up the mountain in the soft snow was tough work if you were up front doing all the work. We each took turns making steps up the steep mountain gaining the last 1600 feet of elevation in 1 mile.

Eventually the clouds cleared a little and we were able to see where we going a little better. We got toward the top and got to the rock section that was snow free. Here we had to scramble up the rocks to the top of the peak. We were very lucky once we got to the top the clouds cleared up and we were able to see surrounding peaks and lakes. The forecast was calling for rain and luckily we didn't get any.

Unfortunately when we cleared the forest and tried to find our route we were off a little bit and ended up on a false summit of Kendal Peak; one was that 50 feet of elevation short of Kendall Peak. But it was too sketchy to try to traverse over the actual summit and time was too short to descend and find another route to the actual summit. The group consensus was we were "close enough" for the day. We would come back another time to try for the actual summit.

Coming down was a little boy dream. Sit on your butt and slide down. We descended about 1000 feet in 5 minutes. After the initial glissade it got a little sketchy trying to slide in-between trees. But we all made it back safe and sound and had lots of fun.

Region: Snoqualmie Pass
Distance: 7 miles (total distance)
Elevation Gain: 2750 feet
Peak Elevation: 5650 feet
Difficulty: Difficult
Pass Requirement: Yes, most all passes honored.

As always check out all the photos from of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.