Mt. Persis

Today was my first attempted scramble. A buddy and I headed out early in morning to climb Mt. Persis. Getting there was quite an adventure in and of itself. It's difficult to find the "trailhead" without knowing where it is. It's best to go with someone who has been there. The road becomes increasingly more rough and bumpy as you climb higher to the start. It would probably be wise to bring a sturdy vehicle with some good ground clearance.

We starting hiking at 2800 ft. elevation and climbed very quickly. The "trail" is more of a footpath rather than a well marked trail. (After all scrambles are mostly just climb to this peak rather than follow this trail.) The forecast called for a 100% chance of rain for the day, they weren't wrong. The

morning started out raining, as we climbed it turned into freezing rain and eventually we got up high enough to see it snow.

As the elevation increased the amount of snow on the ground increased. Every step became harder and harder. The snow was soft, so we would sink into the snow with each step. We got to a point where we would regularly sink waist deep into the snow. We had our ice picks and crampons, but the snow was too soft for crampons.

Eventually we decided with the difficult conditions, poor weather, and poor visibility it may not have been worth even making it to the peak. We wouldn't have been able to see much anyway. We turned around and headed back down. On the way back down we had to come back down the rock field covered in snow that we climbed on the way up. That was quite scary. The possibility of stepping in-between rocks that were covered in snow and injuring a leg was quite real. In fact my buddy did get his leg stuck in-between two rocks but luckily his weight didn't carry him forward causing a possible break.

We made it down safely but weren't able to stay dry. Having stepped waist deep into snow several times, slipping and falling in the snow, constant downpour of rain and the combination of sweat made it a wet adventure. We didn't make it to the peak, but it was good to get out and exercise in nature once again. It was a fun adventure, we will be back to summit this peak in better conditions sometime soon.

Region: Central Cascades, Stevens Pass-West
Distance: 2 miles
Elevation Gain: 2658 ft.
Peak Elevation: 5464 ft.
Difficulty: Difficult
Pass Requirement: None

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