8,400’, Washington Pass Grade III , 5.8 Rock Reference & Data • • • • Jurisdiction: Okanogan National Forest • Ranger Station: Marblemount Ranger Station / 360-873-4500 • Equipment: Rack to 3 1/2 inches, ice axe and possibly crampons in early season • USGS Maps: Silver Star Mt. • Other Map: North Cascades National Park Complex • Beckey: Cascade Alpine Guide III, 2nd Edition, pp 296-297 • Other ref: Selected Climbs in the Cascades, pp 187-190 Classic Climbs of the Northwest, pp 169-172 Time Elevation gain/loss Mileage • Seattle to TH 4 hrs 4,250’ 180 • TH to Camp 2-3 hrs +2,550’ -300’ • Camp to Col 1 hr +1,550’ • Col to Summit 4-5 hrs + 450’ • Summit to Cars 4-5 hrs - 6,000’ +300’ Approach • • • • • • • • • • • Take I-5 to N of Mt. Vernon, then go E on State Route 20 (North Cascades Highway) to 4 miles east of Washington Pass. Park on wide graveled shoulder where creek that drains Burgundy’s W basin lies just on the opposite side of the valley. Descend talus and trees to Early Winters Creek and cross. Locate the hard to find climbers path on the N side of Burgundy Creek above where it drains into Early Winters Creek. Follow it up through thining forest until the trail levels out at a bench at 6,400’. Camping available here with a stream in early season, or springs several hundred yards lower when the stream dries up. A bivy site (no water, but snow nearby) is also available at Burgundy Col, the start of the climb, located at 7,950’ at the top of a long gully. Climbing Route • • • • • From Burgundy Col: A full rope length of class 4 ascends past a shrubby pine near the right edge of a small face that is offset from Burgundy. From here approximately a rope length of scrambling right up loose, downsloping sandy ledges toward the Paisano Burgundy notch then back left beneath a large black streaked wall to near a horn and the begining of class 5 climbing. The sandy ledges can also be reached more directly by a 1-pitch section of 3rd to low 5th, starting about 150 ft. below the col (rappel route). After reaching the sandy downsloping ledges, climb up and left via cracks and face about 130’ to a belay ledge. Continue up cracks (5.8 crux) 150’ to a large ledge extending to the right. Follow this ledge right (west), at one point traversing down under a giant rock that perches over the ledge and continue right until the ledge ends after rounding Burgundy’s west side. (Parties have mistakenly climbed up from the ledge before traversing far enough, and found themselves in a much harder crack system that forms the rappel route). Climb up and over a flake to move right to a long, shallow open book which is followed to a ledge then a thin crack to another ledge shared with a waist high boulder, a long pitch that may be split. From here move left to a 50’ wide 5.7 crack that gains the summit ridge, the summit a short scramble away. Descent • • • • • • • • • • • Begin rappel at notch 10’ north of summit, descending for 2+ rappels past cracks north of the ascent route’s open book to the loose sandy benches which are descended to a final rappel back to Burgundy Col. Comments • • • • • • • • • Route finding can be difficult on face. Permits, at this writing, are not required. Most parties will require 2 days although a fast party can do it in a single day with maximum day length.