
Trip Report
Alpine Scramble - Earl, Bean, Mary's and Judi's
A great day circling the ridges above the Bean Creek Basin.
- Sat, Jun 15, 2024
- Alpine Scramble - Bean Creek Basin
- Bean Creek Basin
- Scrambling
- Successful
- Road suitable for all vehicles
-
- There is very little snow left in the area, even on the northern slopes
- The Bean Creek crossing was trivial, but wet feet were unavoidable
- The road is in great shape, passable by any car
A great route for extended off-trail travel and scrambling, visiting all the peaks overlooking the Bean Basin.
We started by ascending Earl via the south/southwest ridge, and continued along the ridge to Bean. Navigating the ridge from Bean to Judi's was the slowest part of the day - a mix of high quality scrambling on solid rock, with some backtracking to avoid more vertical sections.
The ridge from Judi's to Mary's is quick and easy. To finish up the ridge loop, we descended the south ridge of Mary's back to where Bean and Beverly creeks meet. I have ascended this ridge twice in the past, but I found descending the steep dirt slopes less enjoyable - it didn't help that the snow and wind were quite heavy at this point.
After an easy creek crossing, we finished up the day much earlier than I had expected, thanks to a fast group.
The weather throughout the day was a mix of snow and heavy wind, with occasional breaks of sun and views. All of the Teanaway wildflowers are out in large numbers - penstemon, balsamroot, phlox, douglasia, glacier lilies, lupine and more.
- 7 hours, 37 minutes
- 4350' gain, 7.8 miles