Trip Report
Alpine Scramble - Guye Peak/North Route
Short but sweet T3 scramble in wet, snowy, windy conditions. By continually evaluating weather and terrain, we were able to carefully reach the summit during an early morning weather window. (Cover photo: Chris M.)
Nathan Goulding-Hotta
- Sat, Oct 25, 2025
- Alpine Scramble - Guye Peak/North Route
- Guye Peak, Snoqualmie Mountain & Cave Ridge (Alpental)
- Scrambling
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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With recent rain and snow, the route was very wet and slippery. The first half had water streaming down the middle of the climber's trail, along with some sections of mud and exposed tree roots. We started seeing snow on the ground around 4500', as well as pockets of ice formed on rock surfaces. The wind stayed mild on our side of the mountain until we reached the saddle near Red Pond, at 4600'. We took the eastern fork (climber's left around the pond). From there we encountered strong and gusty SSE winds, though our route was shielded most of the way until the summit.
Note there was a storm with 2-6" of snow moving in, so conditions are likely more challenging now.
Total distance: 2.5 miles
Elevation gain: 2,000 feet
Time: Just shy of 2.5 hours up and 2 hours down (including time at the summit and a 15-minute break for lunch)
Originally we planned to combine Guye Peak with Snoqualmie Mountain West and East, but in the week before our trip the weather forecast was going to make this challenging. Throughout the week we kept an eye on several different weather models on Windy.com (as well as NOAA and local news), and they started converging on a mostly precip-free prediction for Saturday morning. We decided to attempt Guye Peak with a cautious approach, ready to turn back if the route or weather ever became unsafe.
Just before sunrise, our group of five met at 7:15am in the upper Alpental parking lot. Surprised to see at least a dozen other cars already there, with some climbers heading out by headlamp. After brief intros and a discussion of the day's plan, our group headed up the steep climber's trail that starts 50' south of the Snow Lake TH. The participants took turns navigating.
The trail was slick with mud and occasionally water streaming down the center of it. There were also sections with slippery rock slabs and tree roots. The phrase "never step on a log" rang true.
At about 4200' is a sign marking the way to Snoqualmie Mountain to climber's left and Guye Peak to the right. From here the route-finding was a little more challenging, as there are several possible routes scrambling across the boulder field, but by keeping a close eye we could usually still spot the boot path beneath the increasing snow, which started at around 4500'.
At the saddle around 4600', there are several unmaintained trails going in different directions. We took the right-most branch (due south) and quickly reached Red Pond.
From Red Pond, we took the eastern fork (climber's left) around the pond. This next stretch had some steep terrain, often slippery dirt/mud and rocks. Precip also started in earnest, but thankfully at this elevation it was all snow. We took a cautious approach here, taking our time with footing and keeping an eye on the weather.
Just shy of 4900' we reached the junction with the west fork around Red Pond, and here is where we put on our helmets.
The final stretch! We spread out a little as we climbed up the summit block. Solid rock here, though wet. It was sometimes tricky to find good hand and footholds beneath the snow, but they're there. Highly recommend waterproof gloves.
Through the ever-shifting clouds the view north gave us a nice look at our original objective, Snoqualmie Mountain, as well as Snow Dome and Lundin Peak further in the distance, and Red Mountain to the northeast.
Great job team on reaching the summit! Our party of five had to squeeze a little. I wouldn't recommend groups larger than six.
(Photo: John N.)
It was windy and we didn't want to press our luck with the incoming weather, so we soon started our descent. The return journey was (thankfully) uneventful. We returned the way we came, stopping at Red Pond for a 15-minute lunch.
The snow stopped falling before it ever turned to rain, and so we were all mostly dry and in high spirits when we reached the trailhead for a quick debrief.
Positive outcomes:
- This counted as a graduation scramble for two students -- congratulations!
- This was the leader's first mentored scramble -- thank you to Christina B. for being a great mentor! Really appreciate your pre-trip advice, live feedback during the trip, and detailed notes afterward.
- Everyone got a little more practice navigating wet, slippery terrain, evaluating evolving weather conditions, and making safety-conscious decisions.
- By carefully watching the weather and being flexible with trip plans, we were able to find a window of opportunity to get outside for a 5-star trip even in 2-star weather.
Thanks everyone for a great scramble!