Alpine Scramble - Red Pass & Mountain (Commonwealth Basin)

Trip Report

Met 9am at the PCT trailhead across the road from Summit West, in a half-empty lot on a nice Friday morning, and started walking shortly thereafter.

First 1 hour / 1000 feet of elevation gain went at a faster pace. Took 10-15 minute break to eat on a nice wooden log crossing the trail with room for all to sit comfortably.

Another 50 minutes and 900  feet to get to a point where terrain steepens up and a scramling portion begins. Another extended break there to eat, drink, put on helmets, put on sunscreen, etc. Until that point, we were mostly in the cool and in the shadows, and after that, the rest would be in the open in the sun, without the protection of the tree cover.

The last scrambling portion was about 1000 feet on a semi-trail through loose rocks. The original plan was to step off to a side and choose your own adventure, but as not everyone was feeling good about the plan, we opted to stick to the charted path through the rock. The going was slightly slower on that segment, and some coaching was needed on a handful of harder sections.

Participants going up:

It took us about 1.5 hour or so to negotiate the final 1000 feet to the summit, with a few breaks to keep it nice and relaxed.  Some nice views to appreciate while resting.

Participants topping out at the summit:

Mandatory summit selfies and family pictures:

Half an hour at the summit to eat, rest, enjoy the views, and identify all the peaks. Mt Thompson and Kaleetan Peak look similar.

No bugs, except some wasps and sprinkler bees (or whatever they were) buzzing around. 

Going down was a bit faster, 1h 15 min. or so for the down-scramble, and 1.5h or so to walk out the rest of the trail.

Map