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Trip Report    

Alpine Scramble - Stevens Peak

Southern approach to a Rainier 100 peak at the eastern end of the Tatoosh Range

  • Road rough but passable

This was a re-attempt after turning around on the northern approach a month earlier due to challenging snow conditions. When we met in Ashford, I went with my gut instinct and switched to the southern approach. I was concerned about significant snow melt creating a moat at the Unicorn notch, or steep scree on the Maple Creek route, and wondered what it would be like descending from Boundary Peak. Even though the southern approach is longer, I felt confident it would be easier travel and a higher probability of success. I also wanted a different experience seeing other areas.

We departed Tatoosh trailhead 161 about 8am. There were only a couple of cars. It was a hot day so we took plenty of water. It’s a long climb on easy trail with switchbacks at the bottom, but mostly in shade. Plenty of water coming from a couple of streams near the top. After leaving the main trail, there is an abandoned trail with slight overgrowth, but in great shape. The wildflowers were at peak and incredibly beautiful. I was so glad I took this route. We didn’t have too much trouble finding our way through a few snow patches. The views were stunning, especially since three of us summited Mount Adams just a week before.

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Wildflower Meadows
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Tatoosh Peak and Mount Adams

Eventually, you’ll reach a point where the abandoned trail disappears and all of the gpx tracks start to diverge. The choice is to head up for the ridge, or contour a bit further. There was a very short, fun little rock scramble at the top which can be avoided if desired. We saw the back side of Unicorn-Boundary ridge, then Stevens Peak in their full glory.

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Boundary Peak

When we reached the spot to descend to the Boundary-Stevens saddle, there was still a lot of snow on the northern aspect. We traversed along a rock ledge to get lower before getting on the snow. On the return, we ended up using ice axe, crampons and going straight up this section. The route out to Stevens is what we expected and recommended by most. Just keep sidehilling on the south face pretty far until reaching a place to go straight up to the ridge. This is such a unique peak, standing very separate from the rest of the Tatoosh Range with views all around. We enjoyed a 45 minute break at the summit.

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Stevens Peak
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Unicorn-Boundary Ridge
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Mount Rainier
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Boundary, Unicorn and Foss Peaks
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Mount St Helens in the distance
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Summit Photo

It ended up being 10:52 c2c, 13.1 mi and 5,352’ gain. I have a more detailed report on Peakbagger. The southern approach is definitely preferred. It probably takes the same time to complete, even though it's longer. Thanks Ron, Mike and Bobby for helping me get Rainier #99!