Trip Report
Alpine Scramble - Tahtlum Peak
Our attempt on Seymour was thwarted by several inches of fresh snow on the rocky part of the scramble. Most of us then scrambled Tahtlum instead.
Fritz Klein
- Sat, Jun 8, 2019
- Alpine Scramble - Tahtlum Peak
- Tahtlum Peak
- Scrambling
- Successful
- Road suitable for all vehicles
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There were 6 to 8 inches of fresh snow that made the trip more strenuous, but also made ice axes generally unnecessary for safety. That new snow will certainly be gone in a day or two.
The plan was to do Seymour Peak. We took the southern branch of the Naches Peak loop trail, which was not always easy to follow due to 6 to 8 inches of fresh snow.
We took the east ridge of Seymour up to the steep section at 6200'; we could have managed the first rocky gully, but we could see snow on the rocks above, and with several participants on their very first scramble, I chose to turn back there. I might have considered trying to get around the steep section to the south, but a few inches of snow on steep terrain there wouldn't have been safe either. In retrospect, it would have been better to gain the ridge between the steep section and the summit on steeper snow. After we started descending, I found a spot where most of us glissaded off the ridge; with all the new snow, it was difficult for the first person to get going, but the rest of us were able to get a couple of nice rides.
When we got back to the junction with the Naches loop, 7 of us chose to climb Tahtlum. One highlight was that several steer's head flowers were in bloom; here's one of them:
Given that we got to within 200 feet of the summit of Seymour, adding Tahtlum to the trip made for a long day, but at least the clouds parted late in the afternoon for good Rainier views.