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Trip Report    

Alpine Scramble - Tamanos Mountain

On a cloudy but dry May 24, 2016, 7 scramblers successfully climbed Tamanos Mountain. Snow conditions were variable but generally good for kicking steps, plunge stepping and glissading.

  • Road suitable for all vehicles
  • Snow obscured the trail shortly before the bridge over the creek that drains the northeast side of Tamanos.  I was a little careless about navigation in this area in both directions, which actually provided some useful lessons when we realized we were off course and had to figure out how to get back on track.  As mentioned above, snow conditions were good from the lake to the south ridge and for part of the ridge itself.  The last few hundred yards were all a rock scramble, staying to the west side of the ridge.  There is some loose rock here, but it is not difficult.

We got started around 8:30.  As we were putting our boots on, the light drizzle we had driven through ended and it was dry the rest of the day.  Visibility was limited; we never saw Rainier or the tops of the Cowlitz Chimneys, but we could occasionally see the peaks of Governor's Ridge, Barrier Peak and Double Peak.  There was a good spot on the ridge for a short glissade where I could watch everyone's technique the whole way.  Then there were several good longer glissades on the way down to Owyhigh Lake.  This should be a good snow scramble for another 2 or 3 weeks.

We returned to the cars at about 6:20.