Trip Report
Alpine Scramble - Tamanos Mountain
This was a successful snow scramble for nine students. The view of Rainier was obscured by clouds but there were excellent views of nearby lower peaks.
Fritz Klein
- Sat, May 31, 2025
- Alpine Scramble - Tamanos Mountain
- Tamanos Mountain, Governors Ridge, Barrier Peak & Buell Peak
- Scrambling
- Successful
- Road suitable for all vehicles
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This will be a good snow scramble for at least another couple of weeks.
It was sunny and pleasant when we started on the trail to Owyhigh lakes. We heard some varied thrushes and Pacific wrens along the way (those in front got to see a Pacific wren briefly). After two miles or so the snow patches on the trail became frequent, and when they got steeper we got out the ice axes and put on our helmets. The bridge over Tamanos Creek was under snow except for the railing.
From the lake we continued south, then angled up to open snow slopes and then aimed for the saddle on Tamanos' south ridge at about 6100'. We followed the ridge to about 6600', then traversed on its west side (rock scrambling) to the top. It then started to rain, but stopped fairly soon. We were able to get in a few nice glissades on the way down; we could have done longer glissades, but visibility was limited by fog. As we approached the lake area, the weather began to improve and it was very nice for the hike out.
We did not encounter anyone else on this trip.