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Trip Report    

Alpine Scramble - Teanaway Butte

We headed east in search of sun on the other side of the pass and found exactly that: a warm spring day, nearly snow-free roads, blooming avalanche lilies, views in every direction, and a little extra exploring to make the long drive worthwhile.

Michelle Peterson Michelle Peterson
April 12, 2026
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • Road Conditions: Summer-like. The gate to Indian Creek Camp was closed, adding a road walk from the start. A Discover Pass was posted as required at the gate.

    Route Conditions: We were rather surprised to discover that this route is essentially 99% road walk and 99% melted out. We encountered only a single 50-foot stretch of snow around 4,200 ft. The ticks, however, were in full force—most of us found at least one, if not several, on ourselves during the day. Yellow avalanche lilies were blooming, and we enjoyed sightings of several grouse and woodpeckers along the way.

Trip Report:

We were boots on the road at 7:45 AM and made quick work of the long road ascent. After crossing a few minor blowdowns near the end of the road, we reached the summit of Teanaway Butte at 11:00 AM.

I had chosen this route because many reports across different platforms described the approach from Tarzan as tedious. Instead, we found the opposite challenge: this was hardly a scramble at all, but rather a road walk with a final 200-foot climb to the summit. Still, the summit itself offered good views of Yellow Hill, Jolly Mountain, The Louvre, and Hawkins Mountain. 

Matt and TJ, being both creative and experienced, had been hatching an idea for the return. Since we had driven so far, why not make the most of the day and explore a bit more on the way down? The whole group was game to extend our time out in the lovely weather.

As we descended the road toward our new turnoff, we had excellent views of Mary Peak, Judy Peak, and Earl Peak.

Continuing down the road, we briefly made a little scramble of a nearby hill, then continued descending toward our cars, carefully avoiding private property before eventually leaving the road entirely and navigating cross-country back to the vehicles.

There we were welcomed by Ananth Maniam and his scramble group, who had just returned from their trip to Yellow Hill.