Trip Report
Climbing Conditioner - Mount Washington (Snoqualmie)
More snow than we thought.
Patrick McLaughlin
- Fri, Feb 20, 2026
- Climbing Conditioner - Mount Washington (Snoqualmie)
- Mount Washington (Snoqualmie)
- Day Hiking
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Trail had about 2" of snow at the parking lot to about 12" at the summit. Glad to have brought gaiters. Almost needed snowshoes but the trail is well-trampled down. Snow was grippy enough not to require mircospikes.
Discover Pass required for parking lot.
Conditioning hike for Olympia Branch. I had just led a conditioner here two weeks ago and there was no snow. What a difference 14 days makes! The snow added about 30 minutes to the ascent time despite pushing the pace. Everyone stayed together and was able to successfully reach the summit. Left the trailhead at about 8am with a goal to summit by 10:30am similar to the previous conditioner, but despite pushing, the snow became deeper. It was becoming clear that the snow was affecting the group's pace. We ended up reaching the summit by 11am. We enjoyed the snowy views of Chester Morse Lake and Masonry Pool before descending, which took about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Congrats to Spencer on his mentored lead to become a conditioning climb leader.