Gothic Peak

On Saturday, June 13, we had a great time on a scramble of Gothic Peak. The weather was generally good, although clouds obscured some of the more distant views; the temperature was generally comfortable.

On the way up, we stayed below the top of the ridge and encountered one snow field for which we used ice axes, skirted just below another snow field, then took the somewhat tedious talus slope to the summit block. The final scramble was uneventful. On the descent, we stayed higher and avoided the stretch of snow where we had used axes on the way up. This section involves walking on sloping slabby rock which was fine on this occasion but could be problematic if wet.

There was a decent flower display and lots of birdsong. We all got a good close look at a red-breasted sapsucker along the Monte Cristo road late in the afternoon.

Gothic is getting to be a very popular destination; there were at least 3 other parties climbing it on Saturday.