Trip Report
Little Annapurna and Dragontail Peak via Aasgard Pass
A beautiful but brutal hike up and down Aasgard Pass with scrambles up Dragontail Peak and Little Annapurna.
Taylor Robinson
- Thu, Jul 24, 2025
- Little Annapurna
- Scrambling
- Successful
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- Road rough but passable
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Route: car to car from Stuart Lake Trailhead to Colchuck Lake and Aasgard Pass, Dragontail via east approach skirting the edge of the glacier and Mist Pond.
Gear used: ice axe (Dragontail), microspikes (Dragontail), hiking shoes, water filter
Drive: paved until the end of Icicle road; navigable from here easily with 2WD sedan, watch out for some deep potholes
Weather: clear, sunny, temperature 50-60F at summit, 75-80F at trailhead, wind 5-15 knots
Obstacles: Aasgard pass is the main obstacle below the Enchantments Core Zone, especially descending – take care not to slip as the footing is quite poor through the entire descent. Navigation above Colchuck Lake can be difficult as the path is not always clear and there are multiple social trails throughout the Enchantments that can lead you astray. The best bet is to closely follow the cairns that mark the path up Aasgard, through the Core Zone, and up Dragontail and Little Annapurna. Watch for mountain goats, I met plenty at Aasgard Pass as well as ascending Dragontail.
Goats galore! Water: plentiful water at Colchuck Lake as well as the tarns, limited water at Aasgard and on Dragontail and Little Annapurna. I brought 2.5L with me and filtered 3.5L more.
Popularity: the trail was predictably busy on a Friday morning up to Colchuck Lake, however it was strangely sparse from Aasgard onwards – I saw fewer than 20 people for the rest of the day.
This was a beautiful but brutal car to car trek up and down Aasgard Pass and Dragontail and Little Annapurna. I wouldn’t recommend doing a car to car like I did, as the return down Aasgard Pass is probably the worst part of the trip. One previous report mentions it’s like “rollerballs under your feet,” which I think is a very accurate description. I understand why this is done as a traverse, or better yet, a backpacking trip.
Little Annapurna is straightforward with minimal scrambling and exposure. Follow the cairns closely on Little Annapurna and through the Core Zone in general, as they will help you avoid backtracking and bushwhacking. The views from both Dragontail and Little Annapurna are stunning, with close views of Rainier, as well as the Enchantment Range including Mount Stuart, Colchuck, Argonaut, McClellan, and Prusik, the upper Enchantments basin as well as panoramic views of the Cascades both north and south. There’s also great views of the Teanaway; it was awesome to spy Bean, Earl, and Teanaway Peaks.
On the Dragontail ascent there are cairns from the top of Aasgard marking a path higher up on the rockfield which helps to avoid the glacier/snowfield until you are at about 8300ft. I’d recommend downloading a .gpx from prior ascents or map the route on Caltopo.
The crux of the ascent starts here and involves an approximately 200 ft ascent up the top lip of a steep snow climb. The snow is soft enough to kick steps, however the ascent requires a prolonged steep sidehill traverse. I strongly recommend crampons and an ice axe here, as the runout here drops 200+ feet steeply onto rock outcroppings. The ascent from the snowfield to the summit is pretty straightforward, and consists of a bootpath interspersed with easy scrambles.
I used microspikes and hiking shoes for this section, and ascended relatively late at 12:15. This combo predictably led to a loss of traction on my descent down the snowfield traverse leading to a 100 ft slide. Thankfully I was able to self-arrest and came out with only a sprained ankle to show for my lack of caution, but learn from me - wear crampons and go early!
Stats: distance 17 miles, elevation gain 7200 feet
Timepoints: Left TH at 8:20. Total time: 13:00, moving time: 11:00. TH to Dragontail in 5:25 (summited at 12:45), Dragontail to Little Annapurna in 3:10. Returned to TH from Annapurna in 4:30.