Trip Report
Mount Ararat
Post-hole fest before getting stunning views of Rainier, Hood, Adams, St Helens, and the Olympics.
Martin Fisher
- Sat, Jan 17, 2026
- Mount Ararat
- Scrambling
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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- There’s a washed out bridge on the Kautz Creek, but we were able to rock-hop easily and without detour.
- There’s pretty extensive flagging for about 2/3 of the scramble and then things peter out. Make sure you have tracks in advance.
- We laid down a pretty good boot pack that should be there until the next snowstorm. You’ll have an easier time summiting than we did!
NWAC avy forecast was green across all zones for the past few days and we were itching to get out and do something in the mountains. Mt Ararat seemed like a good objective for the day, so we jumped at it. (Had two of us known that we were going to climb Mt Hood the next day—a decision made in the car on the way to Mt Ararat—we probably would have chosen on easier objective!)
There was the matter of crossing the Kautz Creek, which had a washed-out bridge. In truth, it was fairly easy to do a few rock hops to get across. This might not be the case when water levels are higher. After crossing the creek the trail and surrounding vegetation were bare of snow for the next mile or so, but then the snow (and post-holing) started again. The worst of it was when we got to what we assumed were meadows and a few ravines where we post-holed at least to our knees and sometimes to our waist. Breaking trail was tough work, but with good company and conversation the experience was not too bad.
The summit views were spectacular: we had views of Rainier, Hood, Adams, St Helens, and the Olympics!
The descent was much quicker and easier now that we set our boot pack. We were tired and a little sore, but it was a really enjoyable day overall. If anyone reads this TR and happens to get out before the next storm you should have a much easier time with an established boot pack.
