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Trip Report    

Winter Scramble - Mount Ararat (winter)

Beautiful and strenuous winter scramble with views of the SW aspect of Mt Rainier.

  • Road suitable for all vehicles
  • A very wet morning with afternoon sun breaks and drier conditions (would have given this trip 5 stars with a drier morning ;).

Original trip was Mt Wow, but 100% rain in morning and moderate avalanche conditions caused us to change our venue to Mt Ararat.  This winter route (~12 miles and ~4100' gain) affords negligible to zero avalanche hazard by following ridge crests (a map of this route can be seen here).  It begins where the normal trail reaches the stream at ~3900' and allows the added hazard of crossing this stream to be avoided. Photos from this trip can be seen  here.  Total trip time was ~9 hours with 5.5 hours for the ascent.