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Trip Report    

Winter Scramble - Mount Ellinor

Great weather, good snow, fun group and fantastic views. The winter route snow chute was a bit of a plunge stepping or snowshoe sliding suffer-fest on the steeper sections, but the summit was well worth the effort.

  • Snow and ice on road
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    Parking along the single lane gravel road with turn-outs was challenging for some people. Snow made the road impassable below the Lower Trailhead, and the trick was to park before the snow was too deep. Others challenged the snow to get a bit further and had gotten their vehicles stuck. One Jeep had to be abandoned for the night, without a tow truck or gear to self rescue.

We started at traveling at 8:50 am and spent the first 40 minutes hiking the road because of snow. We arrived at the Lower Trailhead at 9:30 am and took the standard trail which was compacted snow. Junction with the Upper Trailhead at 10:20 am. The avalanche forecast was Moderate, so we stopped at the bottom of the winter-route chute to dig a snow column to assess the snow for avalanche conditions. We decided it was safe to proceed and we continued to monitor conditions as we climbed the chute. Arrived at the summit at 1:50 pm; and back near the cars at 3:30 pm. We delayed getting to our vehicle because we stopped to assist two other vehicles that were stuck in the snow while trying to turn around.05 IMG_2862.JPG